SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men's basketball team will welcome UTEP to the Convocation Center this Saturday, Feb. 11, for the second meeting between the two schools this season. Saturday's game is set to tip off at 3 p.m., will be streamed on CUSA.tv and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
The Roadrunners (7-18, 1-13) will look to snap a midseason skid as it welcomes UTEP to the Convocation Center for a Saturday afternoon matinee. UTEP (11-13, 4-9 C-USA) has lost five straight and is coming off of a home loss to Charlotte on Thursday night.
Leading the Roadrunners
UTSA is led on offense by a quartet of double-digit scorers through 25 games of action. Leading the way is JUCO transfer Japhet Medor who churns out a team-high 12.5 points per game. Medor not only leads the team in scoring but also in assists (77) and steals (27) while pulling down 3.3 boards per contest – the fourth most by any Roadrunner. Medor has three 20+ point outings this season and scored a career-high 30 points against Rice on 1/16. Medor leads C-USA in free throws attempted.
Flanking Medor in the backcourt is fellow JUCO newcomer guard John Buggs III. Buggs chips in 10.4 points per game and he has two 20+ point outings this year. Buggs hit a buzzer-beating three against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 5 to give the Roadrunners its lone C-USA victory. Freshman DJ Richards also averages double-digit points as the rookie has upped his average to 10.8 points per game. Richards, a two-time C-USA Freshman of the Week (D12, D19), is shooting the three ball at a 35.5% clip which is the second-best best on the team to Buggs who shoots 38.9%. Richards is second on the team in rebounding, pulling in 4.8 boards a game.
Senior stalwart Jacob Germany is the final double-digit scorer and averages 12.1 points per game. The fourth-year Roadrunner out of Kingston, Okla. is pulling in 8.0 rebounds per contest too, the third-most by any player in C-USA. Germany, a 2021-22 Conference USA All-Conference Honorable Mention, adds a team-high 16 total blocks to the mix. Germany has seven double-doubles this season.
Overall, the Roadrunners are shooting 39.7 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 44.4 percent. UTSA averages 67.2 points, 35.4 rebounds, 10.6 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game as a team.
Scouting the Miners
UTEP's new-look roster is led by two transfer guards as former Southern Miss guard Tae Hardy paces the Miners, averaging 13.0 points per contest while backcourt mate Mario McKinney Jr., who started his career at Missouri, chips in 8.9 points.
Down low, the pair of Calvin Solomon and Ze'Rik Onyema crash the glass as each average over four rebounds per game. Point guard Shamar Givance runs the show for UTEP as the 5-10 senior averages 4.2 assists per game, putting his teammates in the best position.
Solomon (49) and Givance (42) are active on defense as they lead the team in steals while Georgetown transfer Jabari Sibley leads the team in blocks with 13.
Overall, the Miners are shooting 44.8 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 43.2 percent. UTEP averages 67.9 points, 35.5 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 9.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game as a team.
Series History
Saturday afternoon's game between the Roadrunners and the Miners will be the 26th meeting between the two schools all-time. UTEP and UTSA met earlier this season in El Paso with the Miners winning the game, 69-57. UTEP leads the series, 15-10, but the Roadrunners are 6-4 in games played in San Antonio.
Up Next
After a week that featured just one game, UTSA will be back to a regularly scheduled slate of hoops as the Roadrunners will next head to Rice on Thursday, Feb. 16 to face off with the Owls. Next Thursday's matchup will tip off at 7 p.m., will be streamed ESPN+ and will be broadcast on Ticket 760 AM.
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