Hurricanes Prepare For Boston College

Jan. 21, 2000

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT:
Boston College enters tonight’s game with a record of 9-7, 1-3 inthe BIG EAST, following a 72-69 loss to Georgetown on January 18.

The Eagles have been led this season by freshman guard Troy Bell.The Minneapolis, Minn. native is averaging 19.0 points and 2.8 rebounds pergame, and has been honored as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week four timesthis season. Bell has been Boston College’s leading scorer in 11 of thefirst 16 games. The Eagles have also received strong play from juniorforward Xavier Singletary. Singletary ranks second on the team in scoring(13.3 ppg) and joins Bell as the only Eagles to average in double-figures inscoring.

ON THE COACHES:
Leonard Hamilton, in his 10th season at Miami and 14th as acollegiate head coach, has brought the University of Miami men’s basketballprogram in to the national spotlight. The 1998-99 BIG EAST Conference Coachof the Year, Hamilton has guided the Hurricanes to four postseasonappearances in the last five seasons including back-to-back NCAA Tournamentappearances in 1998 and 1999.

Last season Hamilton led Miami to a 23-7 record and a No. 10national ranking by the Associated Press. The 20-win season marked the firstfor Miami since the 1964-65 season while the AP ranking was the first sincethe 1959-60 season. Prior to his arrival at UM, Hamilton spent four seasonsat Oklahoma State where he led the Cowboys to their first back-to-backpostseason berths in 36 years. Hamilton’s record at UM is 131-143 (.478)while his career mark stands at 187-206 (.476).

Boston College head coach Al Skinner is in his third season with theEagles and his 12th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Skinners’record at Boston College is 30-44 (.405) while his overall record stands at168-170 (.497).

UP NEXT:
Following tonight’s game the Hurricanes travels to Notre Dame toface the Fighting Irish on January 25 at 7:30 p.m. Miami then returns homefor home games against Kentucky at 1:00 p.m. on January 29 and Pittsburgh at7:30 p.m. at Miami Arena.

THE SERIES:
Miami and Boston College meet for the 17th time with the Eaglesholding a 9-7 series lead. Miami has won the last three meetings includingboth meetings last season. The Hurricanes are 3-4 against the Eagles atMiami Arena. The UM-BC has been a closely contested one with five of thelast seven meetings being decided by eight points or less.

TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
Tongiht’s game is not being televised. The game can be heard on theHurricane Radio Network (WPOW-96.5 FM). Marc Vandermeer (play-by-play) andJoe Zagacki (analysis) will call the action. The game can also be heard onthe University of Miami Student Radio Network (WVUM-90.5 FM).

A WIN TONIGHT WOULD:

Improve Miami’s record to 11-7, 4-2 in the BIG EAST.

Be Miami’s second straight win.

Be Miami’s sixth win in its last eight games.

Be Miami’s fourth consecutive win against Boston College.

Improve Miami’s BIG EAST home record since 1994 to 35-13 (.729).

LAST TIME AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE:
No. 25 Miami 75, Boston College 67

Johnny Hemsley poured in a game-high 21 points while Tim James added16 points and eight rebounds to lead the 25th-ranked Hurricanes to a 75-67win over Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. Dwayne Pina led four Eagleplayers in double-figures with a career-high 17 points.

Miami looked to take control early opening a 28-13 advantagefollowing a Vernon Jennings jumper with 7:03 left in the half. But BostonCollege would claw its way back hitting six three-point baskets over thelast six minutes to cut the lead to 37-33 at intermission.

Following a layup by center Mario Bland to open the second half,Boston College reeled off seven straight points to take a 40-39 lead at the15:19 mark. Miami would then regain control with a 9-0 run to take the leadfor good.

Miami shot 28-48 (.583) from the floor marking the seventh time thisseason the Hurricanes have connected on over 50 percent from the field.

Freshman guard John Salmons continued his fine play for Miamiscoring in double figures for the third time in four games. Against theEagles Salmons recorded 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor, including2-3 from three-point range.

MIAMI HURRICANES

BOSTON COLLEGE

Officials: John Cahill, Andre Pattillo, Rusty Herring
Technical fouls: None
Attendance: 4251

MIAMI DOMINATES IN THE ARENA:
This year marks the 11th season that Miami has called the MiamiArena home. The ‘Canes have compiled a 112-60 (.651) overall record at theArena, including a 6-2 mark this season. UM has posted a 63-18 (.778) homerecord since 1994. UM is 34-13 (.723) in its last 47 BIG EAST home gamesdating back to the 1994-95 season.

