Hurricanes and No. 5/6 Tar Heels Face Off on ESPN
Jan. 16, 2009
CHAPEL HILL, N.C… – Miami rides a six-game win streak into Saturday’s late-night ACC contest at No. 5/6 North Carolina. The Hurricanes arrive in Chapel Hill fresh off Wednesday’s come-from-behind win over Maryland with a 2-1 mark in ACC play. The Tar Heels have a quick turnaround after Thursday’s 83-61 road win over Virginia, which game them their first ACC victory of 2008-09.
Game 17: Miami (13-3, 2-1 ACC) vs. No. 5/6 North Carolina (15-2, 1-2 ACC)
Date: Sat., Jan. 17, 2009 | Time: 9 p.m. (EST) | Site: Dean E. Smith Center
TV: ESPN | Radio: 560 WQAM
Websites: Miami (www.hurricanesports.com) | North Carolina (www.tarheelblue.com)
Projected Miami Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast
01 Lance Hurdle (G, 6-2, 183, Sr.) 7.5 1.5 2.5
33 Jack McClinton (G, 6-1, 185, Sr.) 17.0 2.8 3.0
32 Brian Asbury (G/F, 6-7, 221,Sr.) 6.8 5.0 1.2
20 Cyrus McGowan (F, 6-9, 236, R-Jr.) 7.0 6.1 0.9^
21 Dwayne Collins (F, 6-8, 238, Jr.) 11.7 7.9 1.1*
Projected North Carolina Starters
No. Name (Pos/Ht/Wt/Cl) Pts Reb Ast
50 Tyler Hansbrough (F, 6-9, 250, Sr.) 22.8 7.8 0.9*
05 Ty Lawson (G, 5-11, 195, Jr.) 15.1 2.5 6.6
14 Danny Green (F/G, 6-6, 210, Sr.) 13.2 4.5 3.0
22 Wayne Ellington (G, 6-4, 200, Jr.) 12.8 4.1 2.5
21 Deon Thompson (F, 6-8, 245, Jr.) 12.6 6.6 1.3^
^ blocks per game * steals per game
Saturday’s game marks Miami’s third appearance of the season on ESPN — which marks the most ESPN-televised games for the program since 2002-03. The Hurricanes have gone 1-1 on ESPN this year — including the program’s first victory at Rupp Arena on Dec. 6.
ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from the Smith Center on Saturday.
THE SERIES
North Carolina leads the all-time series versus Miami, 11-2, and has won three-straight over the Hurricanes. Miami’s last win over the Tar Heels occurred on the road at the Dean E. Smith Center, with an 81-70 victory on Jan. 14, 2006.
ROAD WARRIORS
With their 77-71 win over No. 17/24 Boston College, the Hurricanes improved to 5-1 in games away from the BankUnited Center, and have won four straight off their home court.
With the 70-56 win over St. John’s on Dec. 27, fifth-year head coach Frank Haith added Madison Square Garden to the list of notable venues in which his Hurricanes have won. Haith’s Hurricanes won at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Dec. 6, and have also won on the home court of both North Carolina and Florida during his tenure.
WHAT HAVE U DONE FOR ME LATELY
Jack McClinton is averaging 18.3 points, 3.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds over his last eight appearances, shooting .521 from long range and .853 from the line. He has hit 21 of his 44 three-pointers of the season over the last six games. Over his last three outings, Dwayne Collins is averaging 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while converting .719 from the charity stripe. Adrian Thomas is averaging 9.0 points (.556 FG%, .538 3FG%) over his last three and has hit six of his 12 three-pointers on the year in that span. Over his last four games, James Dews is averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, while hitting all six free throw attempts (1.000).
COMEBACK KIDS
Miami rallied from a 17-point deficit with 12:32 to go to knock off Maryland, 62-60, to pick up its second ACC win of the season at the BankUnited Center on Wednesday evening. Key three-pointers from Lance Hurdle and Jack McClinton (including the final dagger with 23 seconds to go) fueled the Hurricane comeback. A steal and a fastbreak layup by Hurdle gave Miami its first lead of the night, 59-58 — with just 1:20 on the clock. Maryland’s Eric Hayes went two-of-two from the line to retake the 60-59 lead for the Terps with 41 second to go, but McClinton’s trey at the 23-second mark — followed by a pair of Greivis Vasquez three-point misses in the final five seconds — clinched the sixth-straight victory for the Hurricanes.
The 17-point comeback was the largest for any Miami team since joining conference play (Big East and ACC) in 1991 and marked the largest comeback this season in the ACC. The previous high was 13 on two occasions, with the most recent a victory over Providence on January 19, 2002.
With 18 points, McClinton passed James Jones (1999-2003) for 13th place on the Miami all-time scoring list. He also hit four treys in the game to bypass Robert Hite for third place in program history with 229 career three-pointers. He has hit three or more treys in a game 46 times in his career and leads the ACC with a three-pointer in 19 straight games. In addition, he has scored in double-digits in 40 of his last 42 games, as well as 70 of 79 games as a Hurricane.
The Hurricanes turned the ball over just twice in the second half, after losing the ball 10 times in the first half.
The 12-point halftime deficit (35-23) was Miami’s largest of the season, while their 23 first half points were the fewest since scoring the same amount on Mar. 14, 2008 vs. Virginia Tech in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
COMIN’ HOME
The Hurricanes have four North Carolina natives, including head coach Frank Haith who spent much of his youth in the area, as well as his college years at Elon. Senior Jimmy Graham grew up in Goldsboro (Charis Prep), redshirt freshman Julian Gamble is a Durham native (Southern Durham HS) and freshman Reggie Johnson hails from Winston-Salem (Winston-Salem Prep).
UPROOTING THE RANKED
Fifth-year head coach Frank Haith has led the Hurricanes to 12 wins over ranked opponents — including five on the road. The Hurricanes have defeated at least one ranked team in 13 of the last 14 seasons, including four in 2006-07 which tied a program best.
GOING BACK TO HIS ROOTS
Since the summer, head coach Frank Haith and his wife Pam have been spearheading fundraising and renovation efforts for Morningside Park in Elon, N.C., in the neighborhood in which Coach grew up. A walking path is being constructed, while plans are underway to refurbish the basketball court, bathrooms and playground.
DID U KNOW…
The Hurricanes are 6-0 on Saturdays this season, including a 3-0 mark on the road… The Hurricanes’ current starting lineup has gone 5-0.
HE SHOOTS AND HE SCORES
Jack McClinton has posted 70 double-figure scoring games in 79 appearances as a Hurricane — including 40 times in his last 42 games.
McClinton has hit a three-pointer in 19-straight games — the longest active streak in the ACC — dating back to Miami’s March 14 game vs. Virginia Tech in the ACC quarterfinals. He previously had a 30-game three-point streak between his sophomore and junior seasons, which ranks as the second-longest in school history (and was just two games shy of the school record) and 19th in ACC history. It is the longest streak by any active player in the conference.
McClinton’s five career 30-point game games is second most among active ACC players (Tyler Hansbrough, UNC — 6), while his 27 20-point games ranks third among current conference players (Hansbrough 67, Rice 41).
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