Hurricanes Host Boston College Saturday
Feb. 27, 2003
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BOSTON COLLEGE (15-9, 8-5) vs. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI (10-14, 3-10)
Saturday, March 1, 2003 – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Convocation Center (7,000) – Coral Gables, FL
TV: Fox Sports Net; Radio: WAXY (790 AM)
Website: hurricanesports.com
ON BOSTON COLLEGE:
Boston College (15-9, 8-5 BIG EAST) defeated St. John’s,81-63, in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. SeniorAll-America Troy Bell led the Eagles with 33 points. BostonCollege has been one of the hottest teams in the BIG EASTwinning seven of its last eight games
Bell and freshman standout Craig Smith provide theEagles with one of the nation’s top inside/outside combinations.Bell, Boston College’s all-time leading scorer, is averaging ateam-high 25.6 points per game this season while Smith isscoring at a 20.2 points per game clip while pulling down ateam-high 8.0 rebounds per game.
Bell has been honored as the BIG EAST Player of theWeek four times this season and is one of the favorites to winBIG EAST Player of the Year honors.
THE SERIES:
Miami and Boston College meet for the 23rd time withthe Eagles leading the all-time series 14-8. Boston College haswon five straight in the series including a 76-65 win inChestnut Hill earlier this season.
LAST OUTING:
VILLANOVA 75, MIAMI 56
February 25, 2003
The Pavilion, Villanova, PA
Curtis Sumpter scored a career-high 21 points to lead theVillanova Wildcats to a 75-56 victory over the University ofMiami at the Pavilion in Villanova, PA.
Sumpter finished the game 7-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from long range, as the Wildcats won on Senior Night.Derrick Snowden added 15 points, while Ricky Wrightrecorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.Andrew Sullivan turned in an all- around performance witheight points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Darius Rice paced the Hurricanes with 15 points. PauloCoelho chipped in 12 points off the bench for Miam.The Wildcats went on an 11-4 run to close out the firsthalf, taking a 30-19 lead into the intermission. Villanova used a10-0 run midway through the second stanza to pull away for a19-point victory.
The Wildcats shot 40.8 percent from the field in the game,while the Hurricanes knocked in just 36.5 percent of theirshots.
LAST TIME AGAINST BOSTON COLLEGE:
BOSTON COLLEGE 76, MIAMI 65
February 15, 2003
Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
Troy Bell poured in a game-high 34 points, leading fourplayers in double figures, as Boston College recorded a 76-65victory over Miami at the Silvio O. Conte Forum.
Bell shot 8-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-11 behindthe three-point line, and handed out four assists in the win forthe Eagles. Craig Smith added 15 points, Ryan Sidney 12 andLouis Hinnant 10 points for the Eagles.
The Hurricanes were paced by James Jones who recordeda double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Ricealso posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Boston College shot a blistering 58.3 percent from thefield in the first half, knocking down 6-of-10 from beyond thearc as well, leading to a 38-31 advantage at the break.In the second half the Eagles made 46.2 percent of theirfield goal attempts, but made up for it by converting 11-of-15at the free-throw line, leading to the 11-point win.
The Eagles overcame 16 turnovers on the day by shooting52 percent from the field overall and 9-of-16 from long range.
TV/RADIO COVERAGE:
Miami’s game versus Boston College is being produced byESPN Regional Television and will be broadcast in Miami onFox Sports Net Florida. Rob Stone and Bob Valvano will callthe action.
The game will also be broadcast on the Hurricane RadioNetwork (WAXY – 790 AM). Joe Zagacki “The Voice of theHurricanes” will handle the play-by-play with Josh Darrowadding analysis. Brian London will serve as studio host.
UP NEXT:
Following the Boston College game the Hurricanes hit theroad to face Virginia Tech on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m.
A WIN AGAINST BOSTON COLLEG WOULD:
Improve UM’s record to 11-13, 4-9 BIG EAST.Snap the Hurricanes’ five-game losing streak to the Eagles.Mark UM’s first win over BC since January 22, 2001.Improve UM’s home record to 10-3 this season, 5-3 in theConvocation Center.
ON THE COACHES:
University of Miami head coach Perry Clark is his thirdseason with the Hurricanes and 14th season overall as acollegiate head coach. Clark is 50-34 (.595) at Miami while hiscareer record stands at 235-179 (.568).
Boston College head coach Al Skinner is in his sixthseason with the Eagles and 15th season overall. His record atBC is 94-81 (.537) while his overall record is 232-208 (.527).
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 bythe Wooden Award Midseason Committee to determine theTop 30 Midseason candidates.
