New Mexico
UTEP to face Northern New Mexico Saturday night
EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP men’s basketball team (9-3) will look to extend its winning streak to four while closing out nonconference play when it plays host to NAIA member Northern New Mexico (4-17) at 7 p.m. MT Saturday.
The contest will count for the Miners, but it is being played as an exhibition for the Eagles.
UTEP has been idle since toppling Yale, 75-74, to take home the title for the second straight season at the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Dec. 21.
That is a feat that hadn’t been achieved since a three-year run (2012-14) under then head coach Tim Floyd.
UTEP is surging with its three-game winning streak while also claiming six of the past seven. The last three victories have all been by six points or less, marking the first time it did so since the 2021-22 campaign (69-64, UTSA, Jan. 20, 2022, 59-54, at UTSA, Jan. 23, 2022 and 70-68, FAU, Jan. 27, 2022).
That triumph against FAU came on an Alfred Hollins tip-in at the buzzer, which made Sportscenter’s top-10. UTEP is 6-0 at home, its best start in the Sun City since bolting out at 8-0 (finished 11-7) in 2022-23.
Overall, the Miners’ 9-3 record is their top mark through 12 games since also opening at 9-3 in 2019-20. UTEP hasn’t been 10-3 since 2010-11. The Eagles have lost three straight and are 1-17 on the road.
The tilt is the fourth of a seven-contest homestand (3-0 thus far), which is the longest in seven years. Jon Teicher (44th year) and Steve Yellen (22nd year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio available on the UTEP Miners App as well.
It will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with Andy Morgan and former Miner assistant coach Bobby Braswell describing the action.
For tickets, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.
KEY STATS ON UTEP
The Miners lead the country in steals per game (11.0) and turnover forced per contest (18.5) while rating second nationally in 3-point shooting (42.2 percent). UTEP is 9-1 when leading at the half, 7-1 with more points from its bench than the opposition and undefeated (6-0) when yielding less than 70 points.
MAKE ROOM FOR THE MINERS
Thanks to winning three straight, six of seven and standing at 9-3 overall on the season, UTEP entered the College Insider Inc. Mid-Major Top 25 (ranked 25th) this week. The poll is voted on by 31 Division I head coaches.
SERIES HISTORY: UTEP LEADS, 2-0
UTEP is taking on Northern New Mexico College for the third time, with all of the meetings happening since the 2021-22 campaign. The Miners blasted the Eagles, 88-53, on Nov. 16, 2021, in the first meeting before knocking them off, 87-50, on Dec. 3, 2022.
GET TO KNOW NORTHERN NEW MEXICO (4-17, 3-1 HOME, 1-16 AWAY, 0-0 NEUTRAL)
Northern New Mexico College competes at the NAIA level and is in Espanola, N.M. Even though the college has existed since 1909, it did not launch an athletic department until 2005. Competition officially began for men’s basketball in 2009. The Eagles have played a ton of games (21) already, standing 4-17 on the year. They have spent the majority of that on the road, with a 1-16 mark. The contest vs. UTEP, however, will be played as an exhibition for NNMC. The Eagles are under the direction of third-year head coach and athletic director Jesus Aragon, who is 20-48 in that timeframe. NNMC is putting up 75.1 points per game, but it allows 75.0. The Eagles shoot 47.9 percent from the floor, including a stout 42.6 percent from distance. Including the matchup with the Miners, NNMC has only eight contests remaining on the campaign. Northern New Mexico College was founded in 1909 as the Spanish American Normal School, with a goal of providing teacher training for the area’s Spanish speakers. It has since grown to an enrollment of 1,200. Notable alumni include Jacob Torres (engineer and plant scientist at the Kennedy Space Center) and Rose Simpson (artist)
LOOKING BACK (AT UTEP 75, YALE 74)
Tournament MVP Otis Frazier III tallied a team-high 15 points and made a game-saving blocked shot with two seconds left, to help lift UTEP to a 75-74 victory against Yale as the Miners won the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational for the second straight season on Dec. 21. Devon Barnes (12 points, two assists, two steals), Don Haskins award winner Ahamad Bynum (11 points), David Terrell Jr. (11 points, four rebounds, four assists) and all-tournament team member Kevin Kalu (10 points, eight rebounds) all got after it as well. The reigning Ivy League champions didn’t make it easy, though, with the Bulldogs fighting back from a 12-point halftime deficit (45-33) to climb within one on three occasions, but UTEP never relinquished that lead.
BACK-TO-BACK TITLES
UTEP claimed the WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational for the second straight season, something that hasn’t happened since a three-year run (2012-14) under then head coach Tim Floyd.
