from the SportsNetwork.com
Texas-El Paso (7-4) at Santa Clara (6-7)
The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Tuesday, December 30th, 11:00 p.m. (et). 8pm PT Finals of The Cable Car ClassicFACTS & STATS:
- Site: Leavey Center (5,000) -- Santa Clara, California.
- Television: None.
- Home Record: UTEP 5-1, SCU 4-1.
- Away Record: UTEP 0-1, SCU 2-3.
- Neutral Record: UTEP 2-2, SCU 0-3.
- Conference Record: UTEP 0-0, SCU 0-0.
- Series Record: First-ever meeting.
GAME NOTES: The Texas-El Paso Miners and Santa Clara Broncos clash at the Leavey Center tonight in the championship game of the 42nd annual Cable Car Classic. The Miners earned their spot in tonight's title tilt with a solid 79-66 victory over James Madison last night. It was the third straight win by UTEP, which now stands at 7-4 on the year. As for Santa Clara, it had a much more difficult time in its opening game, but it was able to rally for an 83-80 victory over Belmont on Monday. The triumph put the brakes on a three-game slide and pushed the Broncos to 6-7 overall and 4-1 on their own floor. Tonight's game marks the first-ever meeting between UTEP and SCU on the hardwood.
UTEP opened the game with a 17-2 run and never looked back in a 79-66 victory over JMU last night. The Miners shot a solid 44.8 percent from the floor in the contest and that includes a 14-of-33 performance from beyond the arc. Randy Culpepper set a school record by making eight three-pointers and he finished with 30 points to pace the Miners. Stefon Jackson and Gabriel McCulley also got into the mix, netting 13 points apiece. On the year, Jackson tops the roster in scoring with a hardy 22.6 ppg and he is also pulling down 6.3 rpg. The talented Jackson is also just 35 points away from becoming UTEP's all-time leading scorer. Culpepper has formed a solid one-two punch with Jackson, as he turns in 20.5 ppg. As a unit, the Miners are generating 78.5 ppg this season, although they have shown some vulnerability on defense, allowing 75.4 ppg.
The Broncos scored the first 18 points of the second half, as they overcame a 46-28 deficit for an 83-80 victory over Belmont last night. It was a great come-from-behind win by SCU, which shot 46.2 percent from the field and made 14-of-19 free-throw attempts. Kevin Foster led a balanced attack with 24 points and three steals. James Rahon added 15 points off the bench, while John Bryant and Perry Petty chipped in with 11 points apiece. On the season, Bryant has clearly been the team's most productive player, leading the Broncos with his double-double average of 17.9 ppg and 12.4 rpg. Foster is next in line at 11.8 ppg and he is trailed by Rahon and his 10.4 ppg. Overall, Santa Clara is turning in 63.6 ppg and making good on 45.5 percent of its field goal attempts.SCU has the luxury of hosting this game and behind the support of its fans and a big game from Bryant, it should prevail over a solid UTEP squad.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Santa Clara 74, Texas-El Paso 69
12/30 10:27:03 ET
Santa Clara vs Texas-El Paso Points 63.6 75.4 Pts Against Assists 13.8 13.5 Ast Against Rebounds 33.4 35.8 Reb Against Steals 6.0 5.5 Stl Against Blocked Shots 4.8 2.5 Blk Against FG% .455 .451 FG% Against 3P% .347 .321 3P% Against FT% .747 .744 FT% Against Inverse Matchup Texas-El Paso at Santa Clara Points 78.5 61.0 Pts Against Assists 15.1 11.1 Ast Against Rebounds 38.5 28.2 Reb Against Steals 6.2 7.1 Stl Against Blocked Shots 3.9 2.2 Blk Against FG% .428 .425 FG% Against 3P% .330 .350 3P% Against FT% .711 .698 FT% Against Inverse Matchup
Team Leaders Points S. Jackson 22.6 Assists J. Stone 6.4 Rebounds A. Moultrie 7.3 Steals R. Culpepper 1.5 Blocked Shots T. Watts 1.8 FG% K. Cooper .553 3P% K. Cooper 1.000 FT% B. French 1.000 Scoring Leaders
Team Leaders Points J. Bryant 17.9 Assists P. Petty 3.7 Rebounds J. Bryant 12.5 Steals P. Petty 1.6 Blocked Shots J. Bryant 2.3 FG% J. Bryant .608 3P% J. Rahon .433 FT% S. Thompson 1.000
from KenPom.com
Scouting Report Game Plan
Date Result Site Record Conf Prediction* Mon Dec 29 (130) Santa Clara 83, (79) Belmont 80 Home 6-7 L, 67-65[65] (38%) Tue Dec 30 (115) Santa Clara vs. (80) Texas El Paso (sr) Home Wed Mar 4 (116) Colorado vs. (76) Texas A&M (sr) Home L, 63-62[62] (45%)^^ Projected record** 17-13 8-6 Chance of undefeated record 0.00%
^^ because KenPom does not list this game I used (116) Colo at home against (76) Texas A&M as a substitute
(and yes A&M is slower than UTEP ... so this only counts if we dictate the pace)
*Predictions include predicted pace in [brackets] and chance of winning in (parentheses)
**Projected record is based on chances of winning, and therefore may not conform to the
cumulative game-by-game predictions. This accounts for the unexpected results that
will inevitably happen during the season.
