For two days, the Miners wrote a Cinderella story that had them punching their ticket to the big dance, the NCAA tournament, for the first time since 2010. That fairytale ended March 16, as UTEP suffered a gut-wrenching loss to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and a chance for the NCAA tournament.
UTEP finished the season with 16 wins and 15 losses and had to win the conference title to secure an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament, as their regular-season record was not good enough to qualify them.
Facing must-win circumstances, the Miners were able to gut out a tough opening-round win March 14 against the Liberty Flames, a team UTEP beat on the road.