Hurricanes Host Red Storm Wednesday At Miami Arena

Hurricanes Host Red Storm Wednesday At Miami Arena

Feb. 11, 2002

Complete Release in PDF Format
Player Notes in PDF Format
Game Recaps in PDF Format
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ST. JOHN’S RED STORM (16-7, 6-5)
vs.
#12/#11 MIAMI HURRICANES (20-4, 7-4)

February 13, 2002 – 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Miami Arena (15,388) – Miami, FL
TV: FoxSportsNet Florida (Tape Delay), Radio: WQAM (560 AM)

ON THE RED STORM:
The Red Storm enter the Miami game with a record of 16-7, 6-5 in the BIG EAST East Division, following an 85-83 overtime win over Connecticut at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The Red Storm, which has won three straight, has been led in scoring by junior guard Marcus Hatten who is averaging 19.6 points per game. The JC transfer also leads the team in assists (4.7 apg) and steals (3.3 spg). The only other Red Storm player averaging in double-figures is senior forward Anthony Glover at 10.7 points per contest. Glover currently leads the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg). Either Hatten or Glover have led the team in scoring in 21 of 23 games this season. St. John’s has struggled on the road this season registering a 3-5 record.

THE SERIES:
Miami and St. John’s meet for the 25th time with the Red Storm leading the all-time series 14-10. St. John’s has won four straight against the Hurricanes including a 71-60 victory earlier this season at Alumni Hall. The Miami-St. John’s series has been closely contested with 14 of the last 16 games being decided by five points or less, or in overtime.

EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. ST. JOHN’S:
January 8, 2002
Alumni Hall, Jamaica, NY

Marcus Hatten recorded 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists and three steals to lead St. John’s to a 71-60 win over the University of Miami at Alumni Hall.

Miami, which led 39-38 at the half, shot just 10 percent from the field in the second half, going 3-for-30. The Hurricanes made just one of their last 22 shots from the field.

Freshman Tristan Smith, St. John’s reserve point guard, hit just his second 3-pointer of the season to give the Red Storm the lead for good at 49-46 with 12:23 to play. That was the fifth lead change of the second half.

Miami got within 49-48 on a basket down low by Elton Tyler with 11:00 to play, but that was the Hurricanes’ last field goal of the game. 64-55 with 3:53 to play.

Anthony Glover added 11 points for St. John’s, while King had 10 points and seven rebounds. Marcus Barnes led Miami with 16 points, all in the first half, while Darius Rice had 13 on 3-for-15 shooting.

TICKET INFORMATION:
For UM Ticket information contact the Hurricane Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-CANES.

A WIN AGAINST ST. JOHN’S WOULD:

Improve Miami’s record to 21-4, 8-4 in the BIG EAST.
Match the 1998-99 team for most regular-season wins (21) since joining the BIG EAST in 1991.
Snap Miami’s three game losing streak against St. John’s.
Improve Miami’s BIG EAST road record to 22-9 (.710) since the 1998-99 season.

TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
The St. John’s game is being produced by ESPN Regional Television and will be broadcast on tape delay basis in Miami on Fox Sports Net Florida. John Sanders will handle the play-by-play duties with Bob Wenzel adding analysis.

The game is also being broadcast on the Hurricane Radio Network (WQAM-560 AM). Marc Vandermeer, entering his third season as the “Voice of the Hurricanes,” will handle the play-by-play duties while Joe Zagacki will provide in-depth analysis.

UP NEXT:
Following the St. John’s game the Hurricanes hit the road to face Rutgers at noon on Sunday, February 17.

ON THE COACHES:
University of Miami head coach Perry Clark is in his second season with the Hurricanes and 13th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Clark is 36-17 (.679) at Miami, including an 20-4 start this season, while his career record in 13 seasons stands at 221-162 (.577). Last season Clark led the Hurricanes to a berth in the National Invitation Tournament marking the eighth time in 12 seasons he has guided his team to post season play.

St. John’s head coach Mike Jarvis is in his fourth season with the Red Storm and 16th season overall. Jarvis’ record at St. John’s is 83-39 (.680) while his overall mark stands at 336-180 (.651).

DID YOU KNOW?:
The University of Miami has registered a league best 43-18 (.705) conference mark since the 1998-99 season.

