Jan. 24, 2003

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THE GAME
Following a 74-59 win over Akron on Monday night, Miami continues a brief home stint on Saturday, Jan. 25, hosting Ball State in a 3 p.m. contest. The RedHawks will try to put together three straight wins for the first time this season, while the Cardinals are looking for their second three-game win streak.

After starting conference play 0-4, the Cardinals seem to be gaining momentum having rattled off two straight wins to snap a seven-game skid. Ball State is coming off an exciting 91-90 triumph at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday to hand the Eagles their first home loss of the season. Despite the loss of Theron Smith, who is redshirting this season, three players have picked up the scoring efforts led by Chris Williams' 23.1 points per game. Williams ranks second in the MAC and ninth nationally in scoring average. Cameron Echols and Matt McCollom are the other two players scoring in double figures, averaging 13.3 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. Echols also boasts 9.3 boards per game.

For Miami, freshman guard Josh Hausfeld (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon) had a breakout game against Akron, netting a career-high 19 points off 7-of-9 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-7 from three-point range. Sophomore forward Danny Horace (Cincinnati, Ohio/Western Hills) also put together a strong performance, going 10-of-13 from the field to manufacture a career-high-tying 21 points. Three players average double figures in scoring for the RedHawks: Juby Johnson (Warrensville Heights, Ohio/Warrensville Heights), 13.9 ppg; Horace, 10.9 ppg; Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South), 10.5 ppg.

THE SERIES VERSUS THE CARDINALS
The series with Ball State dates back to the 1935 season with Miami owning a 47-33 lead in the series. When playing in Oxford, Miami posts a 28-9 advantage. Ball State won two of the three meetings last season and owns a two-game win streak in the series, winning in Muncie, 74-58, and in the MAC Quarterfinal round, 62-50. Miami, however, has won 10 straight meetings at home against the Cardinals, including an 80-77 triumph last season. In its last home loss, Feb., 12, 1992, Miami was edged by Ball State, 44-43. That was Miami's only home loss that season and one of only three MAC losses en route to MAC regular-season and tournament titles. (For complete series information, please refer to page 51 of the media guide.)

AGAIN MIAMI BOASTS ONE OF NATION'S TOP NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES
Over the past two seasons, Miami's strength of schedule has been among the top 15 nationally at the conclusion of non-conference play, and this season is no exception. As has become the signature of Miami's non-conference slate, the RedHawks' strength at the end of their non-conference slate was among the nation's top five according to CollegeRPI.com and in the Sagarin Index (No. 4 in CollegeRPI.com and No. 5 in the Sagarin Index). Heading into its game against Cincinnati, Miami's strength of schedule was No. 1 in both indexes. Currently, the RedHawks' strength of schedule is ranked No. 2 by both CollegeRPI.com and the Sagarin Index (second to Georgia). Miami is 87th according to CollegeRPI.com and is ranked 107th by Sagarin.

PROGRAM MILESTONE LOOMS
Just two wins shy of becoming the first Mid-American Conference school to attain 500 league wins, Miami continues to step toward this prestigious milestone having started the conference season with a 4-2 mark. It's most recent win was a 74-59 triumph over Akron on Monday. In their 56th year in the MAC, the RedHawks hold a 498-288 record in conference play and boast a league-best .634 winning percentage. The next closest school in the win column is Ohio University, which owns a 445-349 record over 57 years in the MAC. Miami also owns 20 regular-season MAC crowns, more than twice the number of titles than any other league school.

HOME SWEET HOME
Over its 34 seasons as the home of Miami basketball, Millett Hall has certainly been a welcome venue for the RedHawks, who are 323-106 (.753) on their home court. Four of Miami's five wins this season have been in the confines of Millett Hall. Last season, the RedHawks won just three games away from Millett Hall.

