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Jan. 25, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

REDHAWKS HOST EASTERN MICHIGAN AS PART OF DOUBLEHEADER SATURDAY: Miami embarks on its stretch against the Mid-American Conference West Division when it returns home to host Eastern Michigan at approximately 4 p.m. on Jan. 26 as part of "Doubleheader Saturday." The RedHawks own a 4-2 home record this season, while Eastern Michigan is 3-6 on the road.

ABOUT EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles enter today's game with a 7-10 overall record and a 3-2 Mid-American Conference mark. Eastern Michigan is coming off a 68-44 win against Toledo and has won three of its last four games. Carlos Medlock paces the Eagles, averaging 13.5 ppg, while Justin Dobbins and Jesse Bunkley follow averaging 10.8 and 10.6 ppg, respectively. On the boards, Travis Lewis leads the team, averaging 5.7 rpg, while Dobbins averages 5.4 rpg. In conference-only games, Eastern Michigan ranks second in made 3-point field goals, averaging 7.20 per game. Justin Axon leads the MAC in league-only games in made 3-pointers, averaging 2.60 per game. Axon has knocked down 13 treys over five league games and is shooting 48.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

THE SERIES WITH THE EAGLES: Today marks the 62nd meeting between Miami and Eastern Michigan with the Red and White owning a 42-19 lead in the all-time series. Miami has won the last 11 meetings with the Eagles, including a 74-64 win last season in Ypsilanti. When playing in Oxford, Miami holds a 23-5 advantage. Eastern Michigan's last win in the series was in the 1998 MAC Tournament Championship game, 92-77. The Eagles' last win at Millett Hall was a 73-60 triumph on Jan. 24, 1996.

TELEVISION COVERAGE: Saturday's doubleheader with the women's basketball team hosting Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. and the men's basketball team entertaining Eastern Michigan at approximately 4 p.m. will be broadcast on ONN in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets. Tim Bray will call the action, while Joe Barry will provide commentary for both games. Miami's home game against Akron on Feb. 19 also will be televised on ONN. Additionally, Miami's home game on Sunday, March 9 against Bowling Green has been moved to noon. It will be televised as part of the Mid-American Conference Television Package on Fox Sports Net Ohio and on Comcast Local.

GAME TIME CHANGES: Please note the following change in game time for television as part of the MAC TV Package... Sunday, March 9 vs. Bowling Green, Noon (FSN Ohio)

UP NEXT: Miami hits the road for a pair of games when the RedHawks play at Northern Illinois on Jan. 30 and at Ball State on Feb. 2. Miami then returns home for a pair of games, hosting Toledo at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 6 and playing the second game of a women's and men's basketball doubleheader at approximately 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 against Central Michigan. February 9 is Hall of Fame Day when Miami will induct eight members into its Athletics Hall of Fame.

REDHAWKS HONOR CHAMPIONSHIP READERS: Miami will honor its "Championship Readers" at halftime of Saturday's men's game. The Championship Reading Program is an annual program in its 12th year of existence. The program is in conjunction with area schools to promote literacy with Miami University student-athletes visiting area elementary schools to talk about the importance of reading. The program is sponsored by Pepsi, Papa John's, Bob Evans, Great Wolf Lodge and the Miami Champs Lifeskills Program.

COLES EARNS 200TH MIAMI WIN: With a 64-57 win against Buffalo on Jan. 20, Miami head coach Charlie Coles earned his 200th win at the helm of the RedHawk program. Coles also tied former Ohio head coach Jim Snyder for second in career MAC-only wins with 176. Coles is in his 12th season guiding the Miami program and his 18th season as a head coach in the Mid-American Conference. He needs just eight wins to reach 300 wins for his career.

WEEKLY MAC TELECONFERENCE: Miami head coach Charlie Coles will be available for comment during the weekly MAC Coaches Teleconference, which began Monday, Jan. 7 and runs through the end of the season. Coach Coles is scheduled to be on the teleconference from 10:57 a.m.-11:04 a.m.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND: In its first three games to open MAC play, Miami recorded season highs for turnovers (16 at Akron; 16 vs. Kent State) and averaged 14.7 turnovers per game. In their last two games, the RedHawks have committed just 16 combined turnovers. Against Buffalo on Jan. 20, Miami committed its second fewest turnovers of the season, giving up only nine turnovers to the Bulls, including just four in the first half. At Bowling Green on Jan. 23, Miami tied its season low for turnovers with seven, which it also had against Mississippi State on Nov. 25.

ODDS `N ENDS: The RedHawks had players score 20 points in back-to-back games for the first time since Miami started the season with players scoring 20 or more points in its first six games ... Michael Bramos recorded 23 points against Kent State (Jan. 17), while Kenny Hayes recorded 20 against Buffalo (Jan. 20) ... Hayes' 20 points were a career-high for him at Miami ... additionally, Eric Pollitz recorded a career-high seven rebounds against the Bulls, while Tim Pollitz tied a career-best with four steals and Tyler Dierkers tied a career-high with nine rebounds.

TWO REDHAWKS CLOSING IN ON CAREER TOP-10 CHARTS: Senior forward Tim Pollitz and junior forward Michael Bramos are closing in on several Miami career top 10-charts. Additionally, Bramos needs 255 points to become the 33rd RedHawk to amass 1,000 career points. Tim Pollitz • His .574 field-goal percentage ranks first all-time at Miami. • Needs 21 more field goals to tie the 10th place total of 523. • Needs 227 points to tie the 10th-place total of 1,401.

Michael Bramos • Needs 1 blocked shot to tie the 9th-place total of 69. • Is 33 3-pointers away from tying the 10th-place total of 129. • His .807 free-throw percentage ranks sixth all-time at Miami.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Freshmen forwards Dwight McCombs and Nick Winbush are beginning to emerge as solid shot blockers for the RedHawks. Each recorded a blocked shot against Kent State (Jan. 17), accounting for half of Miami's blocked shots. The duo teamed up for all three of the RedHawks' blocked shots against the Bulls, with Winbush producing two and McCombs adding one.

Eric Pollitz STEPPING UP: Junior guard Eric Pollitz made his way into the starting lineup on Dec. 18 against Chicago State and has started the last nine games for the RedHawks. In the last five games, Pollitz has set or tied career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and minutