The top-seeded Champs face the only Miner team in history to have 6 players average in double figure scoring on the year. The amount of household Miner names in this matchup is incredible. But then again what would you expect from a second round matchup in the Ultimate Miners Bracket. Hill vs Hardaway. Lattin vs Richmond. Shed vs Sandle. Flournoy vs Gates. Artis vs Jeep. Which team has what it takes to make the Miner Final Four?
RECORDS
| OVERALL RECORD | CONFERENCE RECORD | |
| 1966 Texas Western Miners | 28-1 | n/a |
| 1987 UTEP Miners | 25-7 | 13-3 (1st in WAC) |
ROSTERS & INDIVIDUAL STATS
| 1966 ROSTER | YR | FG% | RPG | PPG |
| Bobby Joe Hill | JR | 41.1 | 3.0 | 15.0 |
| David Lattin | SR | 49.4 | 8.6 | 14.0 |
| Orsten Artis | SR | 47.0 | 3.5 | 12.6 |
| Nevil Shed | JR | 49.4 | 7.9 | 10.6 |
| Harry Flournoy | SR | 50.0 | 10.7 | 8.3 |
| Willie Worsley | SO | 40.3 | 2.3 | 8.0 |
| Willie Cager | SO | 41.0 | 4.0 | 6.6 |
| Louis Baudoin | JR | 38.6 | 1.3 | 2.2 |
| Jerry Armstrong | SR | 27.9 | 1.4 | 1.9 |
| David Palacio | SO | 25.0 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| Dick Myers | JR | 33.3 | 0.6 | 0.9 |
| Togo Railey | JR | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| 1987 ROSTER | YR | FG% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| Jeep Jackson | SR | 51.4 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 12.9 |
| Chris Sandle | JR | 48.2 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 12.9 |
| Mike Richmond | SR | 57.8 | 6.4 | 0.5 | 12.7 |
| Quintan Gates | SR | 42.2 | 5.4 | 1.4 | 10.9 |
| Chris Blocker | JR | 49.5 | 3.2 | 2.3 | 10.6 |
| Tim Hardaway | SO | 50.2 | 2.0 | 4.7 | 10.0 |
| Wayne Campbell | JR | 62.9 | 6.2 | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| Terry Stallworth | SO | 36.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| Jerry Jones | FR | 50.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Antonio Davis | FR | 34.4 | 1.8 | 0.1 | 1.3 |
| Merle Heimer | FR | 30.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
Looking at the rosters, it becomes obvious these were two of the most balanced teams in Miner history. Both teams have great inside and outside players. Players in the 60's tended to be smaller than players of later eras. Starting center David Lattin was 6 foot 7 and forwards Nevil Shed and Willie Cager were 6'8 and 6'5 respectively. However, 1987's size is not quite as intimidating as Miner teams' from other years. The most important pieces of the 87 Miners' frontcourt (arguably Sandle, Richmond, and Blocker) were 6'6, 6'9, and 6'5 respectively. Quintan Gates was 6'7 as well but was a guard/forward combo type player. The backcourts feature some of the best Miner guards ever. Jeep Jackson and Tim Hardaway on one side and Bobby Joe Hill and Willie Worsley on the other. Worsley would see a huge breakout year in '67 when Hill went down with a season-ending injury. The two teams are pretty even in terms of experience and talent.
TEAM STATISTICS
| 1966 TEAM STATS | FG% | FT% | RPG | PPG |
| TWC Miners | 44.6 | 69.9 | 49.3 | 77.9 |
| Opponents | 40.1 | 70.9 | 36.2 | 62.7 |
| 1987 TEAM STATS | FG% | FT% | RPG | PPG | APG |
| UTEP Miners | 50.6 | 67.5 | 34.4 | 77.4 | 14.3 |
| Opponents | 46.1 | 67.1 | 33.3 | 69.0 | 11.1 |
The limited stats we have show a huge advantage for 1966 in terms of rebounds. The '66 Miners had 3 players that averaged more rebounds than anyone on 1987's team (Flournoy, Lattin, and Shed). Remember Texas Western's physical style of play was one of the deciding factors in the 1966 championship. I have to imagine the champs bullying their way to a positive rebounding margin in this matchup as well. Hardway and Jackson spread the ball around for their team, but it's a shame we don't have Bobby Joe's assist numbers.
NOTABLE WINS & LOSSES
1966
-Beat #4 Iowa Hawkeyes by 18 in Sun Carnival Classic
-Blew out the New Mexico St Aggies twice
-Only loss of the year was by 2 at Seattle
-2-0 against eventual NCAA Tournament teams (only 22 teams made the Tourney). Both wins were against Colorado State.
1987
-Swept New Mexico St Aggies
-Lost to #10 Georgetown Hoyas by 4 on the road
-Beat Texas Longhorns and Auburn Tigers in Sun Carnival Classic
-Lost to Wyoming Cowboys in WAC Tournament
- 2-3 record against eventual NCAA Tournament teams (field of 64). They beat Auburn and Wyoming for their 2 wins and lost to Wyoming twice and Georgetown.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
1966
If you really don't know what happened in the 1966 Tourney, you need to watch Glory Road. The Miners beat Oklahoma City in the first round by 15 behind strong performances from Hill and Lattin. In the Sweet Sixteen the Miners edged a tough Cincinnati Bearcats team thanks to a 29 point game from David Lattin. In the Elite Eight TWC beat the Kansas Jayhawks by 1 in an overtime thriller. The Miners then beat Utah to advance to the National Championship game against the mighty Kentucky Wildcats. The rest is history. After all these years, the 1966 championship banner is still the only one hanging in the state of Texas.
1987
The 7-seeded 1987 Miners drew Lute Olsen's Arizona Wildcats on their homecourt in Tucson. Despite their hostile surroundings, the Miners pulled out a win for the ages in overtime even after Gates, Hardaway, Campbell, and Sandle fouled out in regulation. The Miners went on to lose to the 2nd seeded Iowa Hawkeyes in the second round by a single basket.
UMB BRACKET
(1) 1966 TWC Miners or (9) 1987 UTEP Miners (This week's matchup)
(5) 1992 UTEP Miners or (13) 1963 TWC Miners
(3) 1984 UTEP Miners or (6) 1989 UTEP Miners
(2) 1964 TWC Miners or (7) 2010 UTEP Miners