HAUSFELD HAS BREAKOUT GAME
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld has steadily been emerging in the RedHawk lineup, but Jan. 20 against Akron Hausfeld had a breakout game. Going 7-of-9 (.778 ) from the field, including 5-of-7 (.714) from three-point range, Hausfeld poured in a career-high 19 points, and his career-best six assists led to 13 additional RedHawk points. He also grabbed a career-best five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the game for the first time this season.

THE HORACE FACTOR
It is no secret that when Miami scores at least 70 points, it wins games. A key factor for that scoring surge is sophomore forward Danny Horace. In Miami's wins, Horace averages 14.7 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game and shoots 43.5 percent from the field. Contrastingly, he scores just 8.3 ppg, shoots 30.7 percent from the field and notches 4.1 boards per game in Miami's losses. In games where Miami has reached 70 or more points, Horace averages 15.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg and hits 46.8 percent of his shots.

SEALS STEPPING UP
Also emerging as of late has been junior forward Gene Seals (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw). In four of Miami's last six games, Seals has scored in double figures, notching a season-high 13 at Ohio on Jan. 18. In Miami's wins, Seals connects on 60.0 percent of his field goal attempts to average 8.3 points per game.

FIVE MAKE BIG IMPACT OVER LAST TWO GAMES
Over Miami's past two games, five players are averaging double figures in scoring: Danny Horace (16.5), Chet Mason (15.5), Juby Johnson (15.0), Josh Hausfeld (13.5), Gene Seals (11.5). Horace and Mason are also averaging 7.5 and 6.5 rebounds per game, respectively. From the field, four of the five (Horace, Mason, Hausfeld and Seals) are all shooting 50.0 percent or better over the last two games led by Hausfeld's 62.5 percent shooting effort.

AGAIN MASON ONE OF NATION'S TOP SMALL REBOUNDERS
Last season, Chet Mason ranked among the top small rebounders (6-foot-3 and under) nationally, and he's picking up where he left off. Mason is currently tied for seventh on the list, averaging 6.1 boards per game. Delaware's Ryan Iversen leads the list, averaging 7.6 rpg.

MASON STEALS SHOW
Junior guard Chet Mason grabbed a game-best and season-high six steals against Ohio, all of which came in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game list. The six steals is the second-highest single-game sum in Miami history. Three people have recorded seven steals.

MORE ON MASON
In the three games prior Miami's Toledo and Ohio tilts, junior guard Chet Mason scored a collective 18 points. In Miami's games against Toledo and Ohio, Mason led the RedHawks in scoring, tallying 17 and 22 points, respectively. Not only did Mason average 19.5 points per game, he hit 65.2 percent of his field goals (15-of-23) and 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts (5-of-9). Against Ohio, Mason was an impressive 80.0 percent from the field (8-of-10) and 75.0 percent from three-point range (3-of-4).

A LITTLE GIVE AND TAKE
Junior guard Chet Mason and sophomore forward Danny Horace combined for 10 of the RedHawks's season-high 12 steals against Ohio. Mason snagged a career-high six steals, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game chart, while Horace came up with four picks. The duo didn't just take, as they accounted for four of Miami's 12 assists. Mason handed out three assists and Horace had one.

TOP NUMBERS
Miami produced the most points in a half all season, amassing 47 in the second half against Ohio. The RedHawks also tallied a season-high 12 steals, while committing a season-low seven turnovers. Scoring 77 points, Miami also recorded its second-highest point total this season, falling just one shy of its 78 points against Dayton.

TOP NUMBERS PART II
Miami shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the field against Akron, its lone 50.0 shooting performance of the season. The RedHawks also dished out a season-best 16 assists, pulled down a season-best 35 rebounds and produced their greatest rebounding margin (+16) against the Zips.

MIAMI 74, AKRON 59
Behind a 58.3 percent shooting effort, including a sizzling 68.2 percent second-half showing, Miami downed Akron 74-59. Sophomore forward Danny Horace tallied a career-high-tying 21 points, while freshman guard Josh Hausfeld added a career-best 19 points in the winning effort, combining to go17-of-22 (.773) from the field.

