For most college basketball fans and even some UTEP fans the easy answer would be no way.

Heck, I wouldn’t put money on it even if I was a gambling man, but as crazy as it sounds UTEP has just enough talent and the right coach to pull off the shocker this Saturday at the FedEx Forum.

You don’t have to tell me because I know how formidable Memphis is and has been for many years now as Coach John Calipari turned the Tigers into a national basketball power.  Even under current coach Josh Pastner, Memphis continues to bring in the top recruits and has continued to keep the team atop the CUSA standings since taking over for Coach Cal.

In Memphis, the fans know they are going to make the NCAA tournament the only thing they worry about it how high or low they are going to be seeded each year.

At 19-7 the record doesn’t look overly impressive, but if you look a little deeper you will see that four of their losses have come against ranked opponents and two others have come in tough conference road losses at USM and UCF.

The Tigers are the most talented team in CUSA and seem to be hitting their stride currently on a four-game win streak (including three double-digit conference wins) as tournament time is right around the corner.  Not to mention they are undefeated in conference play and will also host the upcoming CUSA tournament next month.

On paper the Miners do not matchup well with the likes of Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford, Tarik Black among others.  To take it a bit further, the Tigers have arguably the best frontcourt and backcourt in CUSA and their athleticism is off the charts.

So why in the world do I think a team that hasn’t won on the road could pull off the unthinkable?

Call it a hunch, call it belief or call it straight-up insanity.

I know the numbers certainly don’t add up, but aside from the Marshall loss early in conference play the Miners have been in every single game even as they have remained winless on the road.

Say what you will about this being a rebuilding year and I am fully aware this team has gone through plenty of ups and downs as we have all witnessed from the start of the season to the present as the Miners prepare for their monster matchup with Memphis this weekend.

However, don’t get it twisted as much as Coach Tim Floyd knows this team has a long way to go; he and his staff are doing everything in their power to end up with the win when the clock reaches 0.0.

What the Miners lack in experience they have made up for in effort and it has shown over the last couple of months. The record doesn’t show it, but this team continues to make strides and will bring their best when they take the floor this weekend at the FedEx Forum.

Memphis will give UTEP all they can handle and it would not be shocking if the Tigers ran the Miners off the court (just ask UAB in their 79-45 loss at Memphis last Saturday).  I just don’t see that happening as this team is ready to get that road monkey off their backs and make a huge statement not only to the hometown fans but the rest of CUSA moving forward that this will be a team to be reckoned with in the years to come.

Add in the motivation to win against the top team in CUSA plus Memphis-native Gabriel McCulley’s return back home in possibly his last game versus the Tigers (barring a meeting in the CUSA tournament) and this could be the highlight of the season.

A tall task to say the least, but not impossible.

Buckle up Miner fans and get ready for this rollercoaster season to get a little more exciting.

Josh Puga can be reached at show@minerillustrated.com or you can follow him on Twitter at @jpuga1966.