Miami Home Record Last Four Plus Seasons:

Top 5 BIG EAST Home Winning Percentages
(1994-Pres.):(Games through January 19)Overall:

Conference Games Only:

ROAD WARRIORS:
Last season Miami registered a 10-3 road record. The 10 road winswere the most since 1959-60. Miami is 3-2 on the road this season includinga 2-1 road record in BIG EAST play. Miami was 8-1 in BIG EAST road gameslast season.

MAKING ROAD HISTORY:
With its 73-71 win over Connecticut last season at Gampel Pavilion,Miami became the first school in BIG EAST history to defeat Connecticut,Syracuse, St. John’s and Georgetown on the road in the same season.

WINNING WAYS:
Miami’s 23-7 record last season marked its fifth consecutive winningseason. The last time Miami recorded at least five straight winning seasonswas the 1968-69 campaign when the ‘Canes registered their 10th straightwinning season.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS:
Miami was 4-3 against ranked teams last season including a 3-1 markagainst ranked teams on the road. The Hurricanes have 11 wins over rankedopponents over the last five seasons. In their last eight contests againstranked teams at the Miami Arena the Hurricanes have posted a 5-3 record.

Miami Victories Over Ranked Teams:

PLAYING SPOILER:
Miami’s win over No. 10 St. John’s last season marked the fifthconsecutive season that the Hurricanes have defeated a ranked opponent inthe Miami Arena.

Wins Over Ranked Teams at Miami Arena since 1994-95:

MIAMI vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS:
Since becoming the 10th member of The BIG EAST Conference beginningwith the 1991-92 season, the Hurricanes have compiled a 54-29 (.651) recordagainst non-conference opponents, including a 40-12 mark (.769) at the MiamiArena.

HEMSLEY A NAISMITH CANDIDATE:
Johnny Hemsley has been selected as one of 30 preseason candidatesfor the 1999-2000 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award. Thecandidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised ofleading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts.

SUCCESS IN THE SUNSHINE STATE:
Entering the 1999-2000 season the Hurricanes are the only team inthe state of Florida to register a winning record in each of the last fiveseasons. The Hurricanes’ 87-57 (.604) mark since the 1994-95 season is thetop winning percentage and most victories among the state’s 11 Division Iprograms.

GETTING IT DONE AT BOTH ENDS:
Miami ranked 21st in the nation in field goal percentage and 13th inthe nation in field goal percentage defense. Miami joins Duke, Maryland,College of Charleston, Kentucky, Utah, and North Carolina as the onlyschools to rank nationally in both categories. Additionally, the Hurricanesled the BIG EAST in both categories.

THE BUILDING BLOCKS:
Seniors Mario Bland, Johnny Hemsley and Vernon Jennings have been anintegral part of the Hurricanes’ accent into the national spotlight. Duringtheir first three seasons at Miami the three have led the Hurricanes to a57-30 (.655) record, three consecutive winning season, and three straightpostseason appearances including NCAA Tournament bids in 1998 and 1999.Miami’s NCAA Tournament bid in 1998 marked the school’s first since 1960.

Additionally, Miami’s 57 wins are the most in a three year periodsince UM won 57 games from 1963-66 while its .655 winning percentage is thehighest since Miami posted a 52-26 (.667) record from 1964-67.

Should Miami earn a post season bid in 1999-2000, the trio wouldbecome the first Hurricanes to reach the post season in four consecutiveseasons.

MIAMI BACK IN THE DANCE, AGAIN:
Miami’s selection to the 1999 NCAA Championship marked theHurricanes second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to Miami’sNCAA tournament berth in 1998 the Hurricanes had received only one bid tothe “Big Dance” and that was in 1960. Last season the Hurricanes were seededNo. 2 in the East Region marking the highest NCAA seed in school history.The Hurricanes’ 75-54 win over Lafayette in the opening round marked Miami’sfirst NCAA Tournament victory in school history. Miami has advanced topost-season play in four of the last five seasons.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES:
Against Villanova, John Salmons recorded his first double-double ofthe season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was the fifthof the season for Miami. Mario Bland leads the Hurricanes with threedouble-doubles this season.

