Jan. 17, 2006

The SMU Mustangs (7-7, 0-2 C-USA) look for their first conference victory when they visit the East Carolina Pirates (6-9, 0-2) at Williams Arena on Wednesday Jan. 18, at 6 p.m. CT. This is only the second meeting between these teams. TheMustangs won the previous matchup 71-62 on Dec. 21, 1985, in the consolation game of the Kentucky Invitational in Lexington, Kentucky. Both teams are are 0-2 in conference play with losses to the same opponents. SMU losy 80-77 to UTEP and 73-53 at #5 Memphis. The Pirates lost 77-67 to #5 Memphis and 58-45 at UTEP.

GAME 15: East Carolina Pirates Location: Greenville, N.C. Enrollment: 22,767 Conference: Conference USA Colors: Purple & Gold Arena: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (8,000) Chancellor: Dr. Steve Ballard Athletic Director: Terry Holland Head Coach: Ricky Stokes Years At School/Overall: 1st/5th Associate Head Coach: Mack McCarthy Asst. Coaches: Chris Ferguson, Larry Dixon 2004-05 Record: 9-19 Conference Record/Finish: 4-12/13th Post-Season: N/A Lettermen Returning/Lost: 8/3 Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2 Series Record: SMU leads 1-0 Basketball SID: Jody Jones E-Mail: jonesjod@mail.ecu.edu Web Site: www.ecupirates.com LAST GAME: MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Joey Dorsey scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds and No. 5 Memphis got off to a strong start in a 73-53 win over SMU on Saturday night. Memphis (15-2, 2-0 Conference USA) opened the game with an 18-2 run over the first nine minutes and never let the advantage get under 10 the rest of the way. The Tigers won their fourth straight since losing to No. 8 Texas 69-58 on Jan. 2. It was the worst loss of the season for SMU (7-7, 0-2), which dropped its third consecutive game. Rodney Carney led the Tigers with 15 points, connecting on 6-of-9 from the field, and Memphis shot 51 percent. Dorsey hit five of seven shots, and Darius Washington added 13 points and four assists. Bryan Hopkins went 7-of-12 from the field and finished with 19 points for the Mustangs, who shot 37 percent and committed 15 turnovers. After SMU scored the game's first basket, Memphis reeled off 18 straight points. During the run, the Mustangs missed 10 straight shots and went almost nine minutes without scoring. SMU also had six early turnovers. Shawne Williams hit two 3-pointers as Memphis grabbed a 21-4 lead. The Mustangs whittled the Tigers lead to 10 with six minutes left in the half, but Memphis carried a 33-22 lead into the break. Hopkins led SMU with 10 points in the first half. The Mustangs tried to battle back in the second half but they couldn't whittle the lead down to single digits. Washington connected on a 3-pointer with about 8 minutes left to give the Tigers a 54-37 lead. HEAD COACH Jimmy Tubbs...is in his second season as the head coach of the Mustangs and has a 21-21 record. The Ponies were 14-14 in his inaugural campaign. The team finished 9-9 in conference action and improved in every statistical category highlighted by finishing 48th in the nation at 8.6 steals per game. He spent 12 seasons as an assistant coach on the Hilltop before spending the last two seasons as an assistant under Kelvin Sampson at Oklahoma. As a college assistant, his SMU and Oklahoma squads combined for a 213-194 record. The Sooners won the 2003 Big 12 tournament, and the Mustangs won the 1993 Southwest Conference title and earned a postseason NIT bid in 2000. Prior to his first stint at SMU, he spent eight seasons as the head coach at Dallas Kimball High School compiling a 232-42 record and the 1990 state championship. TUBBS RECORD Season Total Home Away Neutral Overall 2004-05 14-14 10-4 4-9 0-1 2005-06 7-7 6-3 1-4 Total 21-21 16-7 5-13 0-1

Conference 2004-05 (WAC) 9-9 6-3 3-6 2005-06 (C-USA) 0-2 0-1 0-1 Total 9-11 6-4 3-7

RADIO: Every SMU regular season and postseason game is on KAAM 770 AM. Rich Phillips, Allen Stone and Jay Poerner bring the action and all the latest news on the Mustangs and Conference USA.

NCAA RANKINGS (ALL GAMES - Through Jan. 9) INDIVIDUAL: TEAM Blocked Shots 40th 4.9

C-USA RANKINGS: (ALL GAMES - Through Jan. 11) INDIVIDUAL: Scoring 15th Roberts 12.3 22nd Willingham 11.4 25th Pearson 10.6 Rebounding 4th Pearson 7.3 17th Morris 5.4 FG Pct. (min. 3 FGM/gm) Assists 15th Roberts 3.00 FT Pct. (min. 2 FTM/gm) 6th Willingham .769 (40-52) Steals 3FG Pct. (min. 1 FGM/gm) 10th Willingham .373 (25-67) 3PT FGM 8th Willingham 1.79 Blocked Shots 5th Rackauskas 1.29 t-15th Pearson 0.86 Ast./TO Ratio (min. 3 ast/gm) 13th Willingham 1.50 Offensive Rebounds 4th Pearson 3.43 t-15th Rackauskas 1.93 Defensive Rebounds t-10th Pearson 3.86

TEAM Scoring Offense 7th 68.1 Scoring Defense 3rd 64.4 Scoring Margin 5th +3.7 FT Pct. 4th .677 FG Pct. 6th .443 FG Pct. Defense 7th .422 3Pt. FG Pct. 8th .326 3Pt. FG Pct. Defense 5th .333 Rebounding Offense 6th 35.2 Rebounding Defense 3rd 32.7 Rebounding Margin t-5th +2.5 Blocked Shots 2nd 5.07 Assists 9th 13.07 Steals 7th 7.57 Turnover Margin 6th +1.00 Ast./TO Ratio 6th 0.93 Offensive Rebounds 4th 13.64 Defensive Rebounds 10th 21.57 3PT FG Made 8th 5.14

