The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 96 is UTEP basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of UTEP basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 1
- Finals appearances: 1
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 4
- NCAA wins: 14
- Bids: 17
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.7
- Bids per season: 0.17
- AP Polls: 60
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 12
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 11
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UTEP basketball
Our first program with a National Championship comes in at No. 96. UTEP, previously known as Texas Western, had one of the greatest runs to win the whole thing. In 1965-66, they cut down the nets, becoming the first team with an all-Black starting five to do so. At that time, racial segregation and the civil rights movement were taking place, so it really signified something outstanding on the basketball court. In 2007, the team was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
It’s important to note that Texas Western / UTEP has had some other great moments. Head coach Don Haskins didn’t just lead them to a title. From 1961-1999, he won 719 games, taking them to 14 NCAA Tournaments. Haskins only had five losing seasons, and led them to 17 20-win seasons. He was inducted into the Hall in 1997.
And it wasn’t just that title for UTEP and Haskins. They also went to the Sweet 16 in 1964, 1967, and 1992, for some other memorable runs for the program.
And past the wins, some great players rose to outstanding NBA careers thanks to Haskins. Tim Hardaway, Tiny Archibald, and Antonio Davis all played under him, with Archibald and Hardaway both in the HOF.
Since Haskins retired before the turn of the century, things have been up and down. They went through a bunch of different coaches, with Billy Gillespie leading them to the big dance in 2004, Doc Sadler doing so in 2005, and Tony Barbee getting them there in 2010. But they haven’t been back since, and have only had four winning seasons in their last 10. It has been an up-and-down tenure for current HC Joe Golding, who took over in 2021 and has gone 81-83.
Could UTEP ever get back to its golden days? It’ll be very tough to find their next Haskins, especially playing in Conference USA in today’s day in age. But they can still be a great mid-major with the right coaching, and there is no shame in that.