There is one simple way to explain the magnitude of UTEP's second-round WNIT matchup with Arkansas State: If this tournament was seeded, the Miners and Red Wolves would be No. 1s.
With an RPI of 37, UTEP is the highest-ranked team in the field. Arkansas State's 43rd is third. And presumably, they were two of the top teams left out of the NCAAs.
The Miners' mark of 27-4 is the best remaining record in the WNIT, Arkansas State is next at 27-5. Neither lost a home game.
Both teams won their conference regular-season title (the Red Wolves are in the Sun Belt, the league that lost five teams to Conference USA), both were upset in the semifinals of their tournament, both are led by the winningest coach in program history.