The Wooden Award, which will be presented on April 1 inLos Angeles, is the most prestigious individual honor in collegebasketball and is bestowed upon the nation’s best player at aninstitution of higher education who has proven to his universitythat he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining acumulative 2.0 grade point average.
Rice is one of seven BIG EAST players on the list of 30candidates including Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), MarcusHatten (St. John’s), Brandin Knight (Pittsburgh), EmekaOkafor (Connecticut), Michael Sweetney (Georgetown) andChris Thomas (Notre Dame).
JONES NAMES TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAM:
James Jones has been selected to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-DistrictII Men’s Basketball team. Jones is now eligible for the nationalVerizon Academic All-America Team, which will be announced onMarch 6. This marks the second consecutive season Jones has earnedVerizon Academic All-District honors.
Joining Jones as All-District selections are Matt Bonner (Florida),Adam Hess (William & Mary), Jon Larranaga (George Mason) and BradMcKeiver (Campbell).
Jones is a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star and carries a3.405 cumulative GPA in finance. He was named a 2001 Arthur AsheScholar Athlete and was runner-up for the 2001-02 BIG EAST Basket-ballScholar-Athlete Award.
COMING ON STRONG:
Miami forward Darius Rice has really heated up in the new yearaveraging 21.1 points per game in the months of January and February.
CARRYING THE LOAD:
Darius Rice (19.1 ppg) and James Jones (16.5 ppg) have shoulderedthe scoring load for the Hurricanes this season. The two are accountingfor half (50.8%) of Miami’s points. During the month of February thetandem has accounted for 50.4 percent of the Hurricanes’ scoring.
PLAYING THEIR BEST AGAINST THE BEST:
The UM forward combination of Darius Rice and James Jones haveboth shined this season in the big games. Against ranked teams Rice isaveraging 34.3 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 35-69 (.507) fromthe floor and 15-33 (.455) from three-point range. Jones is averaging 21.0points against those teams while shooting 21-39 (.538) from the field.
RICE SEEING 20-20:
With his 32 points against Virginia Tech, Darius Ricerecorded his fourth consecutive game of 20 or more points. Itmarked the first time in his UM career he had posted fourconsecutive games of 20 or more points. The last player torecord four straight 20-point games was Tim James whoposted five straight during the 1998-99 season. Rice hasrecorded eight games of 20 or more points this season whichleads the team.
NO DAY AT THE BEACH:
Miami’s 73-72 win over No. 11 Connecticut this seasonmarked the ninth consecutive season that the Hurricanesdefeated a ranked opponent at home.
WORKING OVERTIME:
Miami played its fifth overtime of the season againstVillanova on February 8. Miami is 1-4 in overtime games thisseason. The five overtime games establishes a school single-seasonrecord. Miami was 3-0 last season in overtime games.
Miami has played at least one overtime contest in each of thelast five seasons. UM has amassed a 9-6 record (includingtournament games) in BIG EAST overtime contests (5-3 athome). The ‘Canes own a 25-24 overall record in overtimecontests during their history (5-5 in double-overtime gamesand a 20-19 mark in single-overtime contests).
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS:
Miami is 1-2 against ranked teams this season. TheHurricanes are 19-19 versus ranked opponents since 1996-97and have defeated at least one ranked team in each of the lastnine seasons. Miami is 28-84 (.250) all-time against rankedteams including a 25-70 (.263) record since the rebirth of theprogram in 1985.
MIAMI GRADUATION RATE RANKS THIRD:
According to a report released by The Chronicle of HigherEducation, the University of Miami men’s basketball programranks third in the nation among the 115 Division I-A institutionswith an 82 percent graduation rate for student-athleteswho entered school from 1992-93 to 1995-96.
The national average for men’s basketball players over thatfour-year period was 34 percent. Graduation rates weretabulated and released by the NCAA in its 2002 NCAAGraduation Rates Report.
Miami’s 1993-94 to 1995-96 classes registered a perfect100 percent graduation rate.
MR. CLUTCH:
Darius Rice’s three-point basket with 0.5 seconds left todefeat Connecticut on January 20th marked the fourth timethis season the junior forward has hit a three-pointer at theend of regulation to either win the game or send the game toovertime.
With the Hurricanes’ down 72-69 to Florida , Riceconnected on a three-pointer from the right corner with 26seconds remaining to tie the score. Florida went on to win thegame 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 60-60with 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 thetip 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, thenew on-campus home of men’s and women’s basketball, andthe University’s first large-capacity venue for other educational,cultural and community events with a 64-61 overtime win overNorth Carolina on January 4.
