Men's Basketball Takes On Florida International Saturday
Dec. 4, 2003
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Game Recaps in PDF Format
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FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL (2-3) vs. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (3-2)
Saturday, December 6, 2003 – 7:30 p.m.
Convocation Center (7,000) – Coral Gables, FL
WRBF (1020 AM), WVUM (90.5 FM), Radio Unica (1210 AM) in Spanish
Website: hurricanesports.com
ON FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL:
Florida International enters its game with Miami with a record of 2-3 following an 89-87 loss at Florida Atlantic on December 1st.
The Golden Panthers have been led in scoring this season by junior guard Carlos Morban who is averaging 21.0 points per game.
FIU boasts four players averaging in double-figures including junior guard Marcus Robinson (16.2 ppg), junior forward Taurence Johnson (15.3 ppg) and senior guard Junior Matias (13.8 ppg).
Florida International’s backcourt of Morban and Robinson have been on fire this season. Morban has connected on 25-43 (.581) field goals including 6-14 (.429) from three-point range while Robinson is 26-52 (.500) from the field and 10-22 (.455) from long distance.
THE SERIES:
Miami and Florida International meet for the ninth time with the Hurricanes holding a 7-1 all-time series lead. Miami and FIU last met in Miami Arena on December 3, 2001 with the Hurricanes winning 77-59. The Golden Panthers’ lone win in the series was a 72-64 victory on December 1, 1992.
UP NEXT:
Miami will next face Maryland-Baltimore County on Tuesday, December 9 beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
Miami’s game versus Florida International will not be televised. The game will be broadcast on the Hurricane Radio Network WRBF (1020 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.
The game will also be broadcast on the University of Miami student radio network WVUM (90.5 FM) as well as Radio Unica (1210 AM) in Spanish. Fans can also catch the game on the web at hurricanesports.com.
A WIN AGAINST FIU WOULD:
Improve Miami’s record to 4-2 on the season.Mark UM’s second straight victory.Improve Miami’s home record to 4-0.Improve Miami’s all-time record versus FIU to 8-1.Mark Miami’s 23rd consecutive home win against a non-conference opponent.
LAST GAME:
MIAMI 91, STETSON 70
December 2, 2003
Convocation Center, Coral Gables, FL
Robert Hite scored a career-high 20 points and Guillermo Diaz added 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench to lead the University of Miami to a 91-70 win over Stetson at the Convocation Center.
The win marked the Hurricanes’ first over Stetson since 1969 and snapped Miami’s two-game losing streak.
Miami, which has faced the Hatters more than any other opponent in its history (75 games), led by seven (43-36) at the half.
Miami took control early in the second, getting 13 points from Diaz to build a 75-55 lead with 5:38 left to play. The 6-foot-2 Diaz connected on 6-of-10 second-half shots, including 3-of-3 on 3-pointers.
Diaz and Hite combined to score 21 of Miami’s final 37 points. E.J. Gordon led the Hatters with 15 points while Anthony Register scored 13 and Mark Stiles and Borislav Djordjic both added 12.
Miami has won its past 22 home games against non-conference opponents.
LAST TIME VERSUS FIU:
MIAMI 77, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 59
December 3, 2001
Miami Arena, Miami, FL
James Jones scored 18 and tied a UM record with eight blocked shots the University of Miami to a 77-59 win over cross-town rival Florida International at Miami Arena.
The meeting was the first betweem UM and FIU since the 1992-93 season. Miami has now won 26 consecutive games against teams from the state of Florida.
Elton Tyler tied Jones for team-high honors with a season-high 18 points and was 6-for-8 from the field. Marcus Barnes scored 11 points and Rafael Berumen added 10 for the Hurricanes.
Miami, which led 33-30 at halftime, broke the game open with a 14-4 run to start the second half. Shooting 52 percent in the second half, the Hurricanes twice led by as much as 20 points.
Taurance Johnson had 20 points for Florida International (4-3), and Rodrigo Viegas added 18 points.
