THE BASIC FACTS: Ninth seed UTEP (21-9) faces top seed Michigan (18-10) in a first round game of the National Invitation Tournament on Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich. ... tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. MST at 13,571-seat Crisler Arena ... the winner will advance into the second round and take on either fourth seed Vanderbilt or fifth seed Notre Dame ... the Commodores and Fighting Irish faced one another on Wednesday in South Bend, Ind. ... the Miners are 5-6 on the road this season, while Michigan is 13-3 at home ... UTEP is 14-4 in its last 17 games ... Michigan ended the regular season by losing seven of nine contests following a 16-3 start.
TV/RADIO INFO: Thursday’s game will be nationally televised on ESPNU ... Mike Gleason (play-by-play) and Tim McCormick (color) will handle the call ... Jon Teicher (play-by-play) and Steve Yellen (color) will describe the action for UTEP’s flagship radio station KROD 600 AM.
NIT NOTES: UTEP is making its first appearance in the postseason NIT since 2001, when the Miners defeated McNeese State 84-74 in El Paso before dropping a 90-65 decision at Memphis ... UTEP also played in the postseason NIT in 1965, 1972, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1993 and 1995 ... the Miners are 6-8 in nine trips to the postseason NIT, including Tuesday’s 85-66 victory over Lipscomb in an opening round game at the Don Haskins Center ... UTEP has never won two games in the NIT, and hasn’t won two postseason games in a season since 1992 when the Miners made a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament ... the Miners are 1-7 all-time in NIT road games, including a 74-65 setback at Michigan on March 11, 1980 ... the last time the Miners won an NIT road game was on March 6, 1980 at Wichita State (58-56) ... since then they’ve lost five straight away from home in the tournament ... UTEP is participating in a postseason tournament for the third year in a row and the fourth time in six years ... the Miners played in the NIT in 2001, and the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2005 ... the last time UTEP advanced to postseason play in three consecutive seasons was from 1983-90 (NIT 1983, NCAA Tournament 1984-90).
SCOUTING MICHIGAN: The Wolverines finished 8-8 in the Big Ten and dropped a 59-55 decision to Minnesota in the first round of the conference tournament ... Michigan has four players averaging better than 10 points per game -- senior guard Daniel Horton (17.5 ppg), junior center Courtney Sims (11.6 ppg), junior guard Dion Harris (11.0 ppg) and senior wing Lester Abram (10.9 ppg) ... Sims is averaging 6.3 rebounds per outing and senior forward Graham Brown tops the squad with a 7.4 boards per game average ... Michigan is appearing in the postseason NIT for the second time in three years, having claimed the tournament championship in 2004 ... like UTEP, the Wolverines have been mired with injuries this season, particularly in the latter half of the 05-06 campaign ... four players (Abram, Harris, senior forward Chris Hunter, freshman guard Jerret Smith) have missed a total of 23 games due to various ailments ... before injuries decimated their lineup the Wolverines were rated as high as 20th nationally by ESPN/USA Today.
SERIES NOTES: UTEP and Michigan have met three times previously, with the Wolverines claiming two of the matchups ... Michigan downed UTEP 74-65 in the 1980 postseason NIT, the only prior meeting between the schools in Ann Arbor ... UTEP is 1-1 versus Michigan in El Paso, including a 72-71 upset of the then 15th-ranked Wolverines in the opening round of the Sun Carnival Classic Tournament on Dec. 27, 1983 ... UTEP is facing a Big Ten opponent for the first time since Dec. 27, 1997, when the Miners upended Penn State 79-60 in the opening round of the Sierra Providence SunClassic Tournament in El Paso ... the last time UTEP played a road game versus a Big Ten foe was on Dec. 17, 1988 at Indiana -- an 81-63 Hoosier victory ... the Miners are 0-6 all-time against Big Ten schools on the road.
