Live Stats  |  Game Notes

EL PASO, Texas – Following a hard-fought four-point win over UMKC Saturday afternoon, the University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball heads west to face UTEP on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. CT from Don Haskins Arena.
 
FIRST TIP
 
Tuesday will mark only the second-ever meeting between the Cardinals and Miners. UTEP won the inaugural showdown, 81-65, on Glory Road on Dec. 8, 2014.
 
SCOUTING THE UTEP MINERS
 
207-18: 3-6 overall, 0-0 C-USA
Last Game: W 76-69 vs. Washington State (12/9)
Head Coach: Phil Johnson
Key Players:
#25 Keith Frazier – 9 GP, 14.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 36.1 3PT%
#41 Matt Willms – 5 GP, 13.4 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 11 BLKS
#2 Omega Harris – 9 GP, 12.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 21 ASTS, 92.6 FT%
Summary: UTEP has not played since a 76-69 win over Washington State on Dec. 9. The Miners have enjoyed life at home, with five of their nine contests from the Don Haskins Center. UTEP began the season 1-5, following a 14-point loss to fellow SLC foe, Lamar, on Nov. 27. Once interim head coach, Phil Johnson, stepped in, the Miners have gone 2-1 with statement wins over New Mexico State and Washington State.
 
On the season, Keith Frazier is 20th in Conference USA with 14.1 points per game and 12th with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Frazier averages 2.4 three-pointers a game - good for 7th in C-USA - and he is 17th with a 44.6 field-goal percentage. Trey Wade's 1.2 blocks per game rank him 12th in the conference. As a team, the Miners are 12th in the conference in scoring margin (-0.4) and 13th in rebounding margin (-4.1).
 
THE CARDINAL FILE
 
2017-18: 5-3 overall, 0-0 SLC
Last Game: W 77-73 vs. UMKC (12/16)
Head Coach: Ken Burmeister
Key Players:
#3 Simi Socks – 8 GP, 14.8 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 7 BLKS, 81.6 FT%
#13 Charles Brown III – 6 GP, 12.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 55.2 FG%
#41 Shawn Johnson – 8 GP, 11.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 22 STLS, 13 BLKS, 21 ASTS
Summary: UIW pushed its winning streak to two following a 77-73 win over visiting UMKC last Saturday. Simi Socks scored a season-high 20 points and Shawn Johnson registered his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson, the senior out of New Orleans, enters the UTEP game 14 points shy of becoming the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.
 
With his three blocked shots against the Kangaroos, Johnson is second in the Southland Conference with 2.7 steals per game and T-3rd with 1.7 blocks per game with a team-best 13 swats. He is part of a Cardinal defense that is T-4th nationally with 7.0 blocks per game. The Cardinals are tied with Illinois-Chicago and trail Minnesota (7.5), Michigan State (8.1), and Louisville (8.5). UIW has played in the fewest amount of games among the four programs.
 
Socks is 15th in the SLC with 14.8 points per game, while Christian Peevy is 19th with 12.9. On the boards, Johnson ranks fifth in the conference with 6.8 rebounds per game. As a team, UIW is sixth in the SLC in scoring margin (+4.6) and last in rebounding margin (-4.3).
 
UP NEXT

UIW makes at (RV) Florida, a team that was ranked as high as No. 5 this season, on Friday, Dec. 22 at 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

STAY TUNED

The Cardinals open Southland Conference play at McNeese on Thursday, Dec. 28 at 6:30 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on Incarnate Word Athletics visit uiwcardinals.com. Be sure to follow Incarnate Word Athletics on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like Incarnate Word Athletics on Facebook at UIW Athletics.