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM FOR A REASON
Otis Frazier III was a member of the 2024 CUSA All-Defensive team, and he showed why in the waning seconds of the Miners’ victory against Yale. He rejected Bez Mbeng’s game-winning shot with 2.3 seconds remaining. RS-freshman Babacar Mbengue then did such a good job disrupting the inbounds play that Yale couldn’t get a shot off on the ensuing play.
SIZZLING FROM 3-POINT LAND
UTEP nailed a season-best 64.7 percent from distance vs. Yale, including a ridiculous 88.9 percent (8-9) in the opening frame. The 64.7 percent ties as the sixth best all time at UTEP. The eight triples made equaled the most in a stanza for the Miners this year, as they also did so vs. Sul Ross State (Nov. 4) in the opener while the 11 are the most vs. a DI opponent this season.
SOARING IN THE SHOOTING RANKINGS
UTEP heads into the Northern New Mexico College affair rated second in the country at 3-point shooting with a readout of 42.2 (94-223). Having the top 3-point shooter in the country (Ahamad Bynum), who has nailed a sensational 63.8 percent (30-47) from beyond-the-arc.
WE’RE GOING STREAKING
UTEP has won three straight and six of the past seven contests, with the lone setback in that timeframe a three-point setback (77-74) at perennial ACC power Louisville on Dec. 11. The effort has moved the Orange and Blue to 9-3 on the year, equaling the best start in five years.
ROLLING AT HOME
UTEP is 6-0 on the year at home, with the Miners’ biggest deficit in those contests standing at 3-0 in an eventual 88-72 vanquishing of Seattle U on Dec. 7. It’s the best start at home since opening 8-0 in the Sun City in 2022-23.
AIMING FOR BEST START IN 14 YEARS
UTEP hasn’t won 10 of its first 13 contests of the campaign since opening 10-3 (eventually 13-3) in 2010-11. That year, the Miners were 3-2 through five tilts before winning 10 of the next 11. UTEP finished the campaign at 25-10 and qualified for the NIT.
STRONG NONCONFERENCE EFFORT
UTEP hasn’t won 10 games in nonconference play since the 2013-14 campaign. That year, the Miners headed into league play at 10-5.
CONSISTENT ONE TOO
With a victory against Northern New Mexico College, the Miners will have posted five wins in both November and December for the first time since 2010-11.
OPPONENTS SLIPPING AT THE LINE
After the first 10 UTEP opponents all shot better than 70 percent at the free-throw line (181-240, 75.4 percent) from the charity stripe, Jackson State fell shy of that at 69.2 percent (18-26) at the line. Yale was even worse, connecting on just 58.8 percent (10-17).
ODDS & ENDS
Kevin Kalu has hit double figures in consecutive contests for the first time in his 103-game career with the Miners. David Terrell Jr. has posted 10+ points in back-to-back games, a first for him as well. Ahamad Bynum has done so in five straight affairs, the longest of his DI career (including freshman year at DePaul). The Miners have registered at least seven steals in all 12 games this year and in 44 of the past 46 contests dating to the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign.
THIRD FOE BELOW 20 PERCENT ON TREYS
Jackson State was held to 12.5 percent (3-24) from 3-point range on Dec. 20, the lowest 3-point percentage (min. 10 attempts) by a Miner DI opponent since NM State shot just 10.5 percent (2-19) in a 25-point UTEP romp (74-49) at home last year on Feb. 10, 2024. JSU became the third UTEP foe to finish worse than 20 percent (min. 10 3PA) on triples this year. It previously happened against UTPB (3-17, 17.6 percent, Nov. 12) and at Louisville (6-34, 17.6 percent). UTEP did so a total of three times last year.
TIME TO BOX OUT AND REBOUND
UTEP has allowed a combined 33 offensive rebounds the past two tilts, with JSU (opponent season-high 17) and Yale (16) hitting the boards hard. The Miners have been outscored by a total of 23 points (34-11) on second-chance points in that timeframe, which helped fuel comeback bids by both programs. The 33 offensive rebounds yielded are the most over a two-game span since UTEP allowed a whopping 42 against Alcorn (21) and CSU Bakersfield (21) early in the 2022-23 campaign.
TALKING DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Kevin Kalu became the first Miner this season to record a double-double after finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Jackson State on Dec. 20. He was shy both one point and one rebound of matching his career high in each category. Furthermore, he joins Otis Frazier III (one) as the lone Miners on this year’s roster to record a double-double at the DI level (including previous stops for transfers). Overall, Kalu leads the team in rebounding (5.7-tied 15th) while placing sixth on the squad in scoring (6.4 ppg).
TERRELL JR. MORE LIKE HIMSELF AT THE LINE
Sophomore David Terrell Jr. started the season at 5-16 (31.3 percent) on free throws, but he has started to regain his form the past two tilts. He was 5-7 (career-high tying attempts) at the charity stripe vs. Jackson State before following that up by sinking 5-6 (83.3 percent in the championship contest vs. Yale. That puts him at 10-13 (76.9 percent) in that timeframe.
SHUTTING THEM DOWN
UTEP moved to 6-0 on the season when allowing 65 points or less in a game in the 67-61 vanquishing of Jackson State on Dec. 20. The Miners’ scoring defense is at 66.4 ppga (second CUSA/62nd NCAA) heading into the matchup with Northern New Mexico College.
WINNING CLOSE
With the one-point victory against Yale, UTEP improved to 5-2 on the year in two-possession games (decided by six points or less). That includes a mark of 3-0 at home in the situation. The Miners have also claimed three straight contests by six points or fewer since the 2021-22 campaign.
UP NEXT
UTEP will christen its 16-game Conference USA slate while also ringing in the New Year when it plays host to preseason league favorite LA Tech at 7 p.m. MT on Thursday. The Miners will also face defending regular-season champion Sam Houston State (Jan. 4) and I-10 rival NM State (Jan. 11) to wrap up the homestand. It will mark the first time since the 1991-92 season that UTEP has its first three conference contests at home. Jon Teicher (44th year) and Steve Yellen (22nd year) will be on the call on “The Home of UTEP Basketball” 600 ESPN El Paso, with audio also airing on the UTEP Miners app. All three contests will also be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required), with Andy Morgan and former Miner assistant coach Bobby Braswell describing the action. For tickets, please visit www.UTEPMiners.com/tickets or call (915) 747-UTEP.
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New Mexico
Think New Mexico Hosts Four 2026 Summer Leadership Interns To Assist In Researching And Developing Policy Proposals – Los Alamos Daily Post
Gathered for a luncheon Tuesday at La Plazuela at La Fonda Tuesday in Santa Fe, front row from left, Think New Mexico 2026 Summer Leadership Intern Viviana Ornelas, Board President Roberta Ramo and Intern Marly Fisher. Back row from left, Think New Mexico Field Director Noah Apodaca, Intern Ian Hernandez, Think New Mexico Board Secretary Liddie Martinez, Intern Awlen Salazar and Healthcare Reform Director Lauren Leland. Courtesy/TNM
Gathered Tuesday at La Plazuela at La Fonda in Santa Fe, front row from left, Think New Mexico 2026 Summer Leadership Intern Viviana Ornelas, Board President Roberta Ramo and Intern Marly Fisher. Back row from left, Think New Mexico Intern Ian Hernandez, Think New Mexico Board Secretary Liddie Martinez and Intern Awlen Salazar. Courtesy/TNM
Think New Mexico News:
Each summer Think New Mexico offers four paid Leadership Internship positions to college or graduate students. Interns have the opportunity to meet with Think New Mexico board members and leaders in state government, as well as to assist Think New Mexico’s staff in researching and developing policy proposals.
The 2026 Summer Leadership Interns include:
Marly Fisher grew up in Albuquerque and graduated from Albuquerque Academy in 2023. As a senior in high school, she and three peers spearheaded a successful effort to pass a bill implementing period products in New Mexico’s public schools. She has since interned for Representatives Melanie Stansbury and Gabe Vasquez. Fisher is a senior in the dual degree program between Sciences Po Paris and Columbia, majoring in Political Philosophy and History, and serving as Senior Editor of the Columbia Political Review. She is passionate about improving education in New Mexico.
Ian Hernandez was born and raised in Santa Fe and graduated in the top 1% of his class from the MASTERS Program Early College Charter School. He was a 2023 recipient of the Davis New Mexico Scholarship, which allowed him to attend and graduate from the University of Denver this past June. Hernandez earned his B.A. in Socio-Legal Studies and History and hopes to begin law school in the fall of 2027. As an undergraduate, He interned with U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO). He also worked as a teen journalist for the Santa Fe New Mexican, and as a teacher and tutor for Breakthrough Santa Fe. Hernandez hopes to use his education and life experiences to improve the lives of as many people living in New Mexico and the American Southwest as possible.