THE LAST MEETING: UTEP shot 56 percent from the field and had five players score in double figures in a 72-71 upset of 15th-ranked Michigan on Dec. 27, 1983 in the Don Haskins Center ... the Miners improved to 9-0 on their way to a school-record 15-0 start and no. 5 national ranking ... Dave Feitl and Juden Smith led the way for UTEP, contributing 13 points apiece ... Luster Goodwin and Kent Lockhart added 12 points each and Fred Reynolds had 11 ... Tim McCormick, who will be doing color commentary for Thursday’s UTEP-Michigan game on ESPNU, was the Wolverines’ top scorer with 20 points ... Michigan trailed by as many as nine points in the second half before making a late rally ... with his team behind 72-69, Michigan’s Leslie Rockymore drained a 25-foot shot at the buzzer ... the shot would have tied the game nowadays but back then, before the three-point shot came into effect, it was good for only two points.
WILLIAMS MAKES HISTORY IN OPENING ROUND WIN: Senior forward Jason Williams recorded the first triple double in UTEP history in Tuesday’s 85-66 NIT opening round victory over Lipscomb ... Williams finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists ... the 10 assists were a career high and the 11 rebounds tied his personal best, achieved on four occasions previously ... Williams also went over the 100-assist mark for the season against the Bisons ... he now has 104 dimes on the year ... Williams is only the third player in school history to dish out 100 assists in three separate seasons ... Tim Hardaway and Prince Stewart also achieved this feat ... Williams is the only player in school annals to tabulate 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists ... UTEP is 11-2 in his career when he scores 20 points or more, 27-3 when he leads the team in scoring and 42-5 when he shoots 50 percent or better ... Williams has scored in double figures in nine straight games, a personal long streak ... over the last nine games the Marrero, La. native is averaging 18.2 points while shooting 51.8 percent (58-for-112) from the floor ... Williams joined UAB’s Squeaky Johnson and Memphis’ Rodney Carney, Joey Dorsey and Shawne Williams on the Conference USA All-Tournament Team ... he averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds in two C-USA tournament games, including a 20-point night in the semifinal loss to UAB ... Williams was also chosen to the Western Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team as a sophomore in 2004.
ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS: After being held to less than 70 points in eight straight games -- their longest scoring drought in eight years -- the Miners exploded for 85 points in Tuesday’s victory over Lipscomb ... the 85 points were the second-most tallied by UTEP in a game this season (most -- 97 points against UT-Permian Basin in the second game of the season on Nov. 21) ... UTEP shot a season-high 57.7 percent from the floor versus Lipscomb ... it marked the Miners’ best shooting night since game 11 of the 2004-05 season versus Alabama State (59.6 FG%) ... six UTEP players buried three-point shots as the Miners went 14-24 from beyond the arc (.583) against Lipscomb ... the last time UTEP had six players hit three-pointers in a game was on Nov. 29, 2000 versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff, when eight Miners (Eugene Costello, Nick Enzweiler, Antone Jarrell, Victor Luces, Chris Neal, Leonard Owens, Roy Smallwood, Parker Vandivort) turned the trick ... the 14 three-pointers tied the second-top game total in school history (record is 15 against UT-Permian Basin on Nov. 22, 2003) ... the victory made UTEP 17-0 under coach Doc Sadler when scoring 80 points or more ... the Miners are 16-0 under Sadler when shooting 50 percent or better ... UTEP has shot 50 percent or greater in two of its last three games (versus Southern Miss and Lipscomb) after hitting at least half of its shots just twice in its previous 18 contests.
D.J.’ NETS 20: Freshman guard Stefon Jackson -- nicknamed D.J. for “draining jumpers” ... had the first 20-point night of his young career against Lipscomb ... Jackson posted a career-high 22 points, knocking down 8-11 field goal attempts and 4-6 three-point tries ... he became the first Miner freshman to have a 20-point game since Giovanni St. Amant on March 11, 2003 versus San Jose State (21 points) ... Jackson has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the second time at UTEP ... he registered 12 and 19 points, respectively, in the first two games of the season against Western New Mexico and UT-Permian Basin ... Jackson missed seven games earlier this season with a broken jaw ... UTEP is 18-5 in games Jackson has played in this season, compared to 3-4 when he was sidelined due to injury.
