THE TIP-OFF: Fresh off a 65-37 rout of UAB that lifted them into sole possession of second place in the Conference USA standings, UTEP (14-6, 7-1 C-USA) plays at Southern Miss (8-15, 2-6 C-USA) for the first time since 1952 ... the Miners are 4-4 on the road this season, but 3-1 in league play ... Southern Miss is 7-6 at home, including a 2-2 mark in C-USA action ... the Golden Eagles beat UCF, 59-51, on Wednesday at the 8,095-seat Reed Green Coliseum ... Southern Miss has also defeated Tulane (67-55) at home and lost to Memphis (85-68) and Rice (67-61) ... with a win, UTEP would be 8-1 in conference play for the first time since 1983-84 and only the second time in school history ... a victory would also give the Miners victories in four of their first five conference road games for the first time since 1955-56, when they were members of the now-defunct Border Conference.
ABOUT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Southern Miss snapped a six-game losing skid with a 59-51 win over UCF on Wednesday in Hattiesburg ... the Golden Eagles held the Golden Knights to 33.3 percent shooting in the second half in erasing a 25-21 deficit at the midway point ... Southern Miss has given up 109 points (54.5 avg.) to SMU and UCF in the last two games after yielding an average of 74.6 in the previous five contests, all losses ... freshman guard Courtney Beasley (11.0 ppg) is the only Golden Eagle with a double-figure scoring average ... Beasley is averaging 14.1 points in conference games ... junior guard Travis Hall ranks third in C-USA in free throw percentage for league games only (.864) ... Southern Miss is second in Conference USA in free throw percentage (.714) and third in field goal percentage (.443) for league contests.
SERIES NOTES: UTEP leads the series 3-2 ... the Golden Eagles defeated the Miners in the only previous meeting in Hattiesburg on Dec. 20, 1952 (90-61) ... the last time UTEP faced Southern Miss was on Dec. 4, 1968 in El Paso, a 92-71 Miner victory.
THE LAST MEETING: Andrew White scored 18 points to lead five Miners in double figures as UTEP beat Southern Miss 92-71 on Dec. 4, 1968 at the El Paso County Coliseum ... future NBA Hall of Famer Nate Archibald added 17 points for UTEP ... Wendell Ladner poured in 29 points for Southern Miss ... a 13-2 run by UTEP in the first half turned a 16-12 lead into a 29-14 bulge ... the Miners led 43-31 at the half ... UTEP shot 52.3 percent from the field and outrebounded Southern Miss 42-24, as Mike Switzer pulled down nine boards.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Recapping Wednesday’s Conference USA games ... Morris Almond racked up 36 points as Rice won at Marshall, 78-75 in overtime ... Charles Ramsdell buried three three-pointers and collected 15 points in Tulsa’s 55-51 victory at SMU ... Chris Craft hit two triples during a 10-1 second half run, helping Southern Miss erase a seven-point deficit on the way to a 59-51 triumph over UCF in Hattiesburg.
LAST GAME: UTEP scored the game’s first 10 points en route to a 65-37 pounding of UAB before a crowd of 10,983 at the Don Haskins Center on Wednesday ... UAB registered the second-lowest point total in a game in school history. The Blazers scored 36 points at Southern Miss on Jan. 12, 2002, a 50-36 loss ... the Blazers shot 23.7 percent on the night and were crushed on the boards, 51-27, as John Tofi pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds for the Miners ... Tofi and Jason Williams each scored 14 points for UTEP, which shot 46 percent and committed only 15 turnovers while facing UAB’s “40 minutes of hell” pressure defense ... the Blazers entered the game averaging over 22 takeaways per outing ... Marvett McDonald, UAB’s leading scorer at 14.7 points per game, was held scoreless for the first time as a Blazer. The senior guard missed all nine of his shot attempts ... another Blazer, sophomore guard Paul Delaney, was 0-for-8 from the floor ... UTEP also did a nice job of disrupting UAB senior guard Squeaky Johnson. He had a 128-35 assist/turnover ratio entering the game, but finished with one assist, two turnovers and no steals in 31 minutes ... Johnson was the only Blazer to score in double figures, shooting 4-for-9 for 10 points. The rest of the UAB starters were a combined 4-for-26 from the field ... Edgar Moreno added 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Miners, while Stefon Jackson had nine points and eight boards ... guards Moreno, Jackson and Kevin Henderson teamed for 19 rebounds ... UTEP built an 18-point lead twice in the first half and led 34-18 at the break ... the Miners led by 31 points twice in the second half, the last at 65-34 with 23 seconds left on a Jackson tip-in off a missed layup by Moreno.
