Canes Hope To Extend Season In Big East Tournament

March 9, 2003

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI HURRICANES
11-16, 4-12 BIG EAST – East Division Sixth Seed
2003 ConAgra Foods BIG EAST Championship
March 12-15, 2003
Madison Square Garden (19,763) – New York, NY
TV: ESPN; Radio: Hurricane Radio Network

MIAMI SEEDED SIXTH:
The University of Miami enters the 2003 ConAgra Foods BIG EAST Championship as the sixth seed out of the East Division and will will face West No. 3 Seton Hall on Wednesday, March 12 at 9 p.m. in Madison Square Garden.

UM IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT:
Miami enters its 12th BIG EAST Championship. Miami is 6-11 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament competition.

TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
Miami’s first round game versus Seton Hall will be broadcast live around the nation on ESPN. Dan Shulman and Len Elmore will call the action.

The game will be broadcast on the Hurricane Radio Network. Joe Zagacki “The Voice of the Hurricanes” will handle the play-by-play. Brian London will serve as studio host.

FIRST ROUND OPPONENT:
Miami will face Seton Hall in the opening round of the ConAgra Foods BIG EAST Tournament. Seton Hall (16-11, 10-6 BIG EAST) enters the BIG EAST Tournament on a two-game losing streak. The ended the season with road losses to Pittsburgh, 86-54, and Providence, 64-61, in overtime. Prior to the two-game skid Seton Hall had recorded nine straight wins.

Seton Hall is led by junior point guard Andre Barrett who leads the team in scoring at 17.0 points per game as well as assists (5.1 apg). The Pirated boast three players averaging in double-figures including sophomore forward John Allen (13.8 ppg) and freshman forward Kelly Whitney (10.6 ppg). Whitney also leads the Pirates in rebounding at 6.3 per game.

THE SETON HALL SERIES:
Miami and Seton Hall meet for the 22nd time with the Pirates leading the all-time series 12-9. Miami is 0-1 versus Seton Hall in BIG EAST Tournament play. The Hurricanes have won five of the last seven match-ups versus the Pirates although Seton Hall won the lone meeting this season, 76-53, at Continental Airlines Arena.

EARLIER THIS SEASON AGAINST SETON HALL:
SETON HALL 76, MIAMI 53
January 18, 2003
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
Andre Barrett had 21 points and a season-high 11 assists to lead Seton Hall to a 76-53 victory over Miami in a game that was interrupted for 15 minutes by a power failure at Continental Airlines Arena. Freshman guard J.R. Morris had a career-high 21 points, John Allen added 18 as the Pirates hit a season-high 12 three-point field goals in winning their second straight.

The Pirates were 7-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half and they finished 12-for-17. The Pirates entered the game as the worst three-point shooting team in the BIG EAST (27.6 percent). Seton Hall shot 54.3 percent (25 of 46) overall in the game.

Miami led for much of the first half, but Barrett eventually took over, scoring 13 of his 16 first-half points in the final 7:44. His 3-point play with 6:07 left in the half gave the Pirates the lead for good at 20-19.

Barrett then fed Morris for the second of his five 3-pointers for a 23-19 lead. Barrett added two more 3-pointers and a jumper in helping Seton Hall take a 35-28 lead.

The Hurricanes got within 40-35 in the opening minutes of the second half, but Barrett fed Morris for both a reverse ally-oop dunk and a 3-pointer, and he later assisted on a 3 pointer and a layup by Allen in a 13-2 spurt that gave Seton Hall a 53-37 lead.

A WIN AGAINST SETON HALL WOULD:

Improve UM’s record to 12-16.Mark the second straight season and fourth time in the last five seasons that UM has won its opening game at the BIG EAST Tournament.Avenge Miami’s early season loss to Seton Hall.Mark the Hurricanes’ sixth win in the last eight meetings with Seton Hall.

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 51-37 (.580) at Miami while his career record stands at 236-182 (.565).

Seton Hall head coach Louie Orr is in his 2nd season with the Pirates and 3rd season overall. His record at Seton Hall is 28-29 (.491) while his career mark stands at 48-40 (.545).