THREE PLAYERS WITH 100 ASSISTS: Three Miner players have racked up 100 assists this season for the first time in school history ... senior guard Edgar Moreno has 118 assists, junior guard Kevin Henderson has 111 and Jason Williams has 104 ... UTEP had a school-record 29 assists versus UT-Permian Basin on Nov. 21, and added 27 -- tied for the second-top game total in school annals -- against Lipscomb on Tuesday ... in all, UTEP has had five games with 20 assists or more in 2005-06 ... sixty-six percent of the Miners’ field goals have been credited with an assist this season, UTEP’s best ratio since 1989-90 (school-record sixty-seven percent) ... 27 of the Miners’ 30 field goals versus Lipscomb on Tuesday had a dime attached to them.
MINERS FINISH 15-2 AT HOME: UTEP won 15 of 17 home games this season, hiking its mark in the Don Haskins Center to 47-5 (.904) over the last three years ... it is the best home winning percentage for the Miners in a three-year span since going 48-4 (.923) from 1987-89 ... UTEP has won 15+ games at home three seasons in a row for the first time since 1988-90 ... UTEP will carry a nine-game homecourt winning streak into the 2006-07 season.
20 WINS AGAIN: UTEP has won 20 games in three consecutive seasons for the first time since a string of seven 20-victory campaigns in a row from 1984-90 ... Doc Sadler is the second Miner coach to have a pair of 20-win seasons, joining the legendary Don Haskins who achieved this feat on 17 occasions ... over the last three years the Miners have posted 72 victories, most in a three-year span for the school since claiming 74 victories from 1987-89 ... UTEP’s .742 winning percentage (72-25) over the last three years is its best since going 74-24 (.755) from 1987-89.
NOTING UTEP’S FABULOUS DEFENSE: Through Tuesday UTEP ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 58.7 points per game this season ... 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 ... the Miners’ field goal percentage defense (.401) is its best since 1973-74 (.381) ... UTEP has given up fewer than 50 points in seven games this season for the first time since 1981-82 (13 times) ... only three teams have scored 70+ points against UTEP this season -- New Mexico on Nov. 26 (76), Georgetown on Dec. 28 (76) and Southern Miss on Feb. 11 (72 in double overtime) ... overall UTEP has allowed less than 70 points in 19 of its last 20 games ... UTEP surrendered an average of 56.0 points in 14 conference regular season games, shattering the C-USA record for scoring defense in league contests only -- a mark previously held by Marquette in 1996-97 (58.3 ppg) ... UTEP’s scoring defense for all games, if it stands, would rate second in the C-USA record books behind the same 96-97 Marquette team (57.8 ppg).
CONTAINMENT ZONE: Only five times in 30 games has the opposing team’s top scorer surpassed his point average coming into the game ... UTEP has limited the other team’s top scorer to single-digit points 10 times this season ... 25 of the 30 opponents’ top scorers have shot less than 50 percent from the field against UTEP.
TWO MINERS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Senior forwards John Tofi and Jason Williams were tabbed to the 2006 All-Conference USA Team ... Tofi was a first team selection and Williams was a second team honoree ... it marks the first all-league selection for either player, although Williams was chosen to the WAC All-Defensive Team in 2005 ... UTEP has now had a first team all-conference player in each of the last three seasons (Filiberto Rivera in 2004, Rivera and Omar Thomas in 2005) ... Tofi was leading the Miners in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.2 rpg) before tearing his right ACL at Memphis on Feb. 22, ending his UTEP career ... Tofi ranks 10th in career scoring at UTEP with 1,247 points ... he is also fifth in blocked shots (110), fifth in rebounds (774), ninth in field goal percentage (.517) and 10th in field goals made (482) ... Tofi has had 15 double-doubles (points-rebounds) in his career ... he has played in 117 games for UTEP, making 96 starts ... the 117 games played ties him for 14th place on the school list with Juden Smith.
RECORD BOOK WATCH: Senior forward Jason Williams is fifth in assists (317) and steals (133), 13th in rebounds (606) and 14th in scoring (1,200 points) on the UTEP career charts ... Eddie Rivera is fourth in assists (323) and Johnny Melvin is fourth in steals (154) ... Wayne Campbell is 12th in rebounds (614) ... Williams is chasing Omar Thomas (13th, 1,211 points) and Gary Brewster (12th, 1,213 points) on the scoring chart ... senior guard Miguel Ayala is fifth on the career three-point field goals list with 120 ... Chris Craig is fourth with 130 triples.