Miami trailed by as many as three, 5-2, in the opening minutes of the contest, but went on a 16-2 surge over the next five minutes to post an 11-point lead, 18-7. The RedHawks never looked back from there. One of Hausfeld's five three-pointers capped the RedHawk run at the 9:53 mark. Junior forward Gene Seals chipped in a layup at the 3:14 mark to hand the RedHawks a 29-15 lead, their largest advantage of the half. Akron's Derrick Tarver drilled a pair of treys to pull the Zips to within eight, 29-21, with 35 seconds left, but Hausfeld launched a three as time expired to increase the Miami lead to 11 points, 32-21, heading into the half.

Off an 8-2 run, midway through the second half, Akron was able to cut Miami's lead to five, 45-40, with 11:17 left. A three pointer by Hausfeld moved the Miami lead back to 10 points, 52-42, with 9:28 left, but again Akron chipped away at the RedHawk lead, cutting the gap to six, 54-48, at the 7:24 mark. Miami, however, went on a 13-3 scoring flurry to capture a 67-51 advantage with three minutes left. Sent to the free-throw line on almost every possession, Miami was able to increase its lead to 17 points, 74-57, with 44 seconds left. Tarver connected on a pair of free throws for the Zips with 37 seconds left to play to make the final margin 74-59 in favor of Miami.

In addition to his 19 points, Hausfeld also dished out a career-best six assists and pulled down a career-high five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Junior guard Juby Johnson and Seals were the other RedHawks to score in double figures, chipping in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior guard Chet Mason added a game-best eight rebounds to help Miami to its greatest rebounding effort of the season-35 rebounds-and outrebound the Zips by 16 boards. Mason also notched nine points and handed out four assists.

A PUSH FOR 70
When the RedHawks hit 70 points, they win games. Four times this season Miami has reached the 70-point plateau, collecting wins in all four times. Miami topped Dayton 78-63, Central Michigan 71-62, Ohio 77-65 and Akron 74-59.

JOHNSON'S BAND-AID BRAND DEFENSE
As the Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid slogan goes, "I'm stuck on Band-Aid, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me," junior guard Juby Johnson's brand of defense stuck on Evansville's Clint Cuffle, Central Michigan's Mike Manciel, Ohio's Steve Esterkamp and Akron's Derrick Tarver. Cuffle, who averaged 20.3 points per game and is one of the nation's top three-point shooters, hitting more than 60 percent of his three-point attempts prior to the Dec. 30 contest, was held to a mere four points as he went just 1-for-9 from the field versus Johnson. Manciel averaged 14.5 ppg and was held to nine by Johnson, while Esterkamp averaged 12.2 ppg and scored just five on Johnson. Tarver averaged 31.5 ppg in league action and scored 20, eight of which came in the waning minutes of the contest.

JOHNSON-MIAMI'S MINUTE MAN AND MORE
In four of Miami's last six games, junior guard Juby Johnson logged a full 40 minutes. Johnson has been a driving force in the RedHawk lineup, hitting critical baskets to place Miami in contention to win games or overcome deficits and playing superior defense while typically drawing the toughest defensive assignments. Johnson is scoring at a 16.3 point-per-game clip to lead the RedHawks over the past six games, collecting a season-high 23 points against Kent State on Jan. 8. This season, Johnson has scored in double figures in 11 games, including six of Miami's last seven contests.

SCHENKE-MR. ASSIST
Until Miami's Jan. 8 game against Kent State, sophomore forward Tim Schenke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder) had not committed more than one turnover in a game, giving up just six for the season while producing 19 assists. Against the Golden Flashes, Schenke committed four turnovers, but also dished out four assists. He owns a team-best 2.1 assist/turnover ratio (23 assists/11 turnovers) and has only once committed more turnovers than assists. Just twice has he had an even number of assists/turnovers (1/1 at Xavier; 4/4 vs. Kent State). Four times this season Schenke has amassed four or more assists, including a career-high five assists against Cincinnati. Over his past four contests (he sat out the Evansville, Ohio and Akron games due to a severely sprained ankle), Schenke notched 13 assists and committed seven turnovers.