1999-00 Hurricane Double-Doubles:

WORKING OVERTIME:
Miami’s game last season against Connecticut on Jan. 20 marked theHurricanes first overtime contest since a 76-68 victory over St. John’s inthe opening round of the 1997 BIG EAST Tournament. UM has amassed a 5-2record (including tournament games) in BIG EAST overtime contests (3-2 athome). Miami’s game against St. John’s on Feb. 20, 1996 is its onlydouble-overtime game in a BIG EAST contest since joining the league in the1991-92 season. The ‘Canes, who have never had more than three overtimegames in any season (3-0 in 1986-87 and 0-3 in 1990-91), own a 21-19 overallrecord in overtime contests during their history (4-3 in double-overtimegames and a 17-16 mark in single-overtime contests). UM has never played atriple-overtime game. Miami is 5-5 in overtime games under head coachLeonard Hamilton. Below is a list of UM’s overtime games under Hamilton:

UM TICKETS ON SALE:
Single-game tickets for all University of Miami men’s basketballhome games at the Miami Arena are on sale at the Hecht Athletic CenterTicket Office on the UM campus, the Miami Arena, and through TicketMaster.

Sidecourt reserved seats are $13 and endcourt reserved seats are $10for each of Miami’s six non-conference games, not including Kentucky. Alltickets for the Kentucky game on Jan. 29 are $20 and include admission tothe Miami women’s contest against Connecticut immediately following themen’s game. Single game tickets for UM’s eight BIG EAST contests are $18 forsidecourt reserved and $15 for endcourt reserved. For the fourth straightseason a youth (17 and under) endcourt reserved ticket can be purchased for$7.

The Hurricane Ticket Office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. For more information callthe UM Ticket Office at (305) 284-CANES in Dade or 1-800-GO-CANES.

1999-00 MISCELLANEOUS STATS

HURRICANES END 1998-99 SEASON RANKED:
The University of Miami ended the season ranked 10th in the finalAssociated Press College Basketball Top-25 poll and 12th in the seasonending ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top-25 poll.

Prior to last season’s debut at No. 25 in the Jan. 18 AssociatedPress poll Miami had not been ranked in the Associated Press poll since theend of the 1959-60 season when the Hurricanes were ranked No. 10 in thecountry. Miami reached a season-high of No. 9 in the nation in the March 1Associated Press poll. Miami’s highest ranking came on Mar. 1, 1960 when theHurricanes were ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press.

MIAMI IN THE PRESEASON POLLS:
The University of Miami men’s basketball team debuted at No. 25 inthe preseason Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll and No. 24 inthe preseason ESPN/USA Today college basketball poll. The preseasonrankings are the first since the 1964-65 season when Miami opened theseason ranked 16th in the nation by United Press International. Prior tothis season Miami had never been ranked in the preseason by the AssociatedPress.

MIAMI IN THE 1999-00 POLLS:
For the third week Miami did not receive any votes in either theAssociated Press or ESPN/USA Today College Basketball polls.

LOCKING UP:
In Miami’s win over West Virginia, the Hurricanes held theMountaineers without a point over a 5:28 stretch of the first half markingthe fifth time this season that Hurricanes have held an opponent scorelessfor five or more minutes.

Last season Miami made a habit of holding opponents scoreless forlong stretches. Eight times last season the Hurricanes held an opponentscoreless for over five or more minutes.

1998-99

1999-00

MAN OF STEAL:
Senior guard Vernon Jennings set a career-high with seven stealsagainst West Virginia (1-5-00). The seven steals rank as the second highestsingle game total in UM history and were the most since Jerome Scottrecorded nine steals against Florida International on March 4, 1991.Jennings currently has 155 career steals to rank fourth on UM’s career list.

MIAMI RANKS FOR THIRD STAIGHT SEASON:
Last season the Hurricanes ranked nationally in field goalpercentage defense for the third consecutive season. The University of Miamiended the season ranked 13th in the nation in field goal percentage defense(.384). In 1997-98 the University of Miami led the nation holding teams to37.9 percent shooting from the floor. In 1996-97 Miami held opponents to 38percent shooting from the field to rank sixth nationally.

POSTING GREAT NUMBERS:
This season the Hurricanes have held the opposition’s startingcenters to a combined total of 98 points and 59 rebounds, an average of 5.8points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Miami has allowed only three startingcenters this season to score in double-figures.

Of the 30 games the Hurricanes played last season only five opponentcenters managed to score in double figures while only one grabbed 10 or morerebounds. Miami limited opponent’s centers to an average of 6.4 points and5.1 rebounds per game.

1998-99

1999-00

HEMSLEY ON PRESEASON FIRST TEAM:
University of Miami senior Johnny Hemsley was named to the preseasonAll-BIG EAST first team by a vote of the league’s coaches at the BIG EASTConference Men’s Basketball Media Day at the Grand Hyatt in New York.

