Miami Takes On No. 10 Louisville At MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

Miami Takes On No. 10 Louisville At MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

Dec. 29, 2005

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#10/#10 LOUISVILLE (10-1)

At

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (7-5)

When: December 31, 2005 – 4:00 PM (ET)

Where: BankAtlantic Center (20,737) – Sunrise, Fla.

TV: FSN Florida (Live)

Radio: WQAM (560 AM)

Websites: UM (www.hurricanesports.com); UL (www.UofLsports.com)

Up Next: Sacred Heart, Jan. 2, 7:30 p.m. at BankUnited Center

Ticket Information: Call 1-800-GO-CANES

Probable Miami Starters

No Name Pos Ht Wt Cl Pts Reb Ast
00 Jimmy Graham F 6-8 245 Fr. 3.4 3.3 0.1
50 Anthony King C 6-9 230 Jr. 10.2 8.2 0.8
15 Anthony Harris G 6-2 187 Jr. 8.0 1.0 2.8
13 Guillermo Diaz G 6-2 186 Jr. 17.2 3.3 3.1
22 Robert Hite G 6-2 190 Sr. 15.1 5.3 1.8

Probable Louisville Starters

No Name Pos Ht Wt Cl Pts Reb Ast
01 Terrence Williams F 6-6 220 Fr. 7.9 4.4 1.8
03 Juan Palacios F 6-8 255 So. 10.7 6.8 2.6
04 David Padgett C 6-11 245 So. 11.7 5.7 2.5
05 Taquan Dean G 6-3 185 Sr. 17.0 6.4 3.9
11 Brandon Jenkins G 6-3 185 Jr. 12.5 3.3 3.5

ON LOUISVILLE:

The University of Louisville enters the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic with a 10-1 record, and a No. 10 national ranking in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN polls, following an 89-66 win over Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday night.

The Cardinals are led by Wooden Award candidate Taquan Dean who leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (3.9 apg), and ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg).

Louisville boasts four players averaging in double-figures in scoring including junior guard Brandon Jenkins (12.5 ppg), Kansas transfer David Padgett (11.7 ppg) and sophomore forward Juan Palacios (10.7 ppg).

Louisville, which has outscored opponents by an average of 14.0 points per game this season, is averaging 18.7 assists per game as a team. The Cardinals have assisted on 206 of their 292 field goals (70.5 percent).

THE SERIES:

Miami and Louisville meet for the first time since the 1965-66 season. That season the Cardinals defeated Miami, 85-84 in overtime, in the championship game of the Hurricane Classic on December 28, 1965. Miami and Louisville have played seven times with the Cardinals leading the all-time series 5-2.

SERIES HISTORY

1-5-51 – UL 73, UM 60 – UM

12-29-52 – UL 84, UM 74 – UM

1-31-57 – UL 89, UM 60 – UM

1-30-61 – UM 71, UL 69 – UM

12-6-61 – UL 77, UM 59 – UL

2-9-63 – UM 94, UL 84 – UM

12-28-65 (OT) – UL 85, UM 84 – UM

A WIN AGAINST LOUISVILLE WOULD:

Improve Miami’s record to 8-5 on the season.Improve Miami’s record to 5-7 on the OB Classic.Mark Miami’s first win over a ranked opponent this season.Mark Miami’s first win over a consensus top-10 team since winning at Syracuse (#10 AP/#7 USAT), 68-57, on Feb. 13, 2001.

THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON:

Robert Hite needs 17 points to move into 11th place on UM’s career scoring list. Hite enters the game in 12th place with 1,340 points. James Jones (1999-03) is currently 11th with 1,356 points.Robert Hite needs four three-point field goals to move into third on UM’s all-time list. Hite enters the game with 167 three-point field goals. Kevin Presto (1985-89) is currently third with 170 three-point field goals.Robert Hite will be playing in his 100th career game against Louisville becoming the 25th player in school-history to reach the century mark.Anthony King needs six blocks to move into fifth-place on UM’s career list. He enters the game with 118 career blocks. Dennis Burns (1985-89) is currently fifth with 123 blocks.Guillermo Diaz needs nine three-point field goals to move into seventh on UM’s all-time list. Diaz enters the game with 126 career three-point field goals. Kevin Norris (1994-98) is currently seventh with 134 career three-point field goals.

TV/RADIO:

The Miami vs. Louisville game will televised live on FSN Florida. Ron Thulin (play-by-play), Mike Gminski (analysis) and Charles Davis (sideline) will call all the action.

The game can be heard on the Hurricane Radio Network, WQAM (560 AM). Joe Zagacki “The Voice of the Hurricanes” will call the action with Josh Darrow adding analysis. Brian London will serve as studio host.

ON THE COACHES:

Miami head coach Frank Haith is in his second season with the Hurricanes. His record career record is 23-18 (.561), including a 7-5 mark this season.

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is in his fifth season with the Cardinals and his 20th season as a collegiate head coach. His record at Louisville is 107-36 (.748) while his overall record is 458-160 (.741).

MIAMI IN THE ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC:

The Hurricanes are making their 12th appearance in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Miami is 4-7 in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic including an 83-70 overtime loss to Xavier in last season’s Classic.

OBC Results:

1994 – UNLV 56, MIAMI 55

1995 – Tennessee 57, MIAMI 55

1996 – MIAMI 61, DePaul 45

1997 – Georgia Tech 69, MIAMI 61

1998 – MIAMI 72, Ohio State 64

1999 – North Carolina 78, MIAMI 68

2000 – Nebraska 72, MIAMI 64

2001 – MIAMI 58, Indiana 53

2002 – Florida 94, MIAMI 93 (2OT)

2003 – MIAMI 77, Temple 66

2004 – Xavier 83, MIAMI 70 (OT)

PLAYING HIS BEST AGAINST THE BEST:

Over the last two seasons Miami guard Guillermo Diaz has played his best when facing the best. Miami has faced 10 ranked teams over the last two seasons and in those games he averaged 22.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He has shot 89-188 (.473) from the field against ranked teams including 31-76 (.408) from three-point range. Diaz scored 20-or-more points in eight of the 11 games versus ranked opponents.