UTEP IN THE C-USA STATS: UTEP leads Conference USA in scoring defense (59.1 ppg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.23) ... the Miners are second in scoring margin (+9.5 ppg), rebounding margin (+6.2 rpg) and assists (16.1 apg), and third in field goal percentage (.448) and field goal percentage defense (.395) ... for conference games only, UTEP leads the league in scoring defense (53.1 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.381) and rebounding margin (+8.8 rpg) ... for conference games only, senior center Will Kimble is ninth in blocked shots (1.1 bpg); senior guard Edgar Moreno is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.64), sixth in assists (4.6 apg) and tied for sixth in steals (2.3 spg); senior forward John Tofi is second in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and blocked shots (2.0 bpg), third in field goal percentage (.571) and 10th in scoring (13.8 ppg); and senior forward Jason Williams is third in rebounding (8.8 rpg).
RECORD BOOK WATCH: Senior forward John Tofi ranks 13th in career scoring (1,207 points) ... within reach are Omar Thomas (12th, 1,211 points) and Gary Brewster (11th, 1,213 points) ... Tofi is also fifth in blocked shots (108), sixth in rebounds (751) and ninth in field goal percentage (.518) ... within reach on the rebounding chart is Roy Smallwood (fifth, 755 rebounds) ... senior forward Jason Williams is sixth in assists (280), eighth in steals (116) and 29th in scoring (1,029 points) ... within reach on the steals list are Wayne Campbell and David Van Dyke (tied for sixth, 121 steals) ... Williams is chasing Jim Babers (28th, 1,030 points), Nolan Richardson (27th, 1,045 points) and Mike Switzer (26th, 1,051 points) on the scoring chart ... senior guard Miguel Ayala is eighth on the career three-point field goals list with 104 ... within reach is Jarvis Mullahon (seventh, 110).
INJURY REPORT: Senior guard Miguel Ayala is out for the Southern Miss game after suffering a groin injury versus SMU on Jan. 28 that required surgery ... Ayala is UTEP’s third-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game ... the timetable for his return is unknown.
WHAT A NIGHT: UTEP held UAB to 37 points on Wednesday, the lowest total by an opponent in a conference game since Wyoming lost to the Miners, 43-37, on Feb. 13, 1982 ... it also ties for the 12th-fewest points allowed by UTEP in a game since 1950 ... the Blazers’ .237 field goal percentage was the worst by a UTEP foe since Jacksonville State shot 23.0 percent on Dec. 18, 1995 ... UTEP’s +24 rebound margin (51-27) marked its most dominant performance on the glass since out-boarding Bradley 48-23 on Dec. 10, 1990 ... the Miners were also 16-for-20 (.800) from the free throw line against UAB, their third-best shooting percentage of the season ... UTEP, which entered the game shooting 63.6 percent from the charity stripe, made 13-of-14 foul shots in the second half ... the .929 free throw percentage was the Miners’ best effort in a half (minimum 10 made) since going a perfect 19-for-19 from the line in the second half against Fresno State on Feb. 10, 2005 in El Paso.
SATURDAYS HAVE BEEN GOOD TO US: The Miners are 6-1 in Saturday games this season, easily their most successful day of the week in terms of victories ... UTEP is 1-0 on Mondays, 2-0 on Tuesdays, 4-3 on Wednesdays, 1-0 on Fridays and 0-2 on Sundays ... UTEP is 4-0 in Conference USA Saturday games, defeating East Carolina (58-45), Marshall (53-51), SMU (57-53) and Tulsa (69-62) ... last season, six of UTEP’s eight losses occurred on Saturdays (7-6 record).