Miami’s defense, led by Jones’ eight blocked shots, limited Florida International to just 37 percent shooting in the second half.
ON THE COACHES:
University of Miami head coach Perry Clark is in his fourth season with the Hurricanes and 15th season overall as a collegiate head coach. Clark is 54-40 (.574) at Miami while his career record in 14 seasons stands at 239-185 (.564).
Florida International head coach Donnie Marsh is in his fourth season with the Golden Panthers and ninth season overall. His record at FIU is 28-65 (.301) while his overall mark is 104-119 (.466).
VS THE STATE OF FLORIDA:
Miami is 294-144 (.671) against teams from the state of Florida. Miami has won 29 of its last 32 games against Florida schools dating back to the 1992-93 season.
MIAMI vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS:
Since joining The BIG EAST Conference beginning with the 1991-92 season, the Hurricanes have compiled an 84-41 (.672) record against non-conference opponents, including a 58-13 mark (.817) at home. Miami is 3-2 against non-conference opponents this season. Miami has won 22 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents. Miami’s last home loss to a non-conference opponent was a 60-57 defeat against Kentucky on January 29, 2000 at Miami Arena.
HIGH FLYERS:
The University of Miami’s backcourt may be the most athletic in the country. Miami’s guards have an average vertical jump of 38.2 inches. All of UM’s guards have vertical jumps of at least 36 inches. Leading the way is freshman Guillermo Diaz who has a vertical leap of 41 inches.
RICE NAMED WOODEN AWARD CANDIDATE:
Senior forward Darius Rice has been named one of 50 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It 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 GPA.
The 2004 Award ceremony, which will include the presentation of the Wooden Award All-American team and the presentation of the Legends of Coaching Award, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club on Saturday, April 10, 2004 and will be broadcast live on CBS.
RICE NAMED NAISMITH CANDIDATE:
Darius Rice has been named one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2003-04 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
The Naismith Awards program, now in its 36th 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. Members of the board were asked to name top male and female players who are most likely to be in contention for the award.
TOP RECRUITING CLASS:
Head coach Perry Clark and his staff put together one of the nation’s top recruiting classes for this upcoming season. Miami’s class of forward Karron Clarke, guard Guillermo Diaz, forward/center Leonard Harden III, guard Anthony Harris and forward/center Anthony King is ranked as high as eighth in the nation by Street & Smith’s.
CLARK TOPS AMONG UM COACHES:
Fourth-year head Coach Perry Clark recorded 51 wins in his first three seasons with the Hurricanes marking the most wins by any UM basketball coach in his first three seasons. Clark is 3-2 this season giving him 54 wins as UM’s head coach. The most wins by a UM coach in his first four seasons is 65 set by Bill Foster from 1985-89.
PLAYING HIS BEST AGAINST THE BEST:
UM forward Darius Rice shined last season in the big games. Against ranked teams Rice averaged 34.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 35-69 (.507) from the floor and 15-33 (.455) from three-point range.
CATCHING FIRE:
Darius Rice tied for the team lead with nine games of 20-or-more points last season. Three times last season Rice went for 20-or-more points in a single half including a season-high 27 points in the first half of Miami’s 77-76 win over UConn.
MR. CLUTCH:
Darius Rice’s three-point basket with 0.5 seconds left to defeat Connecticut on January 20th marked the fourth time last season the forward 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.
COMING ON STRONG:
Miami forward Darius Rice really heated up late in the season last year averaging 20.2 points after January 1st.
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS:
Miami was 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.
NO DAY AT THE BEACH:
Miami’s 73-72 win over No. 11 Connecticut last season marked the ninth consecutive season that the Hurricanes defeated a ranked opponent at home.
WORKING OVERTIME:
Miami played a school single-season record five overtime games last season. Miami finished 1-4 in those 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).
