UTEP Miners men's basketball

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UTEP Miners
2023–24 UTEP Miners men's basketball team
UniversityThe University of Texas at El Paso
Head coachJoe Golding (3rd season)
ConferenceCUSA
LocationEl Paso, Texas
ArenaDon Haskins Center
(Capacity: 12,000[1])
Student sectionMiner Maniacs
ColorsDark blue, orange, and silver accent[2]
     
NCAA tournament champions
1966
NCAA tournament Final Four
1966
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1966
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1964, 1966, 1967, 1992
NCAA tournament round of 32
1975, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1992
NCAA tournament appearances
1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1975, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2004, 2005, 2010
Conference tournament champions
1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2005
Conference regular season champions
1957, 1959, 1970, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 2004, 2010

The UTEP Miners basketball team plays for University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas. The team is an NCAA Division I men's college basketball team competing in the Conference USA. Home games are played at Don Haskins Center.

History[edit]

1966 Texas Western basketball team[edit]

As Texas Western, the Miners won the 1966 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 72–65 victory over Kentucky in College Park, Maryland is considered one of the most important in the history of college basketball, as it marked the first time that a team with five African-American starters won a title game. It came against a Kentucky team that had no African-American players, during the period of the Civil Rights Movement.

The title team has been chronicled throughout the American media, including the book And the Walls Came Tumbling Down by Frank Fitzpatrick in 1999[3] and the 2006 Disney movie Glory Road.

The team was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.[4]

Postseason[edit]

NCAA tournament results[edit]

The Miners have appeared in 17 NCAA Tournaments and were the 1966 National Champions. Their combined record is 14–16.

Year Round Opponent Result
1963 Round of 25 Texas L 47–65
1964 Round of 25
Sweet Sixteen
Regional third-place game
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Creighton
W 68–62
L 60–64
W 63–52
1966 Round of 25
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship
Oklahoma City
Cincinnati
Kansas
Utah
Kentucky
W 89–74
W 78–76
W 81–80
W 85–78
W 72–65
1967 Round of 25
Sweet Sixteen
Regional third-place game
Seattle
Pacific
Wyoming
W 62–54
L 63–72
W 69–67
1970 First round Utah State L 81–91
1975 First round Indiana L 53–78
1984* Second round UNLV L 60–73
1985 First round
Second round
Tulsa
NC State
W 79–75
L 73–86
1986 First round Bradley L 65–83
1987 First round
Second round
Arizona
Iowa
W 98–91 OT
L 82–84
1988 First round Seton Hall L 64–80
1989 First round
Second round
LSU
Indiana
W 85–74
L 69–92
1990 First round Minnesota L 61–64 OT
1992 First round
Second round
Sweet Sixteen
Evansville
Kansas
Cincinnati
W 55–50
W 66–60
L 67–69
2004 First round Maryland L 83–86
2005 First round Utah L 54–60
2010 First round Butler L 59–77
  • Received a first round bye in 1984.

NIT results[edit]

The Miners have appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 6–10.

Year Round Opponent Result
1965 First round Manhattan L 53–71
1972 First round Niagara L 57–76
1980 First round
Second round
Wichita State
Michigan
W 58–56
L 65–75
1981 First round
Second round
San Jose State
Tulsa
W 57–53
L 72–76
1993 First round
Second round
Houston
Georgetown
W 67–61
L 44–71
1995 First round
Second round
Montana
New Mexico State
W 90–60
L 89–92
2001 First round
Second round
McNeese State
Memphis
W 84–74
L 65–90
2006 Opening Round
First round
Lipscomb
Michigan
W 85–66
L 67–82
2011 First round New Mexico L 57–69
2015 First round Murray State L 66–81

CBI results[edit]

The Miners have appeared in three College Basketball Invitationals. Their combined record is 4–4 and they advanced to the finals in the 2009 tournament.

Year Round Opponent Result
2008 First round Utah L 69–81
2009 First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals Game 1
Finals Game 2
Finals Game 3
Nevada
Northeastern
Richmond
Oregon State
Oregon State
Oregon State
W 79–77
W 75–66
W 81–69
L 69–75
W 70–63
L 73–81
2014 First round Fresno State L 56–61

The Basketball Classic results[edit]

The Miners have appeared in The Basketball Classic one time. Their record is 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2022 First round
Second round
Western Illinois
Southern Utah
W 80-54
L 69-82

Miners in the NBA[edit]

17 former UTEP players have played at least one game in the NBA.

Name Draft Year Draft Team
Tiny Archibald 1970 Cincinnati Royals
Gus Bailey 1974 Houston Rockets
Jim Barnes 1964 New York Knicks
Derrick Caracter 2010 Los Angeles Lakers
Antonio Davis 1990 Indiana Pacers
Scott English 1972 Phoenix Suns
Dave Feitl 1986 Houston Rockets
Greg Foster 1990 Washington Bullets
Dick Gibbs 1971 Chicago Bulls
Tim Hardaway 1989 Golden State Warriors
Vince Hunter 2017 Undrafted
Dave Lattin 1967 San Francisco Warriors
Marlon Maxey 1992 Minnesota Timberwolves
Arnett Moultrie 2012 Miami Heat
Julyan Stone 2011 Undrafted
Julian Washburn 2018 Undrafted
Willie Worsley 1968 Undrafted

Miners in international professional basketball[edit]

  • Randy Culpepper, currently plays for Scafati Basket of the Italian Serie A2 Basketball League.

Kent Lockhart, a member of the UTEP team in the early 1980s, played for several years in the Australian professional league where he averaged over 25 ppg.

Retired numbers[edit]

UTEP has retired five jersey numbers for seven different players. [5]

Fltr: Bobby Joe Hill, Nate Archibald, and Dave Lattin, whose numbers were retired by UTEP
UTEP Miners retired numbers
No. Player Position Career Ref.
10 Tim Hardaway PG 1985–1989 [6]
14 Bobby Joe Hill PG 1961–1966 [6]
Nate Archibald PG 1967–1970 [6]
42 Nolan Richardson F 1961–1964 [6]
43 David Lattin PF/C 1965–1967 [6]
44 Harry Flournoy F 1963–1966
45 Jim "Bad News" Barnes C / PF 1962–1964 [6]

Basketball Hall of Fame[edit]

Don Haskins Center[edit]

The Don Haskins Center (Capacity 11,892),is the home of UTEP Miners basketball. With fans seated extremely close to the playing floor and the UTEP student section located near the opponent's bench, "The Don" is so notorious as a tough place for opponents to win that UTEP has historically had difficulty convincing top-rated teams to play there. The highest ranked team (#5)to lose in the Haskins Center which was known at the time as the Special Events Center, was Georgetown (coached by John Thompson), who lost 78–64 in December, 1985. The Miners repeated twice in 1986 against Auburn,87-83. This happened in the Sun BowlBasketball Tournament. UTEP did this for the third straight year with a win over #5 Wyoming in 1988. "The Don" is the home of the UTEP Miners, who were the first Division 1 Men's National Basketball Champions in the State of Texas (1966). (Previous home was Memorial Gym.)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Don Haskins Center".
  2. ^ The University of Texas at El Paso Graphic Identity Guide (PDF). Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (March 4, 1999). And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: Kentucky, Texas Western, and the Game That Changed American Sports. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-83551-7.
  4. ^ "1966 Texas Western". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
  5. ^ Knight, Bill. "Ex-NBA, UTEP star Tim Hardaway will have jersey retired at game tonight". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f On honors and jerseys at El Paso Times, 17 Jan 2012

External links[edit]