SUCCESS INDICATORS: W L Scoring 77.0 59.1 FG Pct. .499 .392 Opp. FG Pct. .383 .465 3FG Pct. .360 .290 FTA 24.6 15.7 FT Pct. .733 .591 Assists 15.7 10.4 Reb. Margin +6.9 -1.9 Fouls 16.7 21.7 SMU is also 4-0 when Derrick Roberts leads in steals and 4-1 when Dez Willingham leads in assists.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: H A FG Pct. .467 .405 Opp. FG Pct. .395 .470 Reb. Margin +4.6 -0.5

FREE THROW STREAKS: Brian Morris: The freshman hit 15 in a row at one point. His 10-of-10 against Long Island (11/29) was just the tenth time an SMU player had gone 10-for-10 or better. Dez Willingham: He hit 12 in a row earlier this season and has currently hit nine straight.

SHOT SELECTION: Ike Ofoegbu has hit 12 of 15 FGs during his last eight games. (He missed the Harvard game with a back injury)

RECORD SETTERS: Additions to the SMU record books. SMU Individual Records - Game Free Throw Percentage (Min. 10 attempts) - t-1st Brian Morris (10-10) Long Island 11/29/05 - 10th time an SMU player was 100% with 10+ FTA 3FG - t-2nd Bryan Hopkins (7-10) TCU 12/30/05 (made first seven attempts) SMU Team Records - Game FG Percentage - 1st 69.4% (34-49) Savannah State 12/19/05, was 67.7 against Texas Tech 1/5/83

BLOCK PARTY: The Mustangs are averaging 5.1 blocks per game this season and have been in the NCAA top-50 most of the season. That is up from 3.6 blocks per contest last season.

SHOTS FALLING AWAY: Bamba Fall has 12 blocks this season in five games. He had five in the 80-67 loss to UTEP on Jan. 11. The freshman record for blocks in a season is 43 by Ira Terrell in 1972-73.

70+ USUALLY = W: The Mustangs are 6-0 this season when reaching 70 points and 1-7 when under 70 points. The exception was the 52-49 win against TCU on Dec. 30. Under Tubbs 70+ <70 2004-05="" 12-3="" 2-11="" 2005-06="" 6-0="" 1-7="" 18-3="">

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Devon Pearson (26 pts, 11 rebs) - Centenary 11/20 Brian Morris (16 pts, 11 rebs) - Long Island 11/29 Devon Pearson (14 pts, 14 rebs) - Long Island 11/29 Devon Pearson (10 pts, 10 rebs) - at Wyoming 12/22

FIVE & DIME: The Mustangs have had five players score in double figures three times this season, winning each time. 11/20 Centenary (W, 85-67): Devon Pearson 26, Derrick Roberts 14, Brian Morris 12, Dez Willingham 11, and Ike Ofoegbu 10. 11/29 Long Island (W, 74-62): Brian Morris 16, Devon Pearson 14, Dez Willingham 14, Brian Epps 11, Derrick Roberts 11 12/19 Savannah State (W, 89-46): Bryan Hopkins 19, Donatas Rackauskas 12, Brian Epps 11, Brian Morris 11, Dez Willingham 11

HOPKINS MOVING UP CAREER LISTS: Bryan Hopkins continues to move up the career scoring list. He started the season in 16th with 1342 points. He is also second in career three-pointers. Points 1992 - Jeryl Sasser (117 games) - 1997-01 1932 - Gene Phillips (74 games) - 1968-71 1784 - Jon Koncak (123 games) - 1981-85 1761 - Quinton Ross (119 games) - 1999-03 1753 - Jim Krebs (82 games) - 1954-57 1715 - Ira Terrell (80 games) - 1972-76 1665 - Larry Davis (122 games) - 1981-85 1529 - Mike Wilson (85 games) - 1990-93 1482 - Damon Hancock (112 games) - 1998-02 1457 - Bryan Hopkins (90 games) - 2002-06 1443 - Stephen Woods (112 games) - 1996-00 1374 - David Piehler (112 games) - 1979-83 1363 - Tim Mason (112 games) - 1989-93 1350 - Willie Davis (109 games) - 1997-01 1349 - Jay Poerner (107 games) - 1994-98 1343 - Kato Armstrong (95 games) - 1985-89

3-point field goals made 273 - Stephen Woods (112 games) - 1996-00 229 - Bryan Hopkins (90 games) - 2002-06 220 - Troy Matthews (110 games) - 1993-97 170 - Quinton Ross (119 games) - 1999-03 Assists 828 - Butch Moore - 1982-86 491 - Gerald Lewis - 1989-93 469 - Jeryl Sasser - 1997-01 468 - Billy Allen - 1978-80 460 - Carl Wright - 1982-85 419 - Roderick Hampton - 1987-91 403 - Kato Armstrong - 1985-89 387 - Troy Matthews - 1993-97 363 - Zachary Thiel - 1971-74 339 - Bryan Hopkins - 2002-06 Steals 209 - Gerald Lewis - 1989-93 205 - Carl Wright - 1982-85 197 - Jeryl Sasser - 1997-01 190 - Bryan Hopkins - 2002-06 Steals average (minimum 30 games) 2.1 - Carl Wright (96 games) - 1982-85 2.1 - Bryan Hopkins (90 games) - 2002-06 1.9 - Gerald Lewis (112 games) - 1989-93