ONLINE ALL THE TIME:
Check out the official University of Miami Athletic Department website for up to the minute information on Hurricane Athletics at www.hurricanesports.com.

ROAD WARRIORS:
Since the 1998-99 season, Miami is 21-10 in BIG EAST road games. The 21-10 mark is the best record among BIG EAST schools over that period. The Hurricanes have won 22 of their last 32 BIG EAST road games dating back to the 1997-98 season.

WHAT’S YOUR 20:
With its 65-56 win over Villanova on February 5 Miami recorded its 20th win of the season. The 20-win season is the ninth overall for the Hurricanes and third in the last four seasons. Miami is three wins shy of the school single-season record of 23 set in 1959-60 and later matched in 1962-63, 1998-99 and 1999-00.

BALANCED ATTACK:
The University of Miami is arguably one of the most balanced team in the nation offensively. All five UM starters are averaging in double-figures in scoring. Darius Rice leads UM in scoring at 14.5 points per game followed by John Salmons (14.0 ppg), James Jones (13.1 ppg), Marcus Barnes (11.5 ppg) and Elton Tyler (10.8 ppg). Miami joins Arizona as the only teams ranked among the AP or ESPN/USA Today polls that have five players averaging in double-figures.

All five starters have led the team in scoring at least once this season. Rice and Salmons have each led the team seven times, Jones six times, Tyler twice and Barnes once.

COMEBACK KIDS:
In Miami’s 102-96 overtime win against Providence on January 19, the Hurricanes came back from a 13-point second half deficit tying the UM record for the largest second-half comeback in a BIG EAST game. Miami also came from 13 points down in the second half to defeat Georgetown on January 18, 1997. The game also marked the second straight in which Miami overcame a double-figure second-half deficit to win. Miami was down 11 in the second-half to Pittsburgh before rallying for a 76-69 double-overtime win. Overall the Hurricanes have rallied eight times from second-half deficits to win games.

SALMONS THE ONE AND ONLY:
With his 15 points and 10 assists against Charlotte on December 22, John Salmons became the first Hurricane to record 1000 points, 600 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals during his career. Salmons currenlty has 1205 points, 638 rebounds, 366 assists and 180 steals.

UM TIES WIN STREAK RECORD:
Miami’s 14-0 start set a school-record for consecutive wins to open a season, and tied the school-record for the most consecutive victories which was originally set in 1947.

LATE SEASON HEAT WAVE:
Over the last three seasons Miami has played well in the month of February registering a 22-4 (.846) record.

WHO WILL TAKE CHARGE TONIGHT?:
This season the Hurricanes have had several players put the team on their shoulders and lead them to victory. In 15 games this season the Hurricane player that has either led or tied for the team lead in scoring has also led or tied for the team lead in rebounding.

MIAMI GOES PERFECT OUT OF CONFERENCE:
With its 71-48 win over St. Francis (PA) on December 30, the University of Miami completed its non-conference schedule with a perfect 13-0 record marking the first time in school-history the Hurricanes have gone undefeated in non-conference play.

FAMILIAR STARTERS:
Miami sophomore Darius Rice, junior James Jones and senior John Salmons have started each of the last 53 games together. Salmons currently has the second longest streak in UM history having started 99 straight games. Kevin Norris (1994-98) holds the UM record for consecutive starts with 108.

TALKING RPI:
As of February 7 the Hurricanes were No. 11 in the RPI rankings according to CollegeRPI.com. Miami’s ranking is the highest among BIG EAST schools.

The BIG EAST Conference currently has 11 teams ranked among the top-75 in the RPI which is the most of any conference in the nation. The SEC is second with 10 while the Big Twelve and Big 10 are next with seven each. The Pac-10 and Conference USA follow with six appeace. The ACC and Atlantic 10 currently have five teams each.

WORKING OVERTIME:
The Hurricanes’ back-to-back overtime wins against Pittsburgh and Providence marked the first time since the 1994-95 season that UM has played consecutive overtime games. Miami has played at least one overtime contest in each of the last four seasons. UM has amassed a 8-5 record (including tournament games) in BIG EAST overtime contests (5-3 at home). The ‘Canes, who have never had more than three overtime games in any season (3-0 in 1986-87 and 0-3 in 1990-91), own a 24-21 overall record in overtime contests during their history (5-4 in double-overtime games and a 19-17 mark in single-overtime contests). Miami is 8-4 in overtime games since 1995.