Viviana Ornelas is a Santa Fe native who graduated as Valedictorian of her Capital High School class. She received Davis and LANL scholarships to study at the University of Chicago, where she is earning a B.A. in Psychology and Public Policy with a minor in Education and Society. In high school, Viviana led a chapter of the New Mexico Dream Team. As an undergraduate student, she has worked as a research assistant in Dr. Levine’s Cognitive Development Lab where she helped conduct studies to understand the relationship between solving math word problems and spatial skills. Ornelas has also worked as a tutor for the Neighborhood Schools Program in Chicago and a teacher for Breakthrough Santa Fe. She hopes to return to New Mexico to pursue a career in education policy.
Awlen Salazar is a graduate of New Mexico State University (NMSU), where he earned a B.A. in Political Science with minors in Public Administration & Policy and Public Law. He is pursuing a Master of Public Policy at the University of New Mexico. Throughout his time at NMSU, Salazar was a part of the Associated Students of NMSU, where he held roles in the legislative and executive branches as public relations officer and as one of three standing committee chairs for the Senate. At the start of his senior year, Salazar re-chartered the NMSU College Democrats after the club’s two-year hiatus, and he served as President of the club until his graduation in May 2026. Since then, he continues to be involved in the Young Democrats of New Mexico, where he now serves as National Committee Representative. Off campus, Salazar worked closely with nonprofit sector leaders throughout Doña Ana County. In the summer of 2025, he interned for the Doña Ana County Resilience Leaders, where he helped advocate for policies to mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and expand access to affordable housing. Salazar also worked with NM Comunidades en Accion y De Fé (NM CAFé) as Social Media Associate.
Think New Mexico is New Mexico’s think tank – a results-oriented think tank whose mission is to improve the lives of all New Mexicans, especially those who lack a strong voice in the political process. It fulfills this mission by educating the public, the media, and policymakers about some of the most serious challenges facing New Mexico and by developing and advocating for enduring, effective, evidence-based solutions.
Its approach is to perform and publish sound, nonpartisan, independent research. Unlike many think tanks, Think New Mexico does not subscribe to any particular ideology. Instead, because New Mexico is at or near the bottom of so many national rankings, its focus is on promoting workable solutions that will lift all New Mexicans up.
Consistent with its nonpartisan approach, Think New Mexico’s board is composed of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. They are statesmen and stateswomen, who have no agenda other than to see New Mexico succeed. They are also the brain trust of this think tank.
Think New Mexico began its operations Jan. 1, 1999. It is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In order to maintain its independence, Think New Mexico does not accept state government funding. However, contributions from individuals, businesses, and foundations are encouraged, appreciated, and tax-deductible.
As an independent, statewide, results-oriented think tank, Think New Mexico measures its success based on changes in law or policy that it helps to achieve.
Think New Mexico’s results include:
- Making full-day kindergarten accessible to every child in New Mexico;
- Repealing the state’s regressive tax on food and successfully defeating efforts to reimpose it;
- Creating a Strategic Water Reserve to protect and restore New Mexico’s rivers;
- Establishing New Mexico’s first state-supported Individual Development Accounts to alleviate the state’s persistent poverty;
- Redirecting millions of dollars a year out of the state lottery’s excessive operating costs and into college scholarships
- Reforming title insurance to reduce closing costs for homebuyers and homeowners who refinance their mortgages
- Winning passage of three constitutional amendments to professionalize and streamline New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission
- Modernizing the state’s regulation of taxis, limos, shuttles, and moving companies
- Creating a one-stop online portal to facilitate business fees and filings
- Establishing a user-friendly health care transparency website where New Mexicans can find the cost and quality of common medical procedures at any hospital in the state
- Enacting the New Mexico Work and Save Act to make voluntary state-sponsored Individual Retirement Accounts accessible to New Mexicans who lack access to retirement savings through their jobs;
- Making the state’s infrastructure spending transparent by revealing the legislative sponsors of every capital project;
- Ending predatory lending by reducing the maximum annual interest rate on small loans from 175% to 36%;
- Repealing the tax on Social Security for middle and lower-income New Mexicans with incomes under $100,000 as individuals or $150,000 as married couples;
- Enhancing the training and transparency of local school boards;
- Leading a campaign to make financial literacy a high school graduation requirement, now in place in 46 districts reaching nearly 48% of New Mexico students; and
- Establishing a $2 billion permanent trust fund for Medicaid.
Think New Mexico is headquarters in the historic Greer House at 505 Don Gaspar in Santa Fe, at the corner of Paseo de Peralta and Don Gaspar, directly across the street from the state Capitol. To learn more, visit thinknewmexico.org.
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