Miami Set To Host Villanova In Big East Tilt

Feb. 4, 2003

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VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY (12-8, 5-2)vs.UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (9-9, 2-5)
Saturday, February 8, 2003 – 8:00 p.m. (ET)
Convocation Center (7,000) – Coral Gables, FL
TV: Fox Sports Net; Radio: WSRF (1580 AM)

ON VILLANOVA:
Villanova (12-8, 5-2 BIG EAST) are coming off a 92-75 loss to St. Joseph’s on February 3. The Wildcats, who rank No. 1 in the league in scoring offense averaging 86.7 points per game in league play, have been led this season by senior guard Gary Buchanon. Buchanon leads the team in scoring at 15.6 points per game as well as three-point field goal percentage (.404) and free throw percentage (.889). Overall the Wildcats boast four players averaging in double-figures including senior forward Ricky Wright (13.1 ppg), and freshmen guards Randy Foye (11.6 ppg) and Allan Ray (10.2 ppg).

THE SERIES:
Miami and Villanova meet for the 20th time with the Wildcats leading the all-time series 10-9. The Hurricanes have won six straight, and eight of the last nine games in the series, including both games last season.

UM SINGLE-GAME TICKETS NOW ON SALE:
Single-game tickets for the remaining men’s basaketball season, including the Hurricanes match-up with Villanova on Saturday, February 8 at 8 p.m. at the University of Miami Convocation Center are on sale. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-GO-CANES or by visiting ticketmaster.com.

LAST GAME:
ST. JOHN’S 77, MIAMI 74
February 2, 2003
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Marcus Hatten scored 22 points and Elijah Ingram added a career-high 21, all in the second-half, to lead St. John’s to a 77-74 victory over Miami at Madison Square Garden. Eric King had 13 points for the Red Storm.

Darius Rice had 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the Hurricanes. James Jones scored 18 and Armondo Surratt had 11 for Miami.

The Hurricanes were behind by as many as eight points in the second half, but took the lead at 66-64 on a dunk by Rice with 4:12 left. St. John’s came right back and used a 9-1 run, led by back-to-back three-pointers from Ingram, to take control. A pair of free throws by Kyle Cuffe extended the Red Storm to a 73-67 advantage with 1:06 remaining.

The Red Storm led by as many as nine points in the first half before settling for a 38-33 advantage at the break. The Hurricanes rallied and led by as many as three in the second half, the last time at 53-50 following a layup by Gary Hamilton with 10:33 remaining.

However, the Red Storm responded with a 14-3 spurt and pushed their lead to 64-56 on a three-pointer by Ingram with 5:42 left.

LAST TIME AGAINST VILLANOVA:
No. 12 MIAMI 65, VILLANOVA 56
February 5, 2002
The Pavilion, Villanova, PA
John Salmons scored all 13 of his points in the final 16 minutes, and James Jones scored 16 points, including the first 11 of the game, to lead Miami to a 65-56 victory over Villanova at the Pavilion.

The win marks Miami’s sixth straight over the Wildcats, and the sixth win in the last seven games this season since losing two straight in early January.

Gary Buchanan led Villanova with 16 points while Derrick Snowden added 15.

Miami’s Elton Tyler had six points in an 11-2 run that put Miami ahead for good at 52-46 with 6:24 left. Villanova got within 52-51 on a basket by Ricky Wright with just over four minutes left.

But John Salmons took over with four free throws sandwiched around a dish to Tyler for a layup as Miami scored six straight points.

VILLANOVA GAME PROMOTIONS:
Game Sponsor: Lanier.
Student Give-Away: Foam Sticks
Half-Time Promotion: Papa John’s 2-ball competition. Teams of 2 shoot from different areas on the floor. Each team will shoot representing a particular area of the Convo Center. Each area will win a certain percent off of merchandise at the bookstore. Winning team/section will have the greatest discount.

UP NEXT:
Following the Villanova game the Hurricanes take on Virginia Tech on Tuesday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net Florida.

TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
Miami’s game versus Villanova is being produced by ESPN Regional Television and will be broadcast in Miami on Fox Sports Net Florida. Rob Stone and Eddie Fogler will call the action.

The game will also be broadcast on the Hurricane Radio Network (WSRF-1580 AM). Joe Zagacki “The Voice of the Hurricanes” will handle the play-by-play with Josh Darrow adding analysis. Brian London will serve as studio host. Fans can also catch the game on the web at hurricanesports.com.

A WIN AGAINST VILLANOVA WOULD:

Improve Miami’s record to 10-9, 3-5 in the BIG EAST.
Mark Miami’s seventh straight win over Villanova.
Improve Miami’s home record to 9-1 on the season, 4-1 in the Convocation Center.

ON THE COACHES:
University of Miami head coach Perry Clark is his third season with the Hurricanes and 14th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Clark is 49-30 (.620) at Miami while his career record stands at 234-175 (.572).

