SAN ANTONIO – It took overtime to decide the matchup between UTSA men's basketball and UTEP on Wednesday night in El Paso and the two teams reconvene for a matchup on Saturday at the Convocation Center, with tipoff slated for 3 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and televised locally on CW-35 in the South Texas region. Lincoln Rose (play-by-play) and Jim Haller (analyst) will call the action. The game will also be broadcast live on the Roadrunners Sports Network, with the Voice of UTSA, Andy Everett (play-by-play) calling the game with Jim Goodman (analyst) live on Ticket 760 AM and goUTSA.com.
The teams are meeting for the second time in a four-day span after UTEP posted a comeback win on Wednesday night in El Paso. UTSA held a 24-point lead with just over 14 minutes left in regulation but the Miners rallied with a 19-0 run to even the game at force overtime, posting an 80-77 win. It marked the largest comeback in UTEP history.
UTSA (8-10, 2-3 Conference USA) heads into the matchup with the Miners having played a pair of overtime games on the road in its last four outings, with a loss at FIU on the ledger. UTSA posted a 2-0 week last week with a win over league frontrunner Louisiana Tech and a 10-point result over Southern Miss at the Convocation Center. In the win over LA Tech, UTSA owned a 29-point lead in the second half and got a 37-point outing from Jhivvan Jackson, the nation's No. 2 scorer.
The Roadrunners are led by Jhivvan Jackson, who averages 26.0 points per game, behind the nation's leader, Marquette senior Markus Howard, who averages 27.3 points per game. Jackson adds 6.0 rebounds per game – tops among players six feet and under in C-USA – while shooting 84.2 percent from the free-throw line and leading the nation in total points (468). Jackson, who won the C-USA scoring crown in 2018-19 with 22.9 points per game, is the reigning C-USA Player of the Week after going for 60 points in a pair of UTSA wins last week.
Jackson is joined in the backcourt by junior guard Keaton Wallace, who ranks third in C-USA with 17.2 points per game. Together the pair form the nation's highest scoring duo, averaging 43.2 points per game as the only pair averaging over 40 points per game. Wallace, who averaged 20.2 points per game last year, adds 4.7 rebounds per game and an 85.1 percent clip from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Luka Barisic ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 7.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, shooting 37.7 percent form 3-point range. Junior guard Knox Hellums has averaged 6.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, while freshman point guard Erik Czumbel owns 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Byron Frohnen, who has made all 118 starts in his career, averages a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game.
The Roadrunners led C-USA with 39.8 rebounds per game, adding 14.1 assists, 13.7 turnovers, 6.4 steals and 3.1 blocks per outing. UTSA is averaging 77.9 points per game, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from distance, holding foes to a 44.3 percent clip from the field and a 32.5 percent clip from 3-point range.
UTEP (11-7, 2-3 C-USA) is coming off a 1-1 week that saw the Miners post a 76-64 win on Thursday over Southern Miss in El Paso before falling 64-61 to Louisiana Tech on Saturday. UTEP fell in its two-game Florida road swing, with FIU edging UTEP 69-67 and FAU posting a 59-56 win two days later in Boca Raton. On Wednesday, the Miners improved to 10-1 at home with the overtime win over the Roadrunners.
The Miners opened the year with an 8-1 record with wins over New Mexico State, New Mexico and UC Irvine. UTEP is averaging 68.8 points per game, holding foes to 64.1 points per game and a 40.4 shooting percentage. UTEP is shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from 3-point range, averaging 35.2 rebounds, 12.7 assists and 6.2 steals per game, blocking 3.1 shots.
UTEP is led by 6-foot-8 junior guard Bryson Williams, who is averaging 19.3 points per game to rank second in C-USA. Williams, who sat out last year as a transfer from Fresno State, adds 6.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 44.7 percent from range. Souley Boum is averaging 11.1 pints and 2.8 rebounds per game, while Daryl Edwards is sporting 10.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Efe Odigie, who averaged a double-double last year, averages 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
UTEP owns an 11-8 all-time advantage in the series with UTSA with the win on Wednesday snapping a streak of five consecutive wins from the Roadrunners. UTSA owns a 4-3 advantage in games played in San Antonio, with UTEP seeking its first win at UTSA since the 2014-15 season.
In a five-game career against UTEP, Jhivvan Jackson is averaging 17.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, while Keaton Wallace averages 15.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in his six-game career vs. UTEP. Byron Frohnen averages 6.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in his eight-game career vs. the Miners.
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