Miami Hosts Boston College in ACC Home Opener
Jan. 13, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
CORAL GABLES, FLA… After opening its ACC slate with back-to-back road games, the University of Miami men’s basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the BankUnited Center for the first time in 2011 to play host to Boston College in the ACC home opener for the Hurricanes on Sat., Jan. 15, at 6 p.m. in a game to be televised by ESPNU.
Game 17: Miami (11-5, 0-2) vs. Boston College (12-4, 3-0)Date: Sat., Jan. 15, 2011 | Time: 6 p.m. | Site: BankUnited CenterTV: ESPNU | Radio: 560 WQAM (WQAM.com), 90.5 FM (WVUM.org) | Web Video: NoneWebsites: Miami (www.HurricaneSports.com) | Boston College (www.bceagles.com)
Projected Miami StartersNo. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast01 Durand Scott (G, 6-3, 200, So.) 13.9 4.2 3.303 Malcolm Grant (G, 6-1, 180, Jr.) 15.5 1.9 3.831 DeQuan Jones (G/F, 6-7, 219, Jr.) 5.3 2.5 0.532 Erik Swoope (F, 6-6, 230, Fr.) 2.4 1.5 0.6*42 Reggie Johnson (C, 6-10, 303, So.) 12.3 9.7 1.2^
Projected Boston College StartersNo. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast00 Reggie Jackson (G, 6-3, 208, Jr.) 19.5 4.5 4.712 Joe Trapani (F, 6-8, 232, Sr.) 13.6 6.6 1.805 Biko Paris (G, 6-1, 194, Sr.) 11.2 1.7 3.652 Josh Southern (C, 6-10, 263, Sr.) 7.6 3.9 1.431 Danny Rubin (G, 6-6, 170, Fr.) 6.7 2.5 0.8
^ blocks per game | * steals per game
Miami is 5-1 in ACC home openers since joining the league in 2004-05, the same season head coach Frank Haith took over the program.
The Hurricanes are 7-0 at the BankUnited Center this season and have won 20 consecutive non-conference regular season games at home. Over the last four seasons the Hurricanes have compiled a 45-10 (.818) record at home, and are 75-27 (.735) at home overall under Haith — including nine wins over ranked opponents. The Hurricanes have notched double-digit home wins at the BankUnited in the last three-straight seasons and six times in seven full seasons calling the arena home.
QUICK HITSMiami is the only team to have two scorers among the ACC’s top 10 and three scorers among the ACC’s top 20 in Malcolm Grant (15.5 ppg, 7th), Durand Scott (13.9 ppg, 10th) and Reggie Johnson (12.3 ppg, 18th). Boston College is the only other ACC school with three players among the ACC’s top 20 scoring leaders (with one in the top 10).
The `Canes, who have won four of its last six games and nine of its last 12, host three of their next four ACC contests.
Reggie Johnson grabs a team-high 24 percent of the available rebounds when he is on the court — 28.1 percent of the defensive boards (12th in the nation) and 19.6 percent of the offensive boards (fourth-best in the nation). UM’s second most active player on the glass is Raphael Akpejiori, who pulls down 19.4 percent of the rebounds when he’s in the game.
Malcolm Grant and Reggie Johnson are among the top 10 most improved scorers in the ACC. After posting 6.4 points per game as a redshirt freshman in 2010, Johnson’s average has leapt 5.9 points per game to 12.3 points an outing this season. Grant’s average has also increased 5.9 points per game, going from 9.6 points an outing as a redshirt sophomore in 2010 to a team-high 15.5 points per game this season.
Malcolm Grant has scored in double figures in nine-straight games to tie for the fourth longest active streak in the ACC, while Durand Scott has netted double figures in seven straight to tie for ninth longest active streak in the league.
Saturday marks UM’s second-straight game versus a new ACC head coach.
In just his second season as a `Cane, Malcolm Grant’s 102 career three-pointers rank 11th among active ACC players, while his 42.3 percent career three-point field goal percentage (entering the game vs Boston College) ranks third in UM’s record book.
Former Hurricane and two-time First Team All-ACC selection Jack McClinton, who is playing professional basketball in Israel, won the three-point contest among the pros over there this week. As a senior in 2009, he won the NCAA three-point contest in Detroit.
THE EYE OF THE STORM The Hurricanes, winners in nine of their last 12 games, are led by three players averaging double-figure points. Malcolm Grant is contributing a team-high 15.5 points per game — seventh-best in the ACC, and also ranks among the league’s leaders in free throw percentage (.908, 2nd/14th in the NCAA), three-point field goal percentage (.441, 3rd/26th in the NCAA), three-point field goals made (2.6, 2nd) and assists (3.8, 9th). Coming off a 24-point performance at Clemson, Durand Scott adds 13.9 points and 3.3 assists an outing, converting better than 45 percent from the field and shooting a much-improved 86.6 percent from the line (compared to 67.0 percent as a freshman in 2009-10). Reggie Johnson averages nearly a double-double with 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game (3rd in the ACC, 28th in the NCAA), while shooting 72.6 percent from the charity stripe.
THE SERIES With a conference rivalry dating back to both programs’ Big East days, Boston College has been Miami’s Achilles’ heel in the past. The Hurricanes have won three of the last five meetings between the programs, but prior to a 74-61 win in Coral Gables on March 5, 2008, UM had dropped 13-straight games to Boston College, as the Eagles lead the all-time series 24-11. BC won both meetings versus UM last season by a combined margin of five points.
At a perfect 3-0 in ACC play this season, the Eagles ride a two-game win streak into Coral Gables, coming off Tuesday’s 75-66 home victory over NC State. Reggie Jackson led BC with a game-high 29 points, six assists, five rebounds and three blocks in 36 minutes on the hardwood.
Boston College boasts four players with double-figure scoring averages, led by Jackson — the ACC’s second-leading scorer with 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Over three ACC games this season, the junior guard is averaging 23.3 points an outing — converting 73.3 percent from the floor, 63.6 percent (7-11) from long range and 95.0 percent (19-20) from the charity stripe.
CHAT WITH FELLOW `CANES Log onto HurricaneSports.com during Miami athletic events to chat with Miami insiders and other fans about the game and your favorite student-athletes. To join the chat, click on the Cover It Live program found online with each game’s preview, beginning 30 minutes before tip-off.
SECURE YOUR SEATS NOWIndividual game tickets for Miami’s ACC games are now on sale to the general public. The Hurricanes will host a regular slate of eight ACC games, welcoming the last two national champions to the BankUnited Center in top-ranked Duke on Sun., Feb. 13, and 2009 champs North Carolina on Wed., Jan. 26. Prices for most ACC games begin as low as $15. For additional information or to order season tickets, please contact the Hurricane Ticket Office online at www.hurricanesports.com or by phone at 1-800-GO-CANES.