SCORING DEFENSE DIPS BELOW 60: By yielding just 37 points to UAB on Wednesday, UTEP dropped its scoring defense from 60.3 points per game to 59.1 ... it marks just the fourth time since 1980 -- and the first time since 1984 -- that the Miners have allowed fewer than 60 points per contest ... UTEP surrendered 53.4 ppg in 1981-82, 57.6 ppg in 1982-83 and 59.9 ppg in 1983-84 ... the Miners’ field goal percentage defense is below 40 (.395) for the first time since 1973-74 (.381).
C-USA DEFENSE HAS TURNED UP A NOTCH: UTEP is giving up a scant 53.1 points per game in conference play ... the Miners are well on their way to shattering the C-USA record for scoring defense in league games only, a mark currently held by Marquette in 1996-97 (58.3 ppg) ... UTEP’s scoring defense for all games (59.1 ppg), if it stands, would rate second in the C-USA record books behind the same 96-97 Marquette team (57.8 ppg) ... UTEP has allowed less than 50 points in three conference games (45 to East Carolina, 47 to Tulane, 37 to UAB) ... the last time the Miners limited three conference opponents to fewer than 50 points was in 1982-83, when this happened on five occasions.
DEFENSE AT HOME HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY GOOD: UTEP has allowed 56.6 points per game at home this season, including a ridiculous 45.5 ppg in C-USA home games ... C-USA opponents are shooting .348 from the field and .276 from the line versus UTEP at the Don Haskins Center ... UTEP has allowed an average of 20.5 points in the first half and 25.0 points in the second half of C-USA home games ... in fact, no C-USA team has scored more than 28 points in a half versus the Miners in El Paso.
THAT (LESS THAN) 70’S SHOW: UTEP has allowed less than 70 points in 10 consecutive games for the first time since the final 10 contests of the 1989-90 season ... if the Miners hold Southern Miss to fewer than 70 points on Saturday, it will mark the longest streak for the UTEP defense since a 15-game skein earlier in the 89-90 campaign ... only two opponents have scored 70+ points on the Miners this season -- New Mexico on Nov. 26 (76) and Georgetown on Dec. 28 (76) ... UTEP lost both games ... the Miners are 14-4 this season and 32-9 under Doc Sadler when yielding less than 70 points.
TOFI’S BLOCK PARTY: Perturbed that a section of these notes were dedicated to Will Kimble’s shot-blocking prowess a few games ago, senior forward John Tofi has gone on a tear swatting shots as of late ... over the last four games, Tofi has come up with 13 rejections (3.3 per game) ... that is as many as he had in the first 16 contests combined ... Tofi had a career-high five blocks against SMU on Jan. 28, three at Houston on Feb. 1 and four more versus UAB on Wednesday ... Tofi is on pace to block 36 shots, which would be the most by a Miner since Brian Stewart had 39 during the 2001-02 season ... Tofi has 16 blocked shots in Conference USA games; only SMU’s Bamba Fall has more (31).
