Aggies Men’s Hoops Have Owned Miners in Recent Rivalry

Tomorrow night, UTEP will host NMSU in the first of potentially three Battle of I-10 games between the two programs. For the Miners, they will try and to reverse what has been one of the most lopsided trends in the history of this rivalry.

The Aggies enter tomorrow's game against the Miners having won 12 of its last 13 contests over their I-10 rivals. The only loss NMSU suffered was a 65-50 defeat on November 12th, 2019. In that game, Bryson Williams led the Miners with 19 points while Jordan Lathon added 13. Prior to that, UTEP's last win over New Mexico State was a 77-76 thriller at the Don Haskins Center on November 22nd, 2014. The Miners were down by 15 points, before they rallied to win in front of 11,127 fans. Vince Hunter had a double-double for the UTEP, while Cedric Lang scored 15, Omega Harris added 13, and Julian Washburn had 11.

UTEP trails the all-time series against NMSU 120-103, including a 19-25 record against the Aggies since Don Haskins retired. The two teams did not play during the 2020-21 COVID season, since New Mexico State was not allowed to practice or play at the Pan American Center. In fact, the Aggies spent the final month that season playing their home games at Eastwood High School.

What will be most fun about tomorrow night's game will be the environment at the Haskins Center. UTEP has been promoting a "Sell-Out The Don" for the Aggies, and as of Friday afternoon, more than 10,500 tickets had been issued for the game. When the two teams tip off, the game will most likely be a sell out. If the crowd resembles that 2014 game, the Miners could have the 6th-man advantage that they have need.