DID YOU KNOW?:
The University of Miami has registered a 50-32 (.610) conference mark since the 1998-99 season. UM’s record ranks in a tie for third among BIG EAST teams over that period.

JONES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT:
James Jones has been selected to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-District II Men’s Basketball team. This marks the second consecutive season Jones has earned Verizon Academic All-District honors.

Joining Jones as All-District selections are Matt Bonner (Florida), Adam Hess (William & Mary), Jon Larranaga (George Mason) and Brad McKeiver (Campbell).

JONES NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN:
James Jones has been selected to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-America second-team. Jones, a two-time Verizon Academic All-District selection, is the first UM basketball player to earn Verizon Academic All-America distinction. Jones, who carries a 3.405 cumulative GPA in finance, has started all 26 games at power forward this season for the Hurricanes and is averaging 17.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.

COMING ON STRONG:
Miami forward Darius Rice has really heated up in the new year averaging 21.1 points per game since January 1st.

CARRYING THE LOAD:
Darius Rice (19.0 ppg) and James Jones (17.1 ppg) have shouldered the scoring load for the Hurricanes this season. The two are accounting for half (50.3%) of Miami’s points. Either Rice or Jones has led the Hurricanes in scoring in every game this season.

RICE NAMED TO MIDSEASON WOODEN 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).

RICE NAMED ALL-DISTRICT SIX FIRST-TEAM
Darius Rice was named first-team All-District 6 for the second consecutive season by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Rice joins Tim James (1998, 1999) as the only Hurricanes to earn first-team All-District honors in consecutive seasons. He currently ranks among the BIG EAST Conference leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, three-point field goal percentage and three-point field goals made.

Rice, who was a second-team All-District selection as a freshman, joins UM legend Rick Barry (1963, 1964, 1965) as the only Miami basketball players to earn All-District honors in three straight seasons.

The selection of Rice marks the sixth consecutive season the Hurricanes have had at least one All-District selection.

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. Against ranked teams 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.

RICE SEEING 20-20:
With his 32 points against Virginia Tech, Darius Rice recorded his fourth consecutive game of 20 or more points. It marked the first time in his UM career he had posted four consecutive games of 20 or more points. The last player to record four straight 20-point games was Tim James who posted five straight during the 1998-99 season. Rice has recorded eight games of 20 or more points this season which leads the team.

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 fifth overtime of the season against Villanova on February 8. Miami is 1-4 in overtime games this season. The five 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).

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

CATCHING FIRE:
Darius Rice is tied for the team lead with nine games of 20-or-more points this season. Three times this season Rice has gone for 20-or-more in a single half including a season-high 27 points in the first half of Miami’s 77-76 win over Connecticut on January 20.

BEING THROWN INTO THE FIRE:
Miami has relied heavenly on four of its freshmen this season. Rob Hite, Armondo Surratt, Eric Wilkins and Gary Hamilton have started a combined 48 games and are all averaging 17 or more minutes per game. The 48 combined freshmen starts are the most since the 1985-86 season, UM’s first since the program was dropped in 1971, when Eric Brown (27), Dennis Burns (20), Bryan Hughes (28), Kevin Presto (28) and Mark Richardson (18) combined to start 121 games.

Twice this season the Hurricanes have had three freshmen in the starting line-up. On January 29 versus Providence, Robert Hite, Eric Wilkins and Armondo Surratt all started in the 60-57 win. Most recently Eric Wilkins, Armondo Surratt and Gary Hamilton all started in the Hurricanes 79-71 win over Virginia Tech. The last time the Hurricanes had three freshmen in starting lineup was February 18, 1992 when freshmen Michael Gardner, Constantin Popa and Ochiel Swaby all started in a 74-50 loss at Villanova.

Miami has had at least one freshman in the starting lineup in all but one game this season.

RICE NAMED TO PRESEASON NAISMITH LIST:
University of Miami junior forward Darius Rice was 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.

A SWEEPING SUCCESS:
With its win over Virginia Tech on March 5, Miami recorded a two-game season sweep over the Hokies. Miami has registered 18 BIG EAST regular season two-game sweeps since joining the league in the 1991-92 season. The Hurricanes have recorded at least one series sweep in each of the last nine seasons.