HAUSFELD CRACKING THE STARTING LINEUP
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld earned the first start of his collegiate career against Butler on Dec. 14, but came off the bench in the Miami's next two games-Cincinnati and Evansville-to record 10 and eight points respectively. Hausfeld made his return to the starting lineup versus Central Michigan and has started the last five games.

MAC NUGGETS
Two RedHawks rank among Mid-American Conference statistical leaders. Danny Horace ranks 13th in free-throw percentage (.763) and 15th in blocked shots (0.67). Chet Mason (Cleveland, Ohio/South) is 9th in defensive rebounds (4.53) and 11th in rebounding (6.1).

STINGY DEFENSE
One of the hallmarks of Charlie Coles coached Miami basketball teams is a strong emphasis on defense. For the season, Miami has been among the nation's top teams in scoring defense and currently ranks 12th nationally according to ESPN.com, giving up just 59.7 ppg.

BREAKING DOWN THE BARRIER
With a 77-65 win at Ohio on Jan. 18, Miami broke down the road barrier that has hindered them since Feb. 6, 2002. Road games have been a true obstacle for the RedHawks, who won just two road contests last season and won their first in six tries this season last Saturday. Miami had lost eight straight road games. The Red and White also ended a three-game drought in The Convo with its previous win there on Feb. 18, 1998, 85-53.

THE 'SLUIS IS LOOSE!
Redshirt freshman Nate VanderSluis (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) made his much-anticipated debut in a RedHawk uniform on Dec. 14 when Miami hosted Butler. The 6-foot-11 center, who has battled foot injuries the past two seasons, played five minutes against the Bulldogs and scored four points and snagged two rebounds. He also saw limited action against Cincinnati on Dec. 28 and Kent State on Jan. 8, but made his presence felt against Akron on Jan. 20, scoring four points, grabbing three rebounds and playing 18 minutes.

REDHAWKS HOT AND COLD FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
Against Evansville, Miami drained its first five three-point attempts, and didn't miss a field goal until the 15:40 mark. Miami hit 41.2 percent of its first-half three pointers (7-of-17)-its best first-half effort of the season. Things cooled off for the RedHawks, who went 9-of-29 from three-point range for the game as they made just 2-of-12 attempts in the second half, a 16.7 percent effort. The RedHawks' 29 attempts were their most since the Red and White attempted 30 versus Buffalo in February of 2000 and ranked among the top eight for single-game attempts in Miami history.

MASON TABBED MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior guard Chet Mason was tabbed Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week following last week's games against Toledo and Ohio.

Mason led Miami against Toledo and Ohio, scoring 17 and 22 points, respectively, to average 19.5 points per game for the week. He came into the week producing just 18 combined points over Miami's previous three games, but got his shooting touch back last week. Mason's career-high 22 points against Ohio lifted Miami to a 77-65 win over the Bobcats, its first road win since Feb. 6, 2002, and first win in The Convo since 1998.

Mason was a sizzling 8-of-10 from the field (.800) and 3-of-4 from three-point range (.750), single-handedly putting together two second-half runs to cinch the game against the Bobcats.

He also grabbed a game-high and career-best six steals, all in the second half, which ties for fourth on Miami's single-game chart. For the week, Mason hit 65.2 percent of his field goals 55.6 percent of his three-point attempts, averaged 7.0 rebounds per game and collected eight steals.

SCHENKE NAMED MAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Miami University's basketball programs swept the Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week awards Dec. 10 as junior forward Colleen Day (Independence, Ohio/Holy Name) and sophomore forward Tim Schenke were named the female and male scholar-athletes of the week.

