Men's Basketball Closes Regular-Season Slate vs. NC State
March 6, 2009
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CORAL GABLES, FLA… – The University of Miami men’s basketball team closes its regular-season slate at home versus NC State on Saturday at noon. Before their final home game, the Hurricanes’ four seniors — Jack McClinton, Brian Asbury, Jimmy Graham and Lance Hurdle — will be honored for their accomplishments.
Game 29: Miami (17-11, 6-9 ACC) vs. NC State (16-12, 6-9 ACC)
Date: Sat., Mar. 7, 2009 | Time: Noon (EST) | Site: BankUnited Center
TV: Raycom (WBFS-My 33 in S. Fla.) | Radio: 560 WQAM
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) | NC State (www.gopack.com)
Tickets: 1-800-Go-Canes
Projected Miami Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast
23 James Dews (G, 6-4, 209, Jr.) 8.6 2.7 1.3
33 Jack McClinton (G, 6-1, 185, Sr.) 19.5 3.1 3.0
32 Brian Asbury (G/F, 6-7, 221, Sr.) 8.0 5.1 1.4
00 Jimmy Graham (F, 6-8, 256, Sr.) 3.7 6.2 1.2^
21 Dwayne Collins (F, 6-8, 238, Jr.) 10.8 7.3 1.4
Projected NC State Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast
33 Brandon Costner (F, 6-9, 231, R-Jr.) 13.6 6.1 2.4
34 Ben McCauley (F/C, 6-9, 237, Sr.) 12.6 7.8 2.0
04 Courtney Fells (G/F, 6-6, 210, Sr.) 11.6 3.5 1.1*
23 Tracy Smith (F, 6-8, 240, So.) 10.2 4.5 0.6
10 Javier Gonzalez (G, 5-11, 172, So.) 6.1 2.0 3.3
^ blocks per game * steals per game
With a win on Saturday, Miami would record its seventh ACC win of the season. The Hurricanes have won seven-or-more conference games in three of four seasons since joining the ACC in 2004-05. In addition, a win would give UM its 12th home victory of the season — which would rate as the second most wins in a season at the BankUnited Center.
THE SERIES
Saturday marks the ninth meeting between Miami and NC State, with the Wolfpack leading the all-time series, 5-3. Three of the last five meetings have been decided in single or double overtime, with NC State outlasting Miami on all three occasions — including an 84-81 Wolfpack victory on Jan. 27, 2009 in Raleigh. The Hurricanes won the other two meetings in regulation during that span — including a 2-0 record at home in Coral Gables.
NC State is 2-8 on the road in 2008-09 and 0-10 when trailing or tied with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Hurricanes are 16-0 this season when leading at the four-minute and/or two-minute mark.
The teams split a pair of games during the 2007-08 season, with the Wolfpack winning at home in double overtime and the Hurricanes grabbing the 63-50 win in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
In the last meeting between the teams, Miami overcame a 19-point second-half deficit and a Jack McClinton stomach bug to send the game into overtime. With 24 seconds to go in OT, McClinton — who finished with a game-high 27 points — hit three-straight free throws to knot the score at 81-all. But NC State freshman Julius Mays came into the game and hit a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds to go for the 84-81 win.
IT’S ALL IN YOUR MIND
Senior guard Jack McClinton was named to the 2009 All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team on Friday. It is the third-straight season he has earned the honor given to student-athletes who have earned a 3.0 GPA for the previous semester and have maintained a 3.0 cumulative average over their academic career.
In 2007-08, McClinton was the only First Team All-ACC selection that was also named to the All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team.
Miami and Duke lead all ACC teams with seven All-ACC Academic Team selections over the last four years.
CENTURY CLUB
Brian Asbury will be making his Miami record-setting 127th career appearance on Saturday. The fourth-year senior has played in all but two games over his career (both as a freshman), including 32-straight starts between the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 seasons.
Asbury notched his first career double-double on Wednesday at Georgia Tech, finishing with a team-high 16 points (6-11 FGs) and a career-high 15 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in five of the last six games and is averaging 12.2 points and 6.3 rebounds over that span, converting .622 from the field, .417 from long range and .800 from the charity stripe. His 517 career boards rank 10th in the ACC among active players.
In his fourth season with the ‘Canes, Jimmy Graham has now appeared in 116 games over his career — tied with Darius Rice (2000-04) for 14th most appearances as a Hurricane. Graham is on pace to reach the 500-point and 500-rebound mark before he closes his Hurricane career. He is currently 15 points and 12 rebounds shy of that mark.
SHARPSHOOTER
Jack McClinton — who’s 273 career treys are 11th in ACC history — has has hit a trey in 31-straight games. That is the longest active streak in the ACC, the 18th longest streak in ACC history and the second-longest streak in UM history. McClinton needs just one trey versus NC State to tie the school record of 32-straight games set in 1994-95 by Steven Edwards.
HURRICANE WARNING
Miami’s strength of schedule is ranked TENTH in the country and third in the ACC. The Hurricanes have played five games versus teams that have been ranked No.1 this season and have played four of the five teams that have been atop the polls in 2008-09 — UConn, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Duke. Pitt is the only team that has reached the top spot this season that Miami is not scheduled to face.
The Hurricanes have four wins versus the nation’s top 50 in the RPI and six wins over the top 100 teams — with a 27-point victory over Wake Forest, a series sweep of Boston College and wins over Florida State and Maryland at home, as well at Kentucky. Six of UM’s 11 losses are to teams ranked among the RPI’s top 25, while its only non-conference losses are to Connecticut in the Virgin Islands and to Ohio State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
LAST TIME OUT
The Hurricanes stumbled in their push for a postseason berth with a 78-68 loss at Georgia Tech on Wednesday evening.
Miami dominated the boards, out-rebounding Georgia Tech by 22 rebounds (48-26) for its second-largest rebounding margin of the season and its largest in ACC play. The Hurricanes also registered 26 offensive boards — equal to the Yellow Jackets’ total number of rebounds. Dwayne Collins and Brian Asbury grabbed 15 boards apiece — the first time a pair of Hurricanes notched double-figure rebounds in the same game since Julian Gamble (13) and Cyrus McGowan (10) managed the feat in a win over North Florida on Dec. 31.
Led by Asbury’s team-high 16 points, five Hurricanes finished in double-figure scoring for the second time this season. Jack McClinton added 13 points, James Dews finished with 11 and Collins and Lance Hurdle chipped in 10 points apiece. UM previously accomplished this feat in its 77-71 win at Boston College on Jan. 10.
McClinton’s 88 three-pointers in 2008-09 are the third-most by a Hurricane in a single season. In three seasons as a Hurricane, he owns the top-three spots for 1-2-3 McClinton sweep.
McClinton extended his three-point streak to an ACC-long and personal-best 31-straight games to knock off his previous best of 30 (in 2007 and 2008) to rank second in school history.
McClinton has scored in double-figures in 52 of his last 54 games, as well as 82 of 91 games as a Hurricane. It was his 27th double-digit output of the year and his 24th straight — the second-longest active streak in the ACC.
Hurdle dished out a team-high five assists with just one turnover in 28 minutes. It marked the third time this season he recorded five-or-more assists.
Jimmy Graham blocked his 100th career shot and is one of just eight Hurricanes in school history to notch 100+ blocks.
Adrian Thomas saw his three-point streak end at 14 games (tied for 10th best in school history), as he was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 27 and for the first time in ACC play this season.
UM scored 23 points on second-chance baskets — the most in ACC play for the Hurricanes this season.
Miami’s slow start saw it give up the most first-half points (41) for its largest halftime deficit (16) of the season.
