Scouting Report: UTSA Men’s Basketball

This evening, UTEP begins their only home and home series in C-USA play as they battle UTSA at The Convocation Center in San Antonio. The Roadrunners enter the series with a 7-8 overall record, including 3-5 in league games. They are riding a two game win streak after sweeping their meeting with Southern Miss.

To say that UTSA is having a disappointing season is an understatement. The team, coached by Steve Henson is led by senior guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace. Simply put, they are two of the best guards in C-USA and they have always played well against the Miners. Jackson 19.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg has 2,328 career points while Wallace 14.5 ppg and 5.1 rpg is the school's number three all-time scorer. Add 6-11 sophomore big man Jacob Germany 10.1 ppg and 6.3 rpg and you have the nucleus of the team's scoring. It is almost impossible to shut down Jackson and Wallace. They will get their points but for UTEP too be successful, they will need to shut down the rest of the team. Germany will give the Miners another problem to deal with, since they are still without Efe Odigie due to a concussion. Tydus Verhoeven will need to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, or Germany could have a monster series against UTEP. Rounding out the projected starting lineup are former Akron guard Eric Parrish (6.5 ppg and 4.5 rpg) and redshirt junior forward Adrian Rodriguez (2.3 ppg and 2.3 rpg).

Coming off the bench, redshirt junior forward Cedrick Alley Jr (5.8 ppg /3.8 rpg), sophomore guard Erik Czumbel (5.0 ppg), and freshman guard Jordan Ivy-Curry (6.9 ppg) will all be threats to score. Ivy-Curry scored more than 2,000 points in high school and he could be the next great guard after Jackson and Wallace leave the program.

UTSA has won three of their last five games and they will try to stay hot against a UTEP team that has been a mixed bag all season. The Roadrunners have also won seven of their last eight games at home, so the Miners will have their work cut out for them to win on the road. Coach Henson, along with Rodriguez and Germany met the local media earlier this week to talk about the team and their upcoming series with the Miners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEqpLgVNgzc