HOST UTEP IS TOURNEY FAVORITE

ST. LOUIS -- In most cases, whenever a college basketball team hosts a tournament, that squad generally has a relatively easy path into the finals and is favored to capture the championship.

The Sierra Providence SunClass Tournament is no exception. Host Texas-El Paso appears to be a big favorite in the four-team event that will be played tonight and Thursday night.

The Miners, off to a 7-1 start, face 0-10 Jackson State at 8 p.m. CST tonight in the tourney opener. Southeast Missouri State University was scheduled to put its 7-3 record on the line against 2-7 Houston at 10 p.m., but that game was all but assured of not coming off as the Southeast Missourian went to press Tuesday night (see coach Gary Garner's column on page 1B).

"I don't think there's any question that they (UTEP) are definitely the favorite. And they should definitely be in the finals," said Garner, before finding out that the Indians would almost certainly not be able to make it to El Paso to play in the first round. "They've not only got a very good basketball team, but they're playing at home. That's usually a pretty good combination."

In the previous 39 years of the tournament, UTEP has made it to the championship game 33 times and the Miners have won 23 titles, although they have not captured the crown since 1995. Last season, Kent beat the Miners 90-80 in the finals.

The Miners are coached by Jason Rabedeaux, who is in his second season at UTEP after previously serving as an assistant at Oklahoma. UTEP's only loss so far this year was a 94-81 home setback to a strong Charlotte squad.

Brandon Wolfram, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward who is one of the premier players in the Western Athletic Conference, leads the Miners offensively with an average of 24.8 points per game. He is shooting 58 percent from the field and also tops the squad in rebounding at 7.8 per contest.

Other players averaging in double figures offensively for the Miners are 5-10 junior guard Eugene Costello (16.4 ppg), 6-6 sophomore forward Roy Smallwood (14.0 ppg) and 6-10 junior center Brian Stewart (11.7 ppg).

Jackson State's Tigers, coached by Andy Stoglin, are led by 6-3 junior guard Raymond Appelberry (14.5 ppg) and 6-4 junior forward Richard Bradley (14.3 ppg).

George Williams, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, is Houston's leading scorer as he averages 12.4 points per game. He is also the Cougars' second-leading rebounder at more than seven a contest.

Also averaging in double figures for the Cougars are 5-10 junior guard Dominic Smith (11.2 ppg), 6-5 senior forward Chad Hendrick (10.5 ppg) and 6-9, 265-pound freshman center Alton Ford (10.3 ppg), a McDonald's All-American last year who was ranked as one of the nation's top high school players.

The Cougars are in their first season under coach Ray McCallum, who compiled a 126-76 record in seven seasons at Ball State before taking over the Houston program.