UTEP (14-14, 6-8 C-USA) faces its second ranked opponent of the season on Thursday when Memphis (25-3, 14-0 C-USA) makes its first visit to the Don Haskins Center since 1977 ... the Tigers are ranked sixth in the Associated Press top-25 poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today top-25 poll ... tip-off is slated for 7:05 p.m. MST ... the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2 ... it marks the first time a UTEP home game has been carried on either ESPN or ESPN2 since Jan. 17, 1998 (62-50 win over UNLV on ESPN2) ... UTEP lost at then-20th ranked Syracuse, 83-69, on Nov. 12 and is 31-73 all-time versus AP Top-25 teams (20-23 at home, 11-15 in the Haskins Center) ... the Miners won their last home game versus a ranked foe, 80-61 over then-20th rated Fresno State on Feb. 17, 2001 ... UTEP hasn’t beaten a team rated as high as sixth in the AP poll since upsetting second-ranked Kansas, 66-60, in the second round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament in Dayton ... Thursday’s game marks a reunion of Memphis head coach John Calipari and UTEP head coach Tony Barbee ... Barbee played for Calipari at UMass from 1989-93, before joining him as an assistant coach at Memphis from 2000-06 ... UTEP is 11-6 at home this season, including 5-2 in C-USA play ... the Miners are 58-11 at home over the last four seasons, with a 28-4 mark in home conference games (12-2 since joining Conference USA for the 2005-06 season) ... Memphis is 7-2 on the road in 2006-07 with losses to Tennessee (76-58) and then-ninth ranked Arizona (79-71) ... the Tigers bring a 17-game winning streak to El Paso, including a 77-64 conquest of Houston on Sunday at the FedExForum ... UTEP lost its last game at East Carolina, 79-78, on Saturday.

On The Air ...

Dave Revsine (play-by-play), Doug Gottlieb (analyst) and Tom Brennan (analyst) will call the action on ESPN2 ... English and Spanish radio coverage is available on KOFX 92.3 FM and ESPN Deportes 1150 AM respectively ... Jon Teicher (play-by-play) and Steve Yellen (color) are the English broadcasters, while Omar Ropele (play-by-play) and Victor Luces (color) are the Spanish commentators.

Noting Memphis ...

The Tigers entered the week ranked third nationally in won-lost percentage (.893), fifth in scoring margin (+17.9 ppg), sixth in steals per game (10.2), eighth in field goal percentage defense (.383), ninth in scoring offense (80.4 ppg) and 14th in blocks per game (6.1) ... Memphis leads Conference USA in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, three-point field goal percentage defense (.305), steals and assist/turnover ratio (1.12) ... sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts is averaging 15.1 ppg, senior guard Jeremy Hunt 13.9 ppg and sophomore forward Robert Dozier 10.5 ppg ... junior forward Joey Dorsey is first in C-USA in rebounding (9.8 rpg), field goal percentage (.645) and blocks (2.6 bpg) ... sophomore guard Antonio Anderson is first in assist/turnover ratio (2.69) and second in steals (1.9 spg) ... Hunt is second in three-point field goals per game (2.5).

Series History ...

Memphis leads the series 5-1 ... the Miners and Tigers have split two previous meetings in El Paso ... UTEP defeated Memphis 85-79 in the Sun Carnival Classic championship game on Dec. 18, 1971 ... Memphis beat UTEP 71-65 in the opening round of the Sun Carnival Classic on Dec. 16, 1977 ... Memphis edged UTEP 66-56 last season at the FedExForum in the first matchup between the teams as members of Conference USA.

Miners Versus Memphis ...

Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson and Maurice Thomas all played in last year’s UTEP-Memphis game ... Henderson and Jackson both started ... Henderson was on the floor for 36 minutes, scoring 13 points (4-for-7 FGs, 3-for-4 3FG, 2-for-4 FT)) with four rebounds, three assists and a steal ... Jackson tallied 12 points (4-for-8 FGs, 4-for-4 FTs) in 27 minutes with three rebounds and two assists ... Thomas came off the bench to produce two rebounds and a steal in seven minutes, missing both of his shot attempts ... Marvin Kilgore has faced Memphis once in his collegiate career as a freshman at East Carolina on Feb. 2, 2005 ... he tallied seven points (3-for-4 FGs, 1-for-1 3FG, 0-for-1 FT) with four rebounds and an assist in 21 minutes in the Pirates’ 72-66 loss to the Tigers at the FedEx Forum ... Darren Clarke played seven minutes in St. Louis’ 63-54 loss to Memphis on Feb. 7, 2004 at The Pyramid, missing his lone shot attempt.

The Last Meeting ...

Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points, leading fourth-ranked Memphis to a 66-56 win over UTEP on Feb. 22, 2006 at the FedExForum ... Douglas-Roberts made 7-of-10 shots and 3-of-4 free throws, propelling the Tigers to their 14th consecutive victory ... UTEP’s John Tofi played only nine minutes before suffering a season-ending knee injury ... minus Tofi, UTEP was outrebounded for just the second time in 11 conference games, 35-30 ... UTEP shot 44.7 percent from the field and Memphis shot 39.7 percent ... the Miners got off to a good start, leading 15-14 midway through the first half ... they trailed by only four points (28-24) with two and a half minutes remaining in the period before the Tigers built a 32-24 cushion at the break ... a layup by Edgar Moreno cut the deficit to 32-26 early in the second half ... that was as close as UTEP would get in the second stanza, as Memphis built leads of as many as 17 points ... the Miners kept fighting, however, pulling to within eight points (63-55) with 1:11 to play on a three-pointer by Kevin Henderson ... Henderson was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and scored 13 points ... Jason Williams led the Miners with 18 points, and Stefon Jackson added 12 points ... UTEP held Memphis star Rodney Carney to 10 points eight below his average on 3-for-13 shooting ... Darius Washington was the only other Tiger in double figures with 11 points ... UTEP committed 19 turnovers, leading to 23 Memphis points.

UTEP in the C-USA Stats ...

UTEP leads Conference USA in assists (15.3 apg) ... the Miners are second in scoring offense (76.3 ppg) and steals (8.6 spg), and third in rebounding offense (38.6 rpg), turnover margin (+3.11) and offensive rebounds (13.8 rpg) ... Malik Alvin is fifth in assists (4.5 apg), tied for eighth in steals (1.5 spg) and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.394) ... Stefon Jackson is third in scoring (18.5 ppg), tied for seventh in offensive rebounds (2.5 rpg), tied for eighth in steals (1.5 spg) and 10th in rebounding (6.0 rpg) ... Kevin Henderson is sixth in steals (1.6 spg) and ninth in rebounding (6.0 rpg) ... Jeremy Sampson is ninth in blocked shots (1.3 bpg) ... Maurice Thomas is third in field goal percentage (.560) and offensive rebounds (2.9 rpg) ... UTEP is second in scoring offense (72.6 ppg), tied for second in steals (9.1 spg), third in turnover margin (+3.36) and tied for third in assists (13.4 apg) for C-USA games only ... Alvin is third in C-USA in steals (2.0 spg) for league games only.

Senior Night ...

Senior guard Kevin Henderson will be playing in his final home game for the Miners on Thursday ... Henderson has appeared in 58 games for UTEP, making 40 starts ... the Minneapolis native has averaged 9.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in a Miner uniform ... he ranks 10th in school history with 98 three-point field goals, and 12th with 98 steals ... Henderson leads UTEP in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and steals (1.6 spg) this season, while ranking second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and third in assists (2.8 apg) ... he has scored in double figures 28 times at UTEP ... graduate assistant Chris Judge will also be honored at Thursday’s game ... Judge has been with the Miners for the last five seasons, starting as a manager before being elevated to head manager and graduate assistant ... he has been involved with many facets of the Miner basketball program, including coordinating camps and film exchange and compiling video highlights for the coaches television shows ... he graduated from UTEP in December, 2006 with a degree in public relations.

Memphis West ...