MIAMI vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS:
Since joining The BIG EAST Conference beginning with the 1991-92 season, the Hurricanes have compiled a 74-35 (.679) record against non-conference opponents, including a 50-13 mark (.794) at the Miami Arena.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS:
UM has won its last six games against ranked teams including a 3-0 record this season. The Hurricanes are 18-16 versus ranked opponents since 1996-97 and have defeated at least one ranked team in each of the last eight seasons. Miami is 27-81 (.250) all-time against ranked teams including a 24-67 (.264) record since the rebirth of the program in 1985.

MIAMI WINS PARADISE JAM TOURNAMENT:
Miami’s victory over Clemson in the championship game of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam marked UM’s first tournament title since the 1988 season when the Hurricanes took home the title at the Eastern Airlines Palm Beach Classic. That season UM defeated Penn, 102-69, in the opening round, then knocked off Wichita State, 81-59, in the championships game.

SALMONS NAMED PARADISE JAM MVP:
Miami senior guard John Salmons was named MVP of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam after leading Miami to three victories and the tournament title. Salmons averaged 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.7 steals during the three-game tournament, including an 18 point, 10 rebound performance in the title game.

WINNING WAYS:
With its win over Pittsburgh (1-15-02) the Hurricanes ensured its eighth consecutive winning season. The last time Miami recorded at least eight straight winning seasons was the 1968-69 campaign when the ‘Canes registered their 10th straight winning season.

VS THE STATE OF FLORIDA:
With its win over Florida A&M on December 18, Miami improved its record against teams from the state of Florida to 292-141 (.674). Miami has won 27 consecutive games against teams from the state of Florida. Miami has not lost to a Florida school since a 72-64 season opening loss to Florida International on Dec. 1, 1992.

NO DAY AT THE BEACH:
Miami’s 68-66 win over No. 17 Connecticut on February 2 marked the eighth consecutive season that the Hurricanes defeated a ranked opponent in the Miami Arena.

HURRICANES SIGN THREE:
Head coach Perry Clark signed three players during the early signing period. Joining UM next season will be 6-2, 185 pound guard Robert Hite (Cincinnati, OH/Winton Woods HS), 6-3, 185 pound guard Eric Wilkins (Piscataway, NJ/Oak Hill [VA] Academy), and 6-6, 190 pound swingman Ismael N’Diaye (Abidjan, Ivory Coast/Berkshire [FL] School).

STREAKING:
Miami’s loss to Connecticut on January 5th ended a very unusual winning streak. Including baseball, football and basketball the Hurricanes had recorded 43 consecutive victories.

The UM baseball team won its final 17 games in winning the 2001 NCAA National Championship. The UM football team followed with a perfect 12-0 record including a Rose Bowl victory over Nebraska for the 2001 national title. The UM basketball opened the season with 14 straight wins.

MIAMI DOMINATES IN THE ARENA:
In 13 seasons at the Miami Arena the Hurricanes have compiled a 142-66 (.683) overall record, including a 11-1 mark this season, UM defeated Indiana earlier this season at the American Airlines Arena. UM has posted a 81-20 (.802) record at Miami Arena since 1995. UM is 42-15 (.737) in its last 57 BIG EAST home games dating back to the 1995-96 season.

RICE FOR NAISMITH:
University of Miami sophomore Darius Rice (Jackson, MS) has been selected as one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2001-02 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.

Rice averaged 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season while posting 20 double-figure scoring games including a UM freshman record 35 points against Central Florida. Rice recorded a team-high 62 three-point baskets in 2000-01 and registered 31 steals and 14 blocks.

Rice is one of three BIG EAST athletes recognized as a preseason candidate for the Naismith Award. Joining Rice on the list are Troy Bell (Boston College) and Caron Butler (Connecticut).

The Naismith Awards program, now in its 34th year, honors the outstanding college basketball player in the United States.

MIAMI REACHES POST-SEASON, AGAIN:
The Hurricanes have advanced to the post-season in five straight seasons and six times in the last seven years. Miami has gone to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2000.