Mid Major Madness: UTEP

UTEP is entering this season with it's highest expectations in years. They possess enough returning talent in order to build off of an 18-14 season, and onto a conference title. Coach Tim Floyd has fully instituted his slow tempo, defensively efficient system and will lean on his towering frontcourt to keep his team going.

Coach Floyd has recruited giants. In fact, I can't think of a team in all of college basketball that rivals the size of the Miners. The starting lineup includes senior Center John Bohannon, perhaps the best rebounder in C-USA and 7'1 Freshman Matt Wilms. Wilms is very raw offensively, but uses his size very well and has already shown flashes of his excellent defense. Bohannon was 84th in the nation last year in Defensive Rebounding % and 82nd in Block %. He's continuously worked on his offensive game and will be looking to match last years output of shooting 58% from the field.

Julian Washburn may be their top option on the offensive end. The athletic swingman stands at 6'8, but can run the court like a point guard. His issue is a lack of a consistent outside game as he was an atrocious 9 for 47 behind the arc last season. He'll no doubt shoot better than that or will just have to abandon his outside game entirely as he was otherwise efficient last season. McKenzie Moore is the team's other main offensive weapon. Like Washburn, the 6'7 forward struggled from outside last season, but has shown tons of potential. He'll be thrust into a starting role this season and should be adjusted into Floyd's system after transferring from Junior College. C.J. Cooper is the only man that gets minutes on the team and is under 6'7. At just 6 feet tall, Cooper will be the starting PG, but was often used last season.

Conference USA doesn't have any elite teams this season, but the league has about 5 teams that have legitimate shots at contending for the title. La Tech, Southern Miss, UAB, and Middle Tennessee State will give the Miners fits, but in the end, I think their shutdown defense and size will pave the way for an automatic NCAA tournament berth.