Jan. 17, 2012
UTEP-East Carolina Notes
THE TIP-OFF
UTEP (9-9, 2-2 C-USA) hosts East Carolina (9-7, 0-3 C-USA) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT in the Don Haskins Center. The Miners will wear vintage 1966 uniforms on "Texas Western Throwback Night." UTEP, then known as Texas Western College, won the historic 1966 national championship.
UTEP has won six of its last seven games in the Haskins Center, including a 70-64 overtime victory over SMU on Saturday.
The Miners have alternated wins and losses in their last nine games and are seeking their first winning streak since late December. UTEP hasn't been above .500 this season. East Carolina is 1-3 on the road with all three defeats coming by five points or less.
UTEP is 41-8 in C-USA home games since joining the league for the 2005-06 season (7-0 in 2006, 5-3 in 2007, 7-1 in 2008, 5-3 in 2009, 8-0 in 2010, 7-1 in 2011, 2-0 in 2012). The Miners have won 19 of their last 20 C-USA regular season home games dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
The Pirates fell to 0-3 in C-USA play with a 70-67 loss to Tulsa on Saturday in Greenville. Five of East Carolina's seven losses have come by five points or less, including three on the road.
The Pirates also lost at home to Southern Miss (78-76) and at UCF (81-63) in league action.
Three of East Carolina's top four scorers are newcomers, including junior guard Miguel Paul (Missouri transfer/16.0 ppg) and junior forward Maurice Kemp (Miami Dade College transfer/10.8 ppg). The top returnee from a year ago is senior forward Darrius Morrow, who has collected 1,309 points (sixth in school history) and 691 rebounds (10th) at ECU. He is averaging 13.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg this season.
The Pirates lead C-USA in three-point field goal percentage defense & steals and rank second in three-pointers per game. ECU is 16th in the NCAA in steals and 31st in three-point field goal defense. Paul is 27th nationally in assist/turnover ratio and 31st in assists.
THE SERIES
UTEP has won four of the previous six matchups between the schools. The Miners are 3-0 versus the Pirates in El Paso.
Two of the highest individual scoring games in UTEP history have come against the Pirates. Randy Culpepper poured in 45 points, including 31 in the first half, in the Miners' 100-76 victory in El Paso during the 2009-10 season. Stefon Jackson tallied 30 of his 41 points in the second half in UTEP's 91-62 rout at the Haskins Center during the 2007-08 campaign. He accounted for the Miners' first 16 points out of the break.
UTEP has had a 20-point scorer in every game it has played against East Carolina -- Jason Williams in 2006 (22), Jackson in 2007 (24) & 2008 (41), and Culpepper in 2009 (25), 2010 (45) and 2011 (22).
UTEP's Tim Floyd is 0-1 against East Carolina and coach Jeff Lebo.
THE LAST MEETING
East Carolina rode a huge advantage at the free throw line to an 83-76 win over UTEP on Feb. 23, 2011 in Greenville.
The Pirates went to the charity stripe 45 times, including 37 in the second half. UTEP coach Tim Floyd and assistant Phil Johnson were both assessed double technical fouls and ejected from the game in the first minute and a half of the second period. Randy Culpepper picked up the Miners' fifth technical of the night in the final minute.
ECU's Jontae Sherrod scored all 21 of his points in the second half, going 15-for-17 from the foul line during that span. Jamar Abrams scored 25 points for the Pirates and Darrius Morrow added 19, taking 10 free throws of his own.
The Miners were behind the entire second half after Abrams' three pointer lifted East Carolina to a 29-27 edge at the midway point. Culpepper scored 22 points and Gabriel McCulley had a then-career high 17 for UTEP, which took 17 foul shots and fired up a season-high 28 three pointers, making 11.
UTEP IN THE C-USA STATISTICS
(Through games of Jan. 14, 2012)
Category Stat Rank
Scoring offense 64.4 10
Scoring defense 62.8 6
Scoring margin +1.7 11
Free throw % 68.7 5
Field goal % 47.5 2
Field goal % defense 43.6 12
3-point field goal % 35.9 6
3-point field goal % defense 36.3 12
3-pointers per game 5.2 t9
Rebound margin -1.3 11
Blocked shots 2.8 11
Assists 14.9 1
Steals 4.9 11
Turnover margin -0.56 8
Assist/turnover ratio 1.1 1
Individual Category Stat Rank
J. Bohannon Free throw % 74.1 10
J. Bohannon Rebounding 6.3 12
G. McCulley Field goal % 62.1 2
G. McCulley Scoring 12.0 t19
G. McCulley Steals 1.4 9
M. Perez 3-pointers per game 1.5 13
M. Perez Field goal % 45.9 12
M. Perez Free throw % 72.1 15
M. Perez Scoring 12.1 t17
J. Streeter Assists 4.6 3
J. Streeter Assist/turnover ratio 2.3 3
J. Washburn Field goal % 44.8 13
UTEP IN THE NCAA STATS
Through the games of Jan. 15, the Miners held national top-50 rankings in field goal percentage (43rd, .475) and assists (14.9 avg.). Individually, junior guard Jacques Streeter was 49th in assist/turnover ratio (2.28).
