Jan. 27, 2006

The SMU Mustangs (10-7, 2-2 C-USA) continue league play by visiting the league-leading UTEP Miners (11-5, 4-0) on Saturday Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. CT. The Mustangs are looking for their third consecutive conference victory and fourth straight win overall. The Ponies fell 80-67 to UTEP at Moody Coliseum on Jan. 11. Leaders from Jan. 11 meeting: SMU (67) UTEP (80) Pts. 17, Derrick Roberts (7-10 FG) 29, John Tofi (9-14 FG, 11-11 FT) 16, Dez Willingham (6-14 FG) 11, Edgar Moreno 10, Brian Morris (5-5 FG) 10, Jason Williams Reb. 5, Devon Pearson 11, John Tofi 5, Dez Willingham 10, Jason Williams Ast. 3, Derrick Roberts 8, Edgar Moreno Stl. 3, Bryan Hopkins 3, Jason Williams, Edgar Moreno

GAME 18: at UTEP Miners Location: El Paso, Texas Enrollment: 18,918 Conference: Conference USA Colors: Dark Blue, Orange & Silver Accent Arena: Don Haskins Center (12,000) President: Dr. Diana Natalicio Athletic Director: Bob Stull Head Coach: Doc Sadler Years At School/Overall: 2nd/same Assistant Coaches: Ed Custodio, Randall Dickey, James Holland Series Record: Tied 13-13 (UTEP won 80-67 in Dallas on Jan. 11) Basketball SID: Jeff Darby E-Mail: jdarby@utep.edu Web Site: www.utepathletics.com LAST GAME: EDINBURG, Texas (AP) -- Devon Pearson scored 12 points and had 14 rebounds to help lead SMU to an 84-54 victory over Texas-Pan American on Tuesday night. Derrick Roberts and Dez Willingham each scored 14 points for the Mustangs (10-7). All of Pearson's rebounds came on defense. Bryan Hopkins added 11 points for SMU, which shot 64 percent from the field for the game. The Mustangs hit 17-of-24 field goals (71 percent) in the first half while Texas-Pan American hit 8-of-30, or 27 percent. Texas-Pan American (5-15) shot 30 percent for the game. Larry Sheppard led Texas-Pan American with 18 points. Danny Puente added 11 points and Cori Gaither scored 10. SMU led 44-25 at the half. HEAD COACH Jimmy Tubbs...is in his second season as the head coach of the Mustangs and has a 24-21 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 OT Overall 2004-05 14-14 10-4 4-9 0-1 3-2 2005-06 10-7 7-3 3-4 2-0 Total 24-21 17-7 7-13 0-1 5-2

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

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. AWARDS: C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK - Jan. 23 (Bryan Hopkins): Hopkins averaged 20.5 points per game in the two wins, connecting on seven three-pointers, while adding six assists and four steals in wins over East Carolina and Rice. In a 74-70 overtime victory at East Carolina on Jan. 18, he scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the extra session. Hopkins hit four three-pointers in that game, while adding four rebounds and three steals for the Mustangs' first C-USA victory. On Jan. 21, at Moody Coliseum, he helped SMU complete a furious comeback win over Rice with 17 points, including five in the extra session. He added three treys in that outing, along with a pair of assists. NCAA RANKINGS (ALL GAMES - Through Jan. 23) INDIVIDUAL: TEAM Blocked Shots 38th 5.0

