The Arizona Wildcats had a disappointing season last year, but a strong recruiting class brought in by head coach Sean Miller have fans brimming with excitement.
The Wildcats opened the season with an 82-73 win against Charleston Southern and welcomes the University of Texas-El Paso Miners to the McKale Center in Tucson on Thursday for their second game.
The two teams haven't played in over 15 years and it will be the 90th all-time matchup, according to the Associated Press.
Last year Arizona did not make the NCAA tournament and were instead invited to the NIT, where they lost in the first round to Bucknell. The new roster includes a range of high-prized recruits, including freshmen Kaleb Tarczewski, Grant Jerrett and Brandon Ashley, who will all add size and strength to the Wildcats.
In the opening game, the freshmen played a big part, with Ashley scoring 12 points and adding a team-high eight rebounds. Senior forward Solomon Hill was also solid for the Wildcats, scoring fourteen points and adding five rebounds.
"In a game like tonight, especially our season opener, you rely on your veterans," Miller said.
The team also relied on senior guard Mark Lyons, who transferred from Xavier in the offseason. He scored a team-high 17 points in the win, including 15 in the second half.
"It was tough for me at first," Lyons said, "but I've been there, I've done it, so I just had to bounce back. My teammates, they picked me up, told me everything was OK and I kept playing."
Arizona has done an excellent job of moving the ball around and playing unselfish basketball, ranking third in the nation with 25 assists.
UTEP enters the game following an opening 69-49 win against Oral Roberts, but has lost "16 of 17 on the road to ranked teams since the start of 1996-97," according to the Associated Press.
Head coach Tim Floyd has a solid roster of veterans and young players, including center John Bohannon, who scored 17 points and added four rebounds in the opening win. The team also amassed 11 steals and scored 22 points on turnovers.
"I have great respect for (Arizona's) coach and players, one of whom I recruited very heavily at USC in Solomon Hill," Floyd told UTEP's official website. "I know that the atmosphere will resemble what we see in our league (Conference USA) at Memphis. Every person on the floor for us will be challenged at his position by one of the better talents in the country."
The Miners have also benefited from the play of brothers Julian and Chris Washburn, who each had three steals and combined for 25 points against Oral Roberts.
Arizona has done a good job protecting the ball in recent years and only had eight turnovers in the opening game. For UTEP to have a chance against the Wildcats they will need to pressure the ball on defense and play aggressively on offense.
"This will be the first time these teams play since Arizona won 90-70 in Tucson on Dec. 16, 1995," according to the Associated Press.
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