Five members of the UTEP staff have ties to the University of Memphis ... head coach Tony Barbee was an assistant for the Tigers from 2000-06 ... assistant coach Tony Madlock played for Memphis from 1988-92 ... assistant coach Milt Wagner was coordinator of basketball operations at Memphis from 2000-06 ... director of basketball operations Mike Babul was assistant director of basketball operations at Memphis during the 2003-04 season ... video coordinator Nathaniel Root lettered for the Tigers from 2000-03.

UTEP Home Notes ...

The Miners are 11-6 at home this season, including 7-2 in their last nine games ... UTEP is averaging 80.6 points at home (69.4 ppg over the last five home games) ... UTEP has scored 80+ points in nine of 17 home games ... the Miners have held their last eight home opponents to field goal percentages below 40 ... over the last eight home games, opponents have averaged 61.5 ppg with a .353 field goal percentage and .326 three-point field goal percentage ... UTEP has been outrebounded once in seven Conference USA home games (by Tulsa, 49-35).

Home/Road Splits ...

Every player on the UTEP roster has a better shooting percentage at home than on the road ... UTEP’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Stefon Jackson, is averaging 19.4 ppg at home while shooting .475 (104-for-219) from the field and .440 (22-for-50) from three-point range ... Jackson is averaging 17.3 ppg on the road with a .400 (52-for-130) field goal percentage and .176 (6-for-34) three-point percentage ... Jackson also shoots 80.6 percent (100-for-124) from the line in home games and 62.2 percent (46-for-74) in road games ... junior guard Darren Clarke is averaging 8.6 ppg in the Haskins Center with a .446 (50-for-112) field goal percentage and .421 (24-for-57) three-point percentage ... Clarke has averaged 5.8 ppg on the road, shooting .278 (15-for-54) from the floor and .259 (7-for-27) from outside ... freshman forward Dale Vanwright has shot 52.4 percent (11-for-21) from three-point land at home, and 30.8 percent (4-for-13) in road games.

Jackson Among High-Scoring Sophomores ...

Stefon Jackson was the sixth highest-scoring sophomore in the country entering the week behind Eastern Washington’s Rodney Stuckey (24.6 ppg), Temple’s Dionte Christmas (20.3 ppg), Wyoming’s Brandon Ewing (20.3 ppg), VMI’s Chavis Holmes (19.9 ppg) and North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough (18.7 ppg) ... Christmas is Jackson’s cousin ... Jackson was the nation’s no. 9 scorer among underclassmen entering the week ... he has set UTEP sophomore records for points scored (517) and 20-point games (15) this season ... Jackson ranks third among Miner sophomores with an 18.5 ppg scoring average behind Charlie Brown (21.1 ppg, 1956-57) and Nolan Richardson (21.0 ppg, 1960-61) ... his 517 points scored in 2006-07 stand as the 13th-best seasonal total in school annals ... Jackson is chasing Nate Archibald (1969-70) and Eddie Rivera (1992-93), who both scored 536 points during their senior seasons and are tied for 11th place on the list.

The Jackson Notebook ...

Stefon Jackson is Conference USA’s only three-time Player of the Week to date ... Jackson was honored by the league on Dec. 4, Jan. 22 and was a co-winner on Feb. 5 ... two-time honorees this season include Rice’s Morris Almond, UAB’s Paul Delaney III, Memphis’ Chris Douglas-Roberts and Houston’s Robert McKiver ... Jackson pulled down 17 rebounds against Houston on Feb. 3, a UTEP record among guards ... he scored a career-high 33 points versus Jackson State on Dec. 22 -- just four shy of the UTEP sophomore record of 37 points, established by Charlie Brown versus West Texas State on Feb. 15, 1957 ... Jackson has scored 20 points in a half twice this season -- on Nov. 16 against UC Davis (21 points in the second half), and again versus Jackson State (22 points in the first half) ... he has attempted a free throw in 27 of 28 games this season (averaging 7.2 attempts per game) ... he has made 147 free throws in 2006-07 (14th on the season chart) and attempted 202 (15th) ... Jackson is the fifth UTEP guard to attempt 200 foul shots in a season, joining Nate Archibald (1969-70), Charlie Brown (1956-57), Antoine Gillespie (1993-94 and 1994-95) and Tim Hardaway (1988-89) ... Jackson has attempted 10 free throws or more in 11 games ... Jackson has scored 20 points or more in 11 of 17 home games ... Jackson has shot 50 percent or better in back-to-back games for the first time since Dec. 19. He has averaged 23.0 ppg while shooting 62 percent (18-for-29) from the floor over the last two contests.

UTEP Causing Turnovers ...

The Miners have forced 536 turnovers this season, the second-top seasonal total in school history ... the record is 551 turnovers forced in 1986-87 ... UTEP has forced 20 or more turnovers in 15 games this season, including six times in conference play ... UTEP leads C-USA in turnovers forced (536) and turnovers forced per game (19.1) ... UTEP has scored more than 30 points off turnovers in three games (UC Davis, Toledo, Marshall), and is averaging 18.9 points off turnovers per contest ... UTEP’s 242 steals mark the fourth-best seasonal figure in school history ... UTEP was 29th in the nation in steals (8.6 per game) entering the week ... UTEP has had at least 10 steals in 12 games this season (9-3 record), including seven times in conference play ... the Miners had a season-high 14 takeaways at Tulsa on Jan. 13 ... seven Miners have 20+ steals for the first time in school history (Malik Alvin, Darren Clarke, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore, Victor Ramalho, Maurice Thomas).

Chart Watching ...

Malik Alvin owns Miner freshman records for assists (125) and steals (42), eclipsing the previous marks of 86 assists by Henry Hall in 1989-90 and 32 steals by Roy Smallwood in 1999-00 ... Alvin’s 125 assists are the 14th-best seasonal figure in school annals ... Alvin is chasing Prince Stewart (13th place, 126 assists) ... Kevin Henderson’s 54 three-point field goals rank 12th on the school seasonal list behind Mark McCall’s 56 in 1990-91 ... with two more blocked shots, Jeremy Sampson will tie Greg Foster (1989-90) and Marlon Maxey (1989-90) for the 14th-top seasonal figure. Sampson currently has 36 rejections.

Talking Triples ...

UTEP has made 189 three-pointers -- fourth-most in a season in school history -- and attempted 569 (third-most) ... the school records are 214 makes and 627 attempts, both set during the 1994-95 season ... UTEP is averaging 20.3 three-point attempts per game and shooting 33.2 percent from beyond the arc ... UTEP established a school record with 37 three-point attempts at Southern Miss on Jan. 31 ... the Miners have already tied the school record by making 10 or more three-pointers in six games ... seven UTEP players have made 10 or more three-pointers this season (Malik Alvin, Darren Clarke, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore, Jeremy Sampson, Dale Vanwright) for the first time in school history ... UTEP has made a three-point field goal in 202 consecutive games.

Guards Carrying the Load ...

Guards have scored 1,558 of the Miners’ 2,136 points this season (73 percent) ... UTEP has started four guards five times, and three guards 23 times ... a guard has led the Miners in scoring in 26 of 28 games this season ... either Kevin Henderson or Stefon Jackson has led the team in scoring in 12 of the last 13 contests ... a guard has led UTEP in rebounding in 18 games, including each of the last eight ... UTEP’s guards are averaging 20.7 rebounds per game and have been responsible for 59 percent of the team total ... UTEP’s guards have combined for double-digit boards in 27 of 28 games this season, including 30 or more on five occasions.

Two Guards Share Rebounding Lead ...

Kevin Henderson and Stefon Jackson -- 6’3” and 6’5” respectively -- are tied for the team lead, averaging 6.0 rebounds per game ... a guard hasn’t led UTEP in rebounding since the 1998-99 season (William Smith) ... Henderson is averaging 6.8 boards in C-USA games ... he has had seven boards or more in 13 games this season, including a career-high 15 versus UCF on Jan. 27 ... Jackson has had four games with double-figure rebounds, and has snared seven or more on 10 occasions this season ... Jackson has averaged 8.8 boards over the last six games ... UTEP is 11-3 when outrebounding opponents and 3-11 when being tied or outrebounded.

UTEP Player Tidbits ...