WILLIAMS TRYING TO MAKE HISTORY: Senior forward Jason Williams is attempting to become the first player in school history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career ... he is 20 assists away from achieving the milestone ... Williams already has 1,029 points and 534 boards in three seasons as a Miner ... he and teammate John Tofi are two of the 20 players in school history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds ... UTEP has been good when Williams has been good ... the Miners are 10-0 in his career when he scores 20 points or more, 22-0 when he leads the team in scoring and 38-3 when he shoots 50 percent or better.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MAN: John Tofi has had eight point-rebound double doubles this season, more than he had in his first three seasons as a Miner combined (five) ... with 13 career double-doubles, Tofi is tied with Scott English, Nolan Richardson and Al Tolen for 16th place on the school list ... his next double-double will tie him for 14th place on the UTEP chart with Gary Brewster and Dave Feitl (14 each) ... Tofi is the third Miner since 1990 to compile 13 or more double-doubles ... Marlon Maxey (1989-92) had 18 double-doubles and George Banks (1993-95) had 16 ... Tofi’s next double-double will give him nine on the season, which would be the most by a Miner player since Banks had 11 during the 1994-95 campaign ... Tofi has had a career-high 16 rebounds in two games this season (Louisiana-Lafayette, Houston), and had 15 boards against UAB on Wednesday ... averaging 9.4 boards per outing, Tofi has the best rebounding average by a Miner player since JoJo Garcia averaged 9.9 rebounds during the 1996-97 season ... Tofi and Garcia are the only Miners in the last 24 years to average over nine boards per contest in a season.
SPEAKING OF REBOUNDING: UTEP has been downright good on the glass this season ... the Miners have a +6.2 rebound margin on the season, their best figure since 1981-82 (+6.5) ... UTEP’s rebound margin in Conference USA games is +8.8, which would be a league record ... Cincinnati holds the current standard with a rebound margin of +8.1 in league games during the 1998-99 season ... UTEP has outrebounded 17 of 20 opponents this season, including seven of eight C-USA foes ... the only league team to better UTEP on the boards was Tulsa, 34-33, on Feb. 4.
LOCKDOWN IN PROGRESS: UTEP has done a good job of defensing the opposing team’s top scorer this season ... only three times in 20 games has the other team’s top scorer tied or surpassed his scoring average coming into the game ... UTEP has limited the other team’s top scorer to single-digit points eight times this season, including in five of eight Conference USA games ... over the last two games the Miners held Tulsa’s leading scorer Anthony Price to three points and blanked UAB’s leading scorer, Marvett McDonald, for the first time as a Blazer ... 17 of the 20 opponents’ top scorers have shot less than 50 percent from the field against UTEP.
FOUL SHOOTING DOWN: The Miners led the nation in free throw percentage (.792) last season, but this year UTEP ranks ninth in Conference USA in foul shooting (.643) ... it is UTEP’s worst free throw percentage since 1980-81 (.642) ... UTEP is shooting 63.3 percent in league games, second-worst in the league to Houston’s 59 percent accuracy ... the Miners have done a good job of getting to the line, if they haven’t always made their foul shots ... UTEP has made nearly as many free throws (287) as its opponents have attempted (297) ... UTEP has shot as many or more free throws as its opponent in 10 straight games ... in the Miners’ six losses, they’ve missed a total of 48 foul shots -- an average of eight per defeat ... UTEP’s six losses have been by a total of 42 points ... senior guard Miguel Ayala is the only Miner shooting better than 70 percent from the line (C-USA best .875) ... the last time UTEP went through a season with only one player hitting more than 70 percent of his charity shots was 1977-78, when Earl Fuller led the Miners with a less-than-stellar .715 percentage.
DOC WINS OVER 40: Doc Sadler garnered his 40th Division I coaching victory at Tulsa on Feb. 4 ... he is now 41-14 in his second year at UTEP ... he is the first coach in school history to win 40+ games in his first two years at the helm of the Miner program ... Don Haskins won 37 games in his first two years at UTEP, and Jason Rabedeaux recorded 36 victories ... despite only serving as the Miners’ head coach for 55 games, Sadler already ranks sixth all-time in victories behind Rabedeaux (46 wins) ... Sadler’s .745 winning percentage is tops in school annals (Haskins is second at .670) ... since Sadler joined the Miner staff as an assistant for the 2003-04 season, UTEP has posted a 65-22 mark (.747) ... it represents the winningest three-year period for the Miners in terms of percentage since going 74-24 (.755) from 1986-89.
