UTEP men’s basketball ready for shot at Louisville
UTEP men’s basketball ready for shot at Louisville
The UTEP men’s basketball team has set itself up for something special in its 6-2 start to the season, and that shot has arrived as the Miners travel to the biggest venue in their sport to take on the ACC’s Louisville.
When the schedule was released in September, this was the big game. While Louisville is currently struggling with three injuries and has a 5-4 record, this is the big time, and UTEP takes its swing Wednesday, Dec. 11, in a game between two teams that have combined to win four national championships.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” UTEP coach Joe Golding said. “It’s one of the best places to play in college basketball. It’s going to be 18,000 people in there. It’s an incredible opportunity for our basketball program to play on the biggest stage.
“You don’t get many of these opportunities so we’re looking forward to it. Not many times you get an opportunity to play in front of 18,000 people.”
The KFC Yum! Center
The KFC Yum! Center seats 22,090 for basketball, making it the largest arena in the United States by seating capacity designed primarily for basketball. The only place bigger that hosts basketball is Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, designed for football.
Syracuse has averaged 13,698 attendance for its six home games, where the Cardinals are 3-3. They come in on a three-game losing streak, but they face a high bar.
Louisville’s last loss came Sunday against No. 9 Duke. It led until the middle of the second half and was tied with 8:33 left before an 11-point Blue Devil run led them to a 76-65 win. The Cardinals’ losing streak also includes losses to Oklahoma and Ole Miss.
They recently lost 6-foot-10 senior forward Kasean Pryor, who was their second-leading scorer, to a knee injury and prior to that, they lost forward Aboubacar Traore and guard Koren Johnson. All three will be out against UTEP.
“They have a different team than they had two weeks ago; they’ve had a ton of injuries, they’re down to eight or nine scholarship players, so they’re figuring out a new way to play, but obviously, they are extremely talented,” Golding said. “They led Duke for 30 minutes.”
UTEP, meanwhile, comes in healthy and off one of its better games of Joe Golding’s four-year tenure when it blew out Seattle Saturday. The Miners rank fifth nationally out of 354 ranked teams in turnover margin, as they are both turning people over and minimizing their giveaways.
“Consistency is the key,” Golding said. “The first half the other day against Seattle is some of the best basketball we’ve played since I’ve been here, but how do you bottle it up and do it consistency for 40 minutes every night?
“We’re showing consistency with those two things. We are valuing the ball better and we are turning people over. Those are two things that are an identity for our team.”
Now comes the biggest test this season, a road game against a power conference opponent.
“We feel very good, we feel very confident, I feel like we’re going to pull it off,” center Derick Hamilton said. “We’re going to continue to work hard and not forget who we are.”
Guard Ahamad Bynum seconded that.
“It’s a great opportunity to play a high major school,” he said. “We’re going to work for it, prepare for it and be ready to play.”
When does UTEP play Louisville?
The game tips off at 5 p.m. Mountain/7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
Where is the game?
The game will be played at Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center. With 22,090 seats for basketball, it is the largest arena in the United States by seating capacity designed primarily for basketball.
How to watch UTEP at Louisville
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and on 600 ESPN El Paso.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