The $48 million facility, totally funded through privatedonations, seats 7,000 for basketball and will provide theUniversity and the Coral Gables community with a facilitydesigned for a wide array of uses.
UM LEAVES MIAMI ARENA IN STYLE:
Miami ended its 14-year run at Miami Arena with a 68-62victory over Lehigh on December 30. Miami began playing itshome games at the Miami Arena in 1988 and registered a 135-66 (.672) record including a 5-0 record this season. Since1994-95 the Hurricanes had compiled a 98-26 (.790) overallhome record at the Arena.
ITS BEEN A WHILE:
Freshmen Robert Hite and Armondo Surratt were both inthe starting lineup for the Hurricanes’ game against Charlotteon December 15 marking the first time since the 1993-94season that two freshmen started for the Hurricanes. Thatseason freshmen Alex Fraser and Torey McCormick startedthe final 14 games of the season. Hite and Surratt have startedthe last three games together.
MIAMI vs. NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS:
Since joining The BIG EAST Conference beginning withthe 1991-92 season, the Hurricanes have compiled an 81-39(.672) record against non-conference opponents, including a56-13 mark (.809) at home. Miami finished 7-4 against non-conferenceopponents this season and has won 24 of its last29 games against non-conference teams. Miami has won 20consecutive home games against non-conference opponents.
RICE NAMED TO PRESEASON NAISMITH LIST:
University of Miami junior forward Darius Rice was beennamed one of 30 preseason candidates for the 2002-03Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award.
The Naismith Awards program, now in its 35 th year,honors the outstanding college basketball players in the UnitedStates. The awards program was founded by the Atlanta TipoffClub, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achieve-mentsof student-athletes in basketball.
The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board ofSelectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalistsand basketball analysts.
RICE, JONES JOIN 1000-POINT CLUB:
Miami senior James Jones and junior forward Darius Riceboth joined the 1,000-point club this season. Jones scored 26points against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on December 18 tobecome the 25th player in UM history to surpass 1,000 careerpoints. Junior Darius Rice scored 32 points against Florida onDecember 21 to become the 26th player in UM history toreach the 1,000-point plateau. Rick Barry who holds the Miamicareer scoring record with 2,298 points.
RICE MOVES UP 3-POINT LIST:
Darius Rice has recorded 60 three-point baskets thisseason giving him 198 for his career which places him secondon UM’s all-time career list behind Steven Edwards whoconnected on 265 three-point baskets from 1992-96.
EASY AS 1, 2, 3:
Miami failed to hit a three-point basket against Indianalast season marking just the third time in school-history thatUM failed to connect on at least one three-pointer. Miami hashit at least one trey in 486 of 489 games since the NCAAadopted the three-point shot in 1986.
The only other games in which UM failed to hit a three-pointerwere versus St. John’s on March 5, 2000 (0-13) andagainst 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 againstConnecticut on Jan. 20 tying him for third on the BIG EASTall-time single-game scoring list. The point total was the mostin a BIG EAST game since Feb. 20, 1996 when UM forwardSteve Rich posted 43 points against St. John’s.
OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING:
Miami shot a 31-60 (.517) from the field against VirginiaTech on February 11 marking the second time thiss season theHurricanes have shot 50 percent or better from the field. Sincethe 1998-99 season the Hurricanes are 25-1 when shooting 50percent or better from the field. Miami has won its last 11games when shooting 50 percent or better.
GETTING DEFENSIVE:
Last season Miami’s defense was been adept at forcing itsopponents into turnovers. The Hurricanes forced 554turnovers (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 443 turnovers (18.5 pergame) while scoring 462 points off those turnovers (19.3points per game). Miami has recorded 27.4 percent (462 of1684) of its total points this season off turnovers.
JONES MOVES UP CAREER LIST:
James Jones has recorded 43 blocks this season toimprove his career total to 185. The 184 blocks ranks third onUM’s all-time career list.
WATCH YOUR WALLETS:
As of February 24th, the University of Miami rankedNo.1 in the BIG EAST and 5th in the nation in steals. UM hasrecorded 247 steals (10.3 spg) this season including a school-record21 against Savannah State on Dec. 30. Miami recorded285 steals last season, an average of 8.9 steals per game. TheHurricanes ended the season two steals shy of tying the UMsingle-season record of 287 set in 1988-89 (31 games). Miamiis on pace to record 288 steals this season.
LOCKING UP:
Last season Miami made a habit of holding teams withouta field goal for long stretches. The Hurricanes held teamswithout a field goal for five minutes or more a total of 27times while holding teams scoreless for five or more minutesfive times.
This season the Hurricanes have held teams without afield goal for 5 or minutes 13 times.