ROAD NOTES: UTEP is 4-4 on the road this season (3-1 in C-USA) and 11-8 on the road (9-4 in conference play) under Doc Sadler ... among the Miners’ top eight scorers, only freshman guard Stefon Jackson has not had a double-figure point game on the road this season ... freshman forward Maurice Thomas is the only Miner shooting 50 percent or better on the road; he has made a remarkable 15-of-18 field goal attempts (.833) away from El Paso ... UTEP has turned over the ball 21 more times than its opponents on the road; at home, the Miners have turned over the ball 57 fewer times than foes ... UTEP’s assist/turnover ratio is +68 at home and -9 on the road ... UTEP is averaging nearly eight more points at home (71.8) than on the road (63.9) ... UTEP’s top two scorers, senior forwards John Tofi and Jason Williams, are averaging 29.2 points at home with a .545 (132-for-242) field goal percentage ... on the road, Tofi and Williams average 24.9 points with a .423 (69-for-163) field goal percentage.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: UTEP is averaging just 13.1 turnovers per game this season ... the Miners have had 20 or more turnovers just once in their last 44 contests (21 at Houston on Feb. 1), and five times in their last 87 games over the last three seasons.
MINERS ARE WINNERS IN THE CLASSROOM TOO: Ten of UTEP’s 13 student-athletes posted grade point averages of 3.0 or better during the fall semester.
KEY STATS UNDER SADLER: UTEP is 18-1 under coach Doc Sadler when holding foes to less than 40 percent shooting and 18-0 when holding opponents under 60 points ... the Miners are 29-1 under Sadler when scoring 70 points or more, and 16-0 when scoring 80 or more ... UTEP is 13-0 under Sadler when shooting 50 percent or better, and 32-2 when having a better field goal percentage than the opposition ... the Miners are 37-3 when leading or tied at the half under Sadler’s direction (13-0 in 2005-06).
UTEP PLAYER TIDBITS: The Miners are 11-2 when freshman guard Stefon Jackson plays this season, and 3-4 when he doesn’t ... the Miners are 10-1 when senior guard Edgar Moreno has two turnovers or less (4-5 when he has three or more), as well as 10-1 when he has four assists or more (4-5 when he has three or fewer) ... Moreno has had a steal in 12 of the last 13 games ... UTEP is 12-2 when Jason Williams scores in double figures and 5-1 when Kevin Henderson does so ... UTEP is on pace to have three players with 100 assists (Edgar Moreno, Kevin Henderson, Jason Williams) for the first time in school history ... Williams is trying to become the first Miner to log 100 assists in three straight seasons since Prince Stewart achieved this feat as a sophomore (1988-89), junior (1990-91) and senior (1991-92).
UTEP TEAM TIDBITS: UTEP is 9-1 when holding opponents below 40 percent shooting ... UTEP opponents have shot 50 percent or better just six times in the last 61 games (once in 20 games this season) ... UTEP has had a lead in all but one game (Syracuse) this season ... UTEP has won three games when scoring fewer than 60 points for the first time since 1987-88; the last time this happened four or more times was in 1985-86 (five times).
A SPECIAL YEAR: The 2005-06 season marks the 40th anniversary of the 1965-66 national champion Miners ... on March 19, 1966, UTEP -- then known as Texas Western College -- stunned heavily favored Kentucky, 72-65, to claim the crown in College Park, Md. ... on that day, Texas Western’s Don Haskins made history by becoming the first coach to start five black players in the title game ... Kentucky had an all-white starting lineup ... the 1965-66 Miners are the subject of a major motion picture, Glory Road, which was released on Jan. 13 ... the Walt Disney picture stars Josh Lucas as Haskins, Derek Luke as Bobby Joe Hill and Academy Award-winner John Voight as Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp ... the street that the Don Haskins Center resides on was recently renamed Glory Road in honor of the 1966 champs and the movie.
LOOKING AHEAD: Following Saturday’s game at Southern Miss, the Miners will be home for four of their next five contests beginning on Tuesday against 2005 NCAA Tournament participant Alabama A&M ... UTEP also hosts Rice on Feb. 18, Houston on Feb. 25 and Tulsa on March 1 ... sandwiched between the series of home games is a Feb. 22 date at league-leading Memphis.
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