Colo Raw Tempo: 65.7 poss/40 min National Rank=241 Adj Tempo: 64.6 poss/40 min National Rank=282 Offense Defense Raw Efficiency : 104.3 (109) 93.8 ( 78) Adj Efficiency : 101.6 (145) 96.6 (119) SCU Raw Tempo: 64.4 poss/40 min National Rank=281 Adj Tempo: 64.5 poss/40 min National Rank=286 Offense Defense Raw Efficiency : 98.0 (220) 99.0 (148) Adj Efficiency : 100.6 (156) 95.4 ( 93) =========================== Texas A&M Raw Tempo: 65.7 poss/40 min National Rank=237 Adj Tempo: 65.2 poss/40 min National Rank=258 Offense Defense Raw Efficiency : 108.1 ( 63) 93.3 ( 71) Adj Efficiency : 107.3 ( 73) 94.9 ( 85) UTEP Raw Tempo: 73.6 poss/40 min National Rank=26 Adj Tempo: 71.6 poss/40 min National Rank=49 Offense Defense Raw Efficiency : 106.7 ( 77) 102.7 (213) Adj Efficiency : 107.7 ( 67) 96.1 (104) BELMONT Raw Tempo: 70.5 poss/40 min National Rank=81 Adj Tempo: 70.8 poss/40 min National Rank=71 Offense Defense Raw Efficiency : 110.8 ( 41) 98.7 (142) Adj Efficiency : 111.1 ( 43) 99.0 (152)
--- obviously TEMPO will be a HUGE decider in this game ... BTW the Pace for the Belmont game was [76]
NCAAB Matchup Consensus - Team Experts
(for amusement purposes only)
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12.50% | VS. | 87.50% | ![]() |
| Number of expert picks for this game | # |
| Expert Picks for Texas-El Paso | 1 |
| Expert Picks for Santa Clara | 7 |
| Expert Picks for the Over | 2 |
| Expert Picks for the Under | 3 |
Expert Picks for Texas-El Paso
| Member | Pick | Expert Ranking |
| pittsburghphil | Texas-El Paso +1 | #4 on Santa Clara games (10-2-2, 3900 units) |
Expert Picks for Santa Clara
| Member | Pick | Expert Ranking |
| fishercz | Santa Clara -1 | #1 on Santa Clara games (12-2-0, 4900 units) |
| Big Danny | Santa Clara -1 | #5 on Texas-El Paso games (7-0-0, 3500 units) |
| ToneDodge | Santa Clara -1 | #6 on Santa Clara games (11-3-1, 3850 units) |
| kwells68 | Santa Clara -1 | #7 on Texas-El Paso games (7-0-0, 3500 units) |
| wilbur1030 | Santa Clara -1 | #8 on Texas-El Paso games (8-1-0, 3450 units) |
| MAPASTAR | Santa Clara -1 | #8 on Santa Clara games (9-2-2, 3730 units) |
| joeczar | Santa Clara -1 | #10 on Santa Clara games (7-0-0, 3500 units) |
Expert Picks for the Over
| Member | Pick | Expert Ranking |
| ToneDodge | Over 139 | #6 on Santa Clara games (11-3-1, 3850 units) |
| MAPASTAR | Over 139 | #8 on Santa Clara games (9-2-2, 3730 units) |
Expert Picks for the Under
| Member | Pick | Expert Ranking |
| fishercz | Under 139 | #1 on Santa Clara games (12-2-0, 4900 units) |
| pittsburghphil | Under 139 | #4 on Santa Clara games (10-2-2, 3900 units) |
| Big Danny | Under 139 | #5 on Texas-El Paso games (7-0-0, 3500 units) |
ok ok ... it's Texas A&M not Tech ... and UTEP ... and TT is more like UTEP which is more like Memphis
but Colo/A&M is the closest 1-teen-ish/80ish match-up I could quickly find