DAVIS IS WEDNESDAY'S MINER LEGEND
For the second year in a row, UTEP is honoring past great players at halftime of this season's games. Wednesday's Miner Legend is Antonio Davis.
Davis collected 1,117 points and 744 rebounds in four seasons with the Miners (1986-90). He was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams that combined for 95 wins. Davis helped UTEP to the 1987 WAC regular season championship, and the 1989 & 1990 WAC Tournament titles.
A native of Oakland, Calif., Davis was a two-time All-WAC honoree, averaging 14.3 ppg as a junor and 10.8 ppg as a senior. He is fifth in school history in field goal percentage (.539) and seventh in blocks (104) and rebounds. Davis had 19 double-doubles in his Miner career.
He played 13 seasons in the NBA with Indiana, Toronto, Chicago and New York and was an All-Star in 2001 with the Raptors. Davis also played for Team USA at the 1989 and 2002 FIBA World Championships, winning a silver medal in 1989.
MINERS RALLY PAST MUSTANGS
UTEP posted its first win when trailing at halftime this season (1-7 record) with Saturday's 70-64 overtime conquest of SMU. The Miners erased an eight-point second half deficit to beat the Mustangs. The last time UTEP overcame a second-half deficit of eight points or more to win was against UAB on March, 6, 2010 at the Don Haskins Center (trailed 38-24 with under 17 minutes to go in a 52-50 victory). Here is a look at UTEP's biggest comeback wins under coach Tim Floyd.
Date Opponent Deficit Result
1/2/11 Sam Houston State 10 (25-15, 7:51 1st) W 74-65
1/5/11 Tulsa 10 (19-9, 10:20 1st) W 69-59
1/26/11 Tulane 9 (26-17, 8:18 1st) W 69-65
2/12/11 SMU 9 (two times) W 67-57
1/14/12 SMU 8 (two times) W 70-64 OT
BOHANNON SCORES 20 ... OFF THE BENCH
Sophomore center John Bohannon scored 20 points in a reserve role against SMU. He became the 10th Miner player to score 20+ points in a game off the pine since 2000, joining Miguel Ayala, Derrick Caracter, Randy Culpepper (13 times), Kevin Henderson, Christian Polk, Roy Smallwood, Giovanni St. Amant, Omar Thomas (six times) and Jason Williams.
The last Miner to score 20 points off the bench was Culpepper versus Michigan last season (24 points).
A PERFECT NIGHT
John Bohannon was 7-for-7 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line on Saturday versus SMU. He is the 11th player in school history to shoot 100 percent in a game with a minimum of seven field goal attempts, and the second to achieve the feat this season (Cedrick Lang was 9-for-9 from the floor versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 29). Bohannon is the first player in school history to shoot 100 percent both from the field and the line with a minimum of seven field goal attempts and six free throw attempts.
Bohannon is 10-for-10 from the field over the last two games.
MINERS MADE THEIR FREEBIES
UTEP was 16-for-20 from the charity stripe against SMU on Saturday. The Miners have shot 80 percent or better from the line four times this season, including in three straight games from Dec. 17-22.
John Bohannon has shot 79.1 percent (34-for-43) from the line over the last 11 games. Gabriel McCulley is at 81 percent (17-for-21) for the last eight contests and Michael Perez is at 79.2 percent (38-for-48) for his last 11. Perez leads the team in free throws made (44) and attempted (61) and has gone to the line in 13 straight outings.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TAKEAWAYS
The Miners scored 20 points off turnovers for just the second time this season versus SMU on Saturday. UTEP also achieved the feat against Southern on Dec. 17 (21 points). The Miners are 9-1 under Tim Floyd when scoring 20+ points off turnovers, the exception an 89-68 loss at BYU last season.
UTEP TIES SEASON-HIGH FOR STEALS
The Miners registered eight steals versus SMU, tying their top total of the season. UTEP also had eight steals against Oregon, Southern and Marshall. The Miners have fewer steals than their opponents for the first time since the 2002-03 season. UTEP ranks 312th nationally and 11th in C-USA (UAB is 12th) in steals, averaging 4.9 per game.
McCULLEY & PEREZ TOOK `EM AWAY
For the first time this season, UTEP had two players with three or more steals as Gabriel McCulley (three) and Michael Perez (four) combined for seven takeaways versus SMU. UTEP had fewer than seven steals as a team in 14 of its first 16 games. The last time the Miners had two players with three steals or more in a game was at East Carolina on Feb. 23, 2011 (Jeremy Williams four, Julyan Stone three).