UM SIGNS CENTER EARLY:
Head coach Perry Clark signed of 6-11, 233 pound center Chester “C.J.” Giles (Seattle, Wash.) to a national letter of intent during the early signing period. Last season Giles averaged 8.2 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks per game earning third-team All-State honors and helping Rainier Beach High School to a 26-3 record and its second consecutive Class 3A State Championship. Rainier ended the season ranked 16th in the nation by USA Today. Giles is ranked 39th overall and 7th at his position by Rivals.com. He is the 12th ranked high school center in the nation by Athlon Sports, is ranked among the Top-100 players in the nation by Lindy’s (No. 66) and The Sporting News (No. 87), and is an honorable mention All-America selection by Street & Smith’s.
IT’S ALL ACADEMIC:
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the University of Miami men’s basketball program ranks third in the nation among the 117 Division I-A institutions with a 78 percent graduation rate for student-athletes who entered school from 1993-97 and earned their degrees within six years.
Only Stanford (100%) and Southern Methodist (83%) had higher graduation rates among Division I-A institutions. The national average for Division I-A men’s basketball players over that four-year period was 36 percent.
In addition the Hurricanes ranked in a tie for 19th among all 327 Division I institutions.
Graduation rates were tabulated and released by the NCAA in its 2003 NCAA Graduation Rates Report. The Hurricanes’ 78 percent graduation rate is the highest among any institution in the BIG EAST, ACC or SEC.
From 1993-94 to 1995-96 the Hurricanes registered a perfect 100 percent graduation rate.
For the 1995-96 class, both the UM men’s and women’s basketball programs registered 100 percent graduation rates. Miami was one of only six Division I-A institutions, along with BYU, Duke, Rice, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, to record a 100 percent graduation rate for that class in both men’s and women’s basketball.
BEING THROWN INTO THE FIRE:
Miami relied heavenly on four of its freshmen last season. Rob Hite, Armondo Surratt, Eric Wilkins and Gary Hamilton started a combined 50 games and all averaged 16 or more minutes per game. The 50 combined freshmen starts wee 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 last season the Hurricanes have had three freshmen in the starting line-up. Miami had at least one freshman in the starting lineup in all but one game last season.
MINI PLAN TICKETS ON SALE:
UM is offering a new Saturday “7” mini-plan, which includes tickets for all seven of Miami’s Saturday games, for just $140. The plan includes some of Miami’s biggest games including match-ups with intra-state rivals Florida International and Florida Atlantic, as well as BIG EAST games versus Pittsburgh, Georgetown, defending NCAA Champion Syracuse, and West Virginia.
RICE MOVES UP SCORING LIST:
Forward Darius Rice scored 14 points against Stetson and is in eighth-place on UM’s career scoring list with 1,472 points.
RICE MOVES UP 3-POINT LIST:
Darius Rice recorded one three-point basket against Stetson giving him 214 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 during the 2001-02 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 495 of 498 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.
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING:
Miami shot a 36-67 (.522) from the field against Stetson marking the third time this season and the 31st time since 1998 that the Hurricanes have shot 50 percent or better from the field. Since the 1998-99 season the Hurricanes are 28-3 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER:
Darius Rice poured in a career-high 43 points against Connecticut on Jan. 20, 2003 tying him for fourth on the BIG EAST all-time single-game scoring list.
GETTING DEFENSIVE:
Last season Miami’s defense was been adept at forcing its opponents into turnovers. The Hurricanes forced 497 turnovers (17.8 per game) while scoring 513 points off those turnovers (18.3 points per game). Miami recorded 26.2 percent (513 of 1956) of its total points last season off turnovers.
In five games this season the Hurricanes have forced 105 turnovers (21.0 per game) while scoring 127 points off those turnovers (25.4 per game). Miami is scoring 32.6 percent (127 of 390) of its points off turnovers.
WATCH YOUR WALLETS:
The University of Miami ended the season ranked No.1 in the BIG EAST and 10th in the nation in steals. UM recorded 272 steals (9.7 spg) last season including a school-record 21 against Savannah State on Dec. 30. Miami is averaging 8.2 steals per game 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 14 times while holding teams scoreless for five or more minutes four times. This season the Hurricanes have twice held teams without a field goal for five minutes.