WILLIAMS A STUD ON DEFENSE TOO: A member of the Western Athletic Conference All-Defensive Team a year ago, Jason Williams has been locking down opponents again in 2005-06 ... just to give you an idea of Williams’ versatility, he started the SMU game on Jan. 28 by guarding the Mustangs’ 7-0 center Bamba Fall, and ended it by fronting diminutive guard Bryan Hopkins ... Williams did a sensational job of containing Conference USA’s leading scorer, Rice’s Morris Almond, on Feb. 18 ... Almond entered the game averaging 22 points per contest and coming off four straight 30-point performances ... with Williams hounding him Almond was held to 10 points on 4-13 shooting against the Miners.
CLEANING THE GLASS: The Miners have a +5.0 rebound margin on the season, their best figure since 1981-82 (+6.5) ... UTEP has outrebounded 24 of 30 opponents this season ... UTEP guards Miguel Ayala, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson and Edgar Moreno teamed for seven rebounds against Lipscomb on Tuesday, ending a streak of 16 games in which the Miners received double-digit boards from their backcourt ... the UTEP guards combined for a season-high 19 rebounds versus UAB on Feb. 8.
PROTECTING THE BALL: The Miners have turned over the basketball 20 or more times just twice in their last 54 games dating back to 2003-04 ... the Miners are averaging 13.0 turnovers per outing this season after averaging 13.9 in 2003-04 and 12.2 in 2004-05.
FILE THESE AWAY: UTEP is 19-0 when leading or tied at the half this season ... the Miners are 14-1 when scoring 65 points or more ... UTEP is 17-2 when having a better field goal percentage than its opponent ... the Miners are 13-2 when holding foes to a shooting percentage below 40 ... UTEP is 19-5 when outrebounding opponents (2-4 when being tied or outrebounded).
DOC RANKS FIRST: Doc Sadler’s .738 winning percentage (48-17) in two seasons at the helm of the Miner program is easily the best of any Miner head coach ... the legendary Don Haskins ranks second with a .670 winning percentage ... Sadler is in fifth place on the all-time Miner coaching list ... in fourth place is Dale Waters (51 wins, 1946-47, 49 and 51-53) ... no UTEP coach has won as many games as Sadler has in his first two seasons at the school ... Sadler’s 48 wins are the most in a two-year stretch since the Miners also racked up 48 victories under Haskins from 1992-93.
SUCCESS OFF THE COURT: Ten of UTEP’s 13 student-athletes posted grade point averages of 3.0 or better during the fall semester.
40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHAMPS: UTEP -- then known as Texas Western College -- won the NCAA championship in 1966 ... the Miners stunned heavily-favored Kentucky, 72-65, to claim the crown in College Park, Md. ... on that night Don Haskins made NCAA history -- and changed the face of college basketball -- by becoming the first coach to start five African-American players in the title game ... Kentucky had an all-white starting lineup ... the story of the 66 Miners was recently told on the big screen in the Disney motion picture Glory Road ... the 66 champs visited the White House on Feb. 22, the same day UTEP played at Memphis ... to this day, UTEP is the only school in the state of Texas to win a national championship in men’s basketball.
MINER NUGGETS: UTEP has been hot from three-point land in recent games. Over the last three contests, Kevin Henderson is 9-16 (.563) from beyond the arc, Miguel Ayala is 8-15 (.533) and Stefon Jackson is 5-9 (.556). Over the last four games, Brent Murphy is 6-8 (.750) from outside ... UTEP has won 21 games this season despite averaging only 66.9 points per game, its third-lowest figure in the last 23 seasons. No Miner team has won more games with a lesser scoring average ... UTEP has been ravaged by injuries this season and has had its top six scorers on the floor for only 10 games ... UTEP has made more free throws (440) than its opponents have attempted (439) for the third consecutive season ... the Miners have shot more free throws than their opponent in 22 of the last 26 games ... UTEP has had a lead in all but one game (Syracuse) this season ... the Miners have trailed at one point in 15 of their 21 victories.
|
|
