UTEP MINERS.... ROAD TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT...

by Mariana Narvaez

Its been quite a season for the UTEP Basket ball team. Nobody knew when the season began that Barbee and his men would come along so far... to be one of 65 teams with the biggest of dreams..

This morning, they have traveled to San Jose, California where they will get ready to play Butler, ranked #5... Now even thogh UTEP is in fact ranked 12 they still believe they can suceed if they focus.

Junior Myron Strong said, "We're very excited -- very, very excited. Now it's like a new season. Everything we did before means nothing."

Both teams are very balanced. Butler has made four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. They have won at least 26 games in each of the last four seasons. They have been ranked in the Top 25 each year since 2006-2007. The program has won 20 or more games in 12 of the last 14 seasons.

So in a way, its an honor that our MINERS have the chance to play with the big boys.

Junior Jeremy Williams "Everybody always dreams of going to the NCAA Tournament," "We're here now. This is a new season and now we are up there with the cream of the crop. Saturday was tough but every time you lose it is a lesson learned." Williams stated.

So put your orange shirt on and support our El Paso boys...because its going to be a great and bumpy ride, where hopefully the Miners make there dreams into reality.

When, where: 2:55 p.m. MDT Thursday, HP Pavilion, San Jose, Calif.

--On TV: CBS. On radio: KOFX 92.3 FM.

--Notes: UTEP was riding a 16-game winning streak before falling to Houston on Saturday in the Conference USA tournament final. Butler currently has the nation's longest winning streak at 20 games.

Tickets
--The Miner Athletic Club Season Ticket Office will process all NCAA men's basketball first/second round ticket orders (Brumbelow Building, Room 109).
--Ticket prices: $95 per ticket/per session (Limit of two tickets per account)