Villanova head coach Jay Wright is in his second season with the Wildcats and 9th season overall. His record at Villanova is 31-21 (.596) while his career mark stands at 153-106 (.591).

HURRICANES SIGN FOUR:
Head men’s basketball coach Perry Clark signed four recruits during the early signing period including 6-6 forward Karron Clarke (Brooklyn, NY/The Winchendon School), 6-9 forward/center Leonard Harden III (Detroit, MI/Garden City Community College), 6-11 center Yankuba Camara (Gambia, West Africa/Moberly Area Community College) and 6-3 combo guard Guillermo Diaz (Miami Christian Academy).

RICE NAMED TO MIDSEASON WOODEN AWARD LIST:
Darius Rice is among 30 midseason finalists for the 2002-03 John R. Wooden Award. A national poll was conducted by the Wooden Award Midseason Committee to determine the Top 30 Midseason candidates.

The Wooden Award, which will be presented on April 1 in Los Angeles, is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball and is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 grade point average.

Rice is one of seven BIG EAST players on the list of 30 candidates including Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), Marcus Hatten (St. John’s), Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh), Emeka Okafor (Connecticut), Michael Sweetney (Georgetown) and Chris Thomas (Notre Dame).

CARRYING THE LOAD:
Darius Rice (19.2 ppg) and James Jones (17.2 ppg) have shouldered the scoring load for the Hurricanes this season. The two are accounting for half (51.3%) of Miami’s points. The two have continued to increase their combined production each month. During the month of February the tandem has accounted for 58.1 percent of the Hurricanes’ scoring.

PLAYING THEIR BEST AGAINST THE BEST:
The UM forward combination of Darius Rice and James Jones have both shined this season in the big games. Miami has three games against ranked teams this season. In those games Rice is averaging 34.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 35-69 (.507) from the floor and 15-33 (.455) from three-point range. Jones is averaging 21.0 points against those teams while shooting 21-39 (.538) from the field.

UM LEAVES MIAMI ARENA IN STYLE:
Miami ended its 14-year run at Miami Arena with a 68-62 victory over Lehigh on December 30. Miami began playing its home games at the Miami Arena in 1988 and registered a 135-66 (.672) record including a 5-0 record this season. Since 1994-95 the Hurricanes had compiled a 98-26 (.790) overall home record at the Arena. Miami won its last 19 non-conference games at Miami Arena. Miami’s first game at Miami Arena was on November 25, 1988 against Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Hurricanes won 108-80.

NO DAY AT THE BEACH:
Miami’s 73-72 win over No. 11 Connecticut this season marked the ninth consecutive season that the Hurricanes defeated a ranked opponent at home.

WORKING OVERTIME:
Miami played its fourth overtime of the season against Connecticut on January 11. Miami is 1-3 in overtime games this season. The four overtime games establishes a school single-season record. Miami was 3-0 last season in overtime games. Miami has played at least one overtime contest in each of the last five seasons. UM has amassed a 9-6 record (including tournament games) in BIG EAST overtime contests (5-3 at home). The ‘Canes own a 25-24 overall record in overtime contests during their history (5-5 in double-overtime games and a 20-19 mark in single-overtime contests). Below is a list of UM’s overtime games since 1990:

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS:
Miami is 1-2 against ranked teams this season. The Hurricanes are 19-19 versus ranked opponents since 1996-97 and have defeated at least one ranked team in each of the last nine seasons. Miami is 28-84 (.250) all-time against ranked teams including a 25-70 (.263) record since the rebirth of the program in 1985.

MIAMI GRADUATION RATE RANKS THIRD:
According to a report released by The Chronicle of Higher Education, the University of Miami men’s basketball program ranks third in the nation among the 115 Division I-A institutions with an 82 percent graduation rate for student-athletes who entered school from 1992-93 to 1995-96.

The national average for men’s basketball players over that four-year period was 34 percent. Graduation rates were tabulated and released by the NCAA in its 2002 NCAA Graduation Rates Report.

Miami’s 1993-94 to 1995-96 classes registered a perfect 100 percent graduation rate.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
The University of Miami has been nearly unbeatable at home this season recording a perfect 8-1 record while struggling on the road posting a 1-7 record. The Hurricanes’ numbers both offensely and defensely have been considerably better at home then on the road this season.

MR. CLUTCH:
Darius Rice’s three-point basket with 0.5 seconds left to defeat Connecticut on January 20th marked the fourth time this season the junior forward has hit a three-pointer at the end of regulation to either win the game or send the game to overtime.

With the Hurricanes’ down 72-69 to Florida , Rice connected on a three-pointer from the right corner with 26 seconds remaining to tie the score. Florida went on to win the game 94-93 in double-overtime.

On January 4th against North Carolina, Rice hit a three-pointer, again from the right corner, to tie the score at 60-60 with three seconds left. Miami went on to win the game 64-61.