C-USA RANKINGS: (ALL GAMES - Through Jan. 26) INDIVIDUAL: OVERALL C-USA Scoring 12th Roberts 12.6 t-3rd B. Hopkins 17.2 t-24th Willingham 11.0 t-15th Roberts 12.8 t-26th Pearson 10.8 Rebounding 3rd Pearson 8.0 t-5th Pearson 7.2 t-15th Morris 5.3 t-17th Roberts 5.0 FG Pct. (min. 3 FGM/gm) 12th Roberts .497 (81-163) 1st Roberts .792 (19-24) 14th Morris .481 (13-27) Assists t-14th Willingham 3.00 13th Willingham 3.50 FT Pct. (min. 2 FTM/gm) 9th Willingham .750 (42-56) t-14th B. Hopkins .778 (14-18) 13th Roberts .705 (43-61) Steals 5th B. Hopkins 2.25 3FG Pct. (min. 1 FGM/gm) 9th Willingham .387 (29-75) 1st Roberts .800 (4-5) 3PT FGM 11th Willingham 1.71 3rd B. Hopkins 3.25 Blocked Shots 10th Rackauskas 1.12 1st Fall 4.00 Ast./TO Ratio (min. 3 ast/gm) 14th Willingham 1.42 11th Willingham 1.75 Offensive Rebounds 4th Pearson 3.18 3rd Pearson 3.25 t-15th Morris 2.00 Defensive Rebounds 4th Pearson 4.82 t-12th Pearson 4.00 15th Morris 3.47 t-15th Roberts 3.75 TEAM OVERALL C-USA Scoring Offense 5th 70.1 3rd 68.5 Scoring Defense 3rd 64.4 12th 73.0 Scoring Margin 5th +5.7 8th -4.5 FT Pct. 3rd .687 9th .659 FG Pct. 4th .456 6th .446 FG Pct. Defense 4th .405 4th .406 3Pt. FG Pct. 7th .330 2nd .367 3Pt. FG Pct. Defense 5th .327 5th .329 Rebounding Offense t-4th 36.4 1st 37.2 Rebounding Defense 6th 32.9 10th 37.2 Rebounding Margin 4th +3.5 8th 0.0 Blocked Shots 2nd 4.94 2nd 5.25 Assists 9th 13.82 9th 13.25 Steals 8th 7.18 12th 4.75 Turnover Margin 7th -0.24 10th -5.25 Ast./TO Ratio 6th 0.96 9th 0.88 Offensive Rebounds 4th 12.76 7th 11.25 Defensive Rebounds 6th 23.59 1st 26.00 3PT FG Made 8th 5.24 t-6th 5.50

SUCCESS INDICATORS: W L Scoring 77.7 59.1 FG Pct. .505 .392 Opp. FG Pct. .369 .465 3FG Pct. .356 .290 FTA 25.4 15.7 FT Pct. .728 .591 Assists 16.2 10.4 Reb. Margin +6.2 -1.9 SMU is 10-2 when outshooting opponents SMU is 7-1 with 20 or more FTA SMU is 4-0 when Derrick Roberts leads in steals SMU is 6-1 when Dez Willingham leads in assists

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: H A FG Pct. .472 .434 Opp. FG Pct. .394 .422 Reb. Margin +3.9 +1.4

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 has streaks of 12 and 11 in a row this season. Bryan Hopkins: Made 16 straight before a miss in overtime at East Carolina.

SHOT SELECTION: Ike Ofoegbu has hit 16 of 19 FGs during his last 11 games. (He missed the Harvard game with a back injury) Derrick Roberts is leading the league in conference games at .792 (19-24).

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 4.9 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 22 blocks this season in eight games and is leading C-USA with 4.00 per league contest. 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 8-0 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="" 9-0="" 1-7="" 21-3="">

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 Devon Pearson (15 pts, 13 rebs) - East Carolina 1/18 Devon Pearson (12 pts, 14 rebs) - at UT-Pan American 1/24

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

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LEAGUE: Bryan Hopkins is fourth all-time at SMU in scoring in conference games. Points in conference games only 1098 - Gene Phillips (42 games) - 1968-71 1048 - Jeryl Sasser (58 games) - 1997-01 988 - Quinton Ross (66 games) - 1999-03 946 - Bryan Hopkins (55 games) - 2002-06 943 - Ira Terrell (44 games) - 1972-76 938 - Jon Koncak (68 games) - 1981-85

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 1509 - Bryan Hopkins (93 games) - 2002-06 1482 - Damon Hancock (112 games) - 1998-02 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) - 1996-00 237 - Bryan Hopkins (93 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 - 1971-74 350 - Bryan Hopkins - 2002-06 Steals 209 - Gerald Lewis - 1989-93 205 - Carl Wright - 1982-85 197 - Jeryl Sasser - 1997-01 196 - Bryan Hopkins - 2002-06 Steals average (minimum 30 games) 2.1 - Carl Wright (96 games) - 1982-85 2.1 - Bryan Hopkins (93 games) - 2002-06 1.9 - Gerald Lewis (112 games) - 1989-93