1999-00 PRESEASON AWARDS
All-BIG EAST First Team
Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut
Johnny Hemsley, Miami
Troy Murphy, Notre Dame
Erick Barkley, St. John’s
Etan Thomas, Syracuse

All-BIG EAST Second Team
Kevin Freeman, Connecticut
Isaac Hawkins, Pittsburgh
Bootsy Thornton, St. John’s
Jason Hart, Syracuse
Marcus Goree, West Virginia

Player of the Year:
Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut

Rookie of the Year:
Ajou Deng, Connecticut

HURRICANES TABBED FOURTH:
The men’s basketball team was selected to finish fourth in theconference behind Connecticut, Syracuse, and St. John’s. Miami, whichreturns four starters from last season’s squad, received one first placevote.

1999-00 BIG EAST Coaches’ Preseason Poll

HEMSLEY NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Johnny Hemsley was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week threetimes last season. Hemsley won the award for the first time last season onDec. 21 following his career-high 24 point performance in Miami’s 76-55 winat Georgia State. Hemsley was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for thesecond time on Jan. 4 following his career-high 35 point performance inMiami’s 64-63 win at Georgetown on Dec. 30. Hemsley’s third honor came onFeb. 22 when he was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week after averaging22.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the Hurricanes to two victories. Hemsleyshared the honor with Providence forward Jamel Thomas.

SELECT COMPANY:
Entering the 1999-2000 season the Hurricanes are one of just threeBIG EAST schools to post a winning overall record each of the past fiveseasons. Joining the Hurricanes are Syracuse and Connecticut.

ON THE RISE:
Since the start of the 1994-95 season UM has compiled a 54-40 (.574)record in BIG EAST regular season games. Only Connecticut, Villanova, andSyracuse have a better conference record over that period.

Conference Records Since 1994-95
(games thru 1-19-00):

HURRICANES TAKE HOME HARDWARE:
Last season University of Miami head basketball coach LeonardHamilton was named BIG EAST Coach of the Year, senior forward Tim James(Miami Northwestern) was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year and juniorguard Johnny Hemsley (Baltimore, MD) was named the league’s Most ImprovedPlayer last season by a vote of the conference coaches.

1998-99 BIG EAST AWARDS

BIG EAST Co-Players of the Year
Richard Hamilton, Connecticut
Tim James, Miami

BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
Troy Murphy, Notre Dame

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Etan Thomas, Syracuse

BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Johnny Hemsley, Miami

BIG EAST Coach of the Year
Leonard Hamilton, Miami

WINNING WAYS IN THE NCAA:
After a 10-4 mark last season, BIG EAST teams have compiled a 155-91record in the NCAA Tournament play. The .630 winning percentage is thesecond best in the nation amongst conferences. The ACC is first with a .670winning percentage.

LEAGUE SCHEDULE REDUCED TO 16 GAMES:
For the first since 1990-91, each BIG EAST team will play only 16regular season conference games. The league has played 18 conference gamessince 1991-92. The 16 game schedule offers schools more flexibility inscheduling. BIG EAST teams have a better opportunity to improve their RPI(ratings percentage index) rankings and the league’s representation in theNCAA Tournament. the reduction to a 16-game league schedule has eliminatedDecember play dates.

STARTING AGAIN:
Nearly every BIG EAST team returns a majority of its starters fromlast season. Three squads – Boston College, Georgetown and Syracuse – bringback all five starters from 1998-99.

BEATING THE BEST:
BIG EAST teams were 16-13 against opponents ranked in the AP polllast season giving the league the highest victory total and best record ofany conference in the nation.

A SWEEPING SUCCESS:
With their win over Rutgers in last season’s regular season finalethe Hurricanes completed their fourth series sweep of the season. Miami hasregistered 10 BIG EAST regular season two-game sweeps since joining theleague in the 1991-92 season. Miami has now recorded at least one seriessweep in each of the last five seasons. Below is a list of UM’s BIG EASTseries sweeps:

POWER SCHEDULE:
Miami’s schedule includes 11 schools that rank in the top-50all-time in terms of winning percentage in NCAA history. The BIG EASTConference alone has eight teams that rank in the top-50 all-time. Miamiwill play 14 of its 29 regular season games against schools that rank in thetop-50 all-time. Seven of those games will be played at Miami Arena. BIGEAST opponents in CAPS.