Schenke, who owns a 3.37 GPA and majors in finance, helped Miami to back-to-back wins for the first time since early last February and got Miami to the .500 mark for the first time this season with wins over Dayton, 78-63, and a league-opening win over Western Michigan, 44-39. Schenke hit a critical three as time expired in the first half against Dayton to cut the Flyer lead to five and give the RedHawks momentum going into the second half. During a 17-0 second half run, Schenke hit another three to push Miami's lead to five. Miami's bench was a key component to the Dayton win, outscoring the Flyers 18-7. Schenke accounted for nine of those 18 points-a career-high sum.

For the second straight game, Schenke drilled a critical three against Western Michigan. All seven of his points came in the second half. Defensively, he helped hold Bronco forward Anthony Kann, who averaged 12.0 ppg heading into the contest, to just two points.

BENCH MARKS
A key to Miami's 78-63 win over Dayton was the production it received from its bench as the RedHawk bench outscored the Flyer bench 18-7. That margin was due in large part to sophomore Tim Schenke-who manufactured a career-high nine points, going 3-for-4 from three-point range-and junior forward Gene Seals, who added seven points.

THREE-POINT TURN AROUND
Over its first four games, Miami went a paltry 20-of-80 from three-point range, connecting on no more than six in a single game. Against Dayton, it seemed as if that might be the case in the first half as the RedHawks hit just 2-of-11 three-point attempts, including one by sophomore forward Tim Schenke just as the first half ended. The second half, however, was a much different story for the RedHawks, who drilled 8-of-10 three-point attempts for a sizzling .800 second-half three-point shooting percentage. Miami made its first five three-point attempts of the second half and didn't miss until the 13:29 mark.

DANNY "WRIGHT" ON THE BLOCK
When it comes to blocked shots, Danny Horace likes facing the Wright State Raiders. Last season as a freshman, Horace swatted five Raider shots, which tied Miami's No. 5 single-game total. On Nov. 30, Horace blocked three Raider shots for a grand total of eight over the past two years.

REBOUNDS FOR REED
Against Wright State, senior forward Bryan Reed (Terre Haute, Ind./North) snagged a career-high 11 rebounds and become just the second RedHawk this season to produce double figures in rebounding. His 11 rebounds against the Raiders also was a game-high sum, four more than any other player. For the week, Reed averaged a team-best 8.0 boards per game.

HAUSFELD STEPS UP AGAINST MARYLAND
Freshman guard Josh Hausfeld stepped to the floor in front of a national audience against No. 12/15 Maryland and showed that he is more than capable of playing with the nation's finest. Hausfeld was one of just two RedHawks and one of only four players to score in double figures, amassing 11 points off 4-of-8 field goals. Hausfeld drilled three treys as he went 3-of-4 (.750) from beyond the three-point arc. He also produced two rebounds and one steal.

DANNY DOUBLE-DOUBLE
In just the second game of the season, sophomore forward Danny Horace notched his first double-double for the RedHawks. Horace led all players with 17 points and 12 rebounds against No. 12/15 Maryland on Sunday. His 12 boards was twice the sum of any other player. He also had three steals and one assist.

JOHNSON TABBED MAC PRESEASON ALL-EAST DIVISION
Junior guard Juby Johnson was one of 10 players named to the Mid-American Conference All-Divisional Teams as voted by the MAC News Media Association. Johnson joined Ohio's Brandon Hunter, Kent State's Antonio Gates, Marshall's Ronald Blackshear and Akron's Andy Hipsher on the MAC Preseason All-East Division Team. Ball State's Theron Smith, Central Michigan's Chris Kaman, Eastern Michigan's Ricky Cottrill, Toledo's Nick Moore and Western Michigan's Robby Collum comprised the Preseason All-West Division Team.

A MIAMI WIN WOULD ...
* Move Miami to within one win of reaching the 500 MAC win mark, becoming the first league team to achieve the feat.
* Give Miami three straight wins for first time this season.
* Improve Miami's home win streak against the Cardinals to 11 straight games.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
* Be Miami's third straight loss to the Cardinals
* Be Miami's first home loss to Ball State since 1992, snapping a 10-game streak.
* Drop the RedHawks' MAC record to 4-3.