Who are these UTEP Miners?

The opponent is set. Butler will play UTEP Thursday in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Let's take a quick look at the Miners and how they matchup with the Horizon League's finest.

University of Texas at El Paso

Nickname: Miners

Enrollment: 20,000

Mascot: Paydirt Pete (pictured right)

Conference: Conference USA

You Should Know: As Texas Western College they defeated the University of Kentucky in 1966 for the NCAA Championship. First all-black starting five to win a National Championship against an all-white team. Read more HERE.

Record: 26-6 (15-1)

RPI: 38

Strength of Schedule: 111

Last 10: 9-1

Last Game: L, 73-81 to Houston in the Conference USA Championship

Head coach: Tony Barbee, 4th season

Barbee is an Indianapolis native and comes from the John Calipari coaching tree. Being a Calipari disciple, UTEP runs a from of the dribble-drive offense. THIS is a quick rundown of how the dribble drive works. VERY basically, the dribble-drive offense is constant motion with perimeter players driving and kicking. The lane stays open to draw defenders and kick out for more lanes or an open jump shot.

• This is where Butler's ability to draw charges and play with good defensive positioning could really work to their advantage.

Players to know:

G Randy Culpepper

Leading scorer for the Miners who shoots a ton of threes (over 2x as many attempts as Zach Hahn) and scores 17.9 ppg. He is really the catalyst on offense and keeps coach Barbee's squad on schedule. Culpepper is instrumental in keeping UTEP's up-tempo attack moving. He's listed at 6-0 165 lbs so his size shouldn't cause much trouble for Butler.

• A team whose offense runs through a 6-0 guard? That is great news for Butler. Expect Ron Nored to get the defensive assignment on Culpepper. Nored's ability to disrupt the rhythm of opposing shooting guards and reading screens are two of his biggest strengths. This matchup could go a long way in determining the outcome of this game. If you're a Butler fan you have to feel confident in Nored's ability to slowdown just about any 6'0" player in the country.

F Derrick Caracter

Derrick Caracter is UTEP's biggest mismatch at the offensive end. Caracter is a transfer from Louisville. He was a stud coming out of high school but conditioning issues have kept him from fulfilling his potential. His size, 6-9 275 lbs, means he's too big for Willie Veasley and may be too big for Gordon Hayward. Hayward has guarded some good posts lately but none have the girth of Caracter.

• That means Matt Howard will most likely draw the defensive assignment and will need to stay out of foul trouble. Simply put, Butler doesn't have anybody with the mass to body up Caracter in a one-on-one situation. Avery Jukes and Andrew Smith will both need to be ready off the bench to give minutes and fouls. Howard has been hot/cold against quality bigs and Butler will need him to play well and draw some fouls against UTEP's interior. It's worth noting that Howard can really frustrate opponents who aren't in excellent defensive position. If he can frustrate Caracter early Butler's got a great chance to survive and advance.

C Arnett Moultrie

Moultrie is the athletic big man to go alongside Caracter's power. He should remind a lot of Butler fans of LSU's Chris Johnson from last year's first-round tournament game. His length will bother Howard on the block and he'll also create some issues on the glass.

• Two positives for Butler fans here:

1) Hayward is a good matchup with Moultrie on the defensive end.

2) Howard did work on Chris Johnson last year when he was on the floor.

Key stat to watch: Free-throw %

Butler: 74.8% (18th nationally)
UTEP: 67.2% (229th nationally)

On the surface UTEP is a mix of Butler's last two first-round opponents. Take South Alabama and LSU, put them in a blender, and you've got UTEP. That should leave Butler fans a little uneasy because of the 1-1 results in those two games.

Check the website over the next few days for plenty more on this matchup and some content from San Jose.