Malik Alvin leads all Conference USA freshmen in assists (4.5 apg) and steals (1.5 spg), and is third among rookies in three-point field goal percentage (.394). He had a steal in 13 straight games before having none at East Carolina on Saturday ... Darren Clarke is 3-for-27 (.111) from the field over the last five games, including 1-for-14 (.071) from outside. He has gone the last five games without scoring in double figures, tying his longest drought of the season ... Kevin Henderson has made a three-pointer in a career-long 16 straight games, the longest running streak on the team. It is the longest string by a Miner player since Chris Craig hit a trifecta in 28 consecutive contests during the 2003-04 season ... Corey Speight has seen limited action this season (14 games/7.8 minutes per game) and is 7-for-7 from the line ... Marvin Kilgore is nine assists shy of 100 for the season. He did not attempt a shot at East Carolina on Saturday for the first time this season. After scoring in double figures in UTEP’s first three conference games, he has scored in double digits only twice in the last 11 outings ... Jeremy Sampson has seven blocked shots in the last three games ... Victor Ramalho is 7-for-9 (.778) from the floor over the last two contests ... Maurice Thomas is the only Miner shooting 50 percent or better from the field (.560). He has had nine or more rebounds in eight games this season, but has averaged 3.0 boards over the last four contests. Thomas is third on the team -- and first among frontcourt players -- with 14 double-figure scoring games ... Dale Vanwright scored in double figures for the first time since Jan. 2 on Saturday at East Carolina, finishing with 17 points -- one shy of his career high. Vanwright established personal bests for field goal attempts (11) and minutes (35) against the Pirates.

UTEP Signee a Mr. Basketball Finalist ...

Guard Randy Culpepper, who will be a freshman at UTEP beginning with the 2007-08 season, was named a finalist for Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee last week ... Culpepper, who attends Sheffield High School in Memphis, is one of three Class AA Mr. Basketball finalists by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association ... the 5-11 Culpepper has scored more than 2,600 career points ... UTEP also signed forward Manuel Cass (South Kent [Conn.] High School) and center Wayne Portalatin (The Patterson School [N.C.] during November’s early period ... like Culpepper, Cass is regarded as a national top-200 prospect.

UTEP Building Basketball Practice Facility ...

UTEP is expected to break ground on the Foster and Stevens Basketball Complex this summer, with the building targeted for completion in the fall of 2008 ... the facility will be approximately 45,000 square feet with a cost of $13 million ... the complex will feature two practice courts, strength and conditioning center, sports medicine center, academic/film room, coaches’ offices, locker rooms, equipment room and lounges for the UTEP men’s and women’s basketball teams ... the complex will be situated just east of the Don Haskins Center, near the corner of Glory Road and Mesa Street ... two lead gifts of $3 million each were pledged by Jeff and Sharon Stevens and Paul L. Foster towards the completion of the facility ... Jeff Stevens is Executive Vice President of Marketing for Western Refining, Inc., and Foster is President and CEO of the company.

Miner Nuggets ...

With 14 victories this season, Tony Barbee has the third-most wins among first-year UTEP coaches behind Doc Sadler (27, 2004-05) and Don Haskins (18, 1961-62) ... the Miners are 9-3 when they have more assists than turnovers, and 5-11 when they don’t ... UTEP has had nine games where at least one starter hasn’t scored this season, and two games where two starters haven’t scored ... UTEP has only two players averaging double-figure points -- Stefon Jackson (18.1 ppg) and Kevin Henderson (11.0 ppg) -- for the first time since 1996-97, and only the third time in 21 seasons ... the Miners have missed 105 free throws in their last 11 losses ... UTEP is 11-3 this season when making more free throws than foes and 10-3 when going to the line more times than the opposition ... UTEP’s four Philadelphia natives -- Malik Alvin, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore and Maurice Thomas -- have scored 1,240 of the team’s points this season (58 percent) ... UTEP has won 86 games over the last four seasons, reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2005 and the NIT in 2006 ... five Miners have scored over 20 points in a game this season -- Malik Alvin, Kevin Henderson, Stefon Jackson, Marvin Kilgore and Maurice Thomas.