In Miami’s first meeting with Connecticut on January 11, Rice sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer from the tip of the key tying the score at 71-71 with two seconds left. Connecticut won the game 83-80.

ROAD WARRIORS:
Since the 1998-99 season, Miami is 22-15 (.595) in BIG EAST road games. The 22-15 mark ties the Hurricanes with Syracuse for the best road record in league play over that period.

MIAMI CHRISTENS CONVOCATION CENTER:
The Hurricanes christened the Convocation Center, the new on-campus home of men’s and women’s basketball, and the University’s first large-capacity venue for other educational, cultural and community events with a 64-61 overtime win over North Carolina on January 4.

The $48 million facility, totally funded through private donations, seats 7,000 for basketball and will provide the University and the Coral Gables community with a facility designed for a wide array of uses.

Convocation Center Firsts
Field Goal – James Jones (UM)
3PT Field Goal – James Jones (UM)
Dunk – James Jones (UM)
Free Throw – Byron Sanders (UNC)
Rebound – Raymond Spencer (UNC)
Blocked Shot – Jawad Williams (UNC)

ITS BEEN A WHILE:
Freshmen Robert Hite and Armondo Surratt were both in the starting lineup for the Hurricanes’ game against Charlotte on December 15 marking the first time since the 1993-94 season that two freshmen started for the Hurricanes. That season freshmen Alex Fraser and Torey McCormick started the final 14 games of the season. Hite and Surratt have started the last three games together.

MIAMI vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS:
Since joining The BIG EAST Conference beginning with the 1991-92 season, the Hurricanes have compiled an 81-39 (.672) record against non-conference opponents, including a 56-13 mark (.809) at home. Miami finished 7-4 against non-conference opponents this season and has won 24 of its last 29 games against non-conference teams. Miami has won 20 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.

RICE NAMED TO PRESEASON NAISMITH LIST:
University of Miami junior forward Darius Rice has been named one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2002-03 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.

The Naismith Awards program, now in its 35th year, honors the outstanding college basketball players in the United States. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball.

The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts.

RICE, JONES JOIN 1000-POINT CLUB:
Miami senior James Jones and junior forward Darius Rice both joined the 1,000-point club this season. Jones scored 26 points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on December 18 to become the 25th player in UM history to surpass 1,000 career points. Junior Darius Rice scored 32 points against Florida on December 21 to become the 26th player in UM history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Rick Barry who holds the Miami career scoring record with 2,298 points.

RICE MOVES UP 3-POINT LIST:
Darius Rice has recorded 45 three-point baskets this season giving him 183 for his career which places him second on UM’s all-time career list behind Steven Edwards who connected on 265 three-point baskets from 1992-96.

EASY AS 1, 2, 3:
Miami failed to hit a three-point basket against Indiana last season marking just the third time in school-history that UM failed to connect on at least one three-pointer. Miami has hit at least one trey in 480 of 483 games since the NCAA adopted the three-point shot in 1986.

The only other games in which UM failed to hit a three-pointer were versus St. John’s on March 5, 2000 (0-13) and against Howard University on December 6, 1991 (0-15). Miami is 2-1 all-time when failing to hit a three-pointer.

RICE’S NIGHT:
Darius Rice poured in a career-high 43 points against Connecticut on Jan. 20 tying him for third on the BIG EAST all-time single-game scoring list. The point total was the most in a BIG EAST game since Feb. 20, 1996 when UM forward Steve Rich posted 43 points against St. John’s.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING:
Miami shot a 35-70 (.500) from the field in its season opener against New Hampshire. Since the 1998-99 season the Hurricanes are 24-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field. Miami has won its last 10 games when shooting 50 percent or better.

GETTING DEFENSIVE:
Last season Miami’s defense was been adept at forcing its opponents into turnovers. The Hurricanes forced 554 turnovers (17.3 per game) including 285 steals (8.9 per game). UM averaged 19.1 points per game off turnovers.

This season Miami has forced 345 turnovers (19.2 per game) while scoring 370 points off those turnovers (20.6 points per game). Miami has recorded 29.0 percent (370 of 1276) of its total points this season off turnovers.

JONES MOVES UP CAREER LIST:
James Jones has recorded 32 blocks this season to improve his career total to 174. The 174 blocks ranks third on UM’s all-time career list.

WATCH YOUR WALLETS:
The University of Miami ranks 5th in the nation in steals. UM has recorded 194 steals (10.8 spg) this season including a school-record 21 against Savannah State on Dec. 30. Miami recorded 285 steals last season, an average of 8.9 steals per game. The Hurricanes ended the season two steals shy of tying the UM single-season record of 287 set in 1988-89 (31 games). Miami is on pace to record 302 steals this season.

LOCKING UP:
Last season Miami made a habit of holding teams without a field goal for long stretches. The Hurricanes held teams without a field goal for five minutes or more a total of 27 times while holding teams scoreless for five or more minutes five times.

This season the Hurricanes have held teams without a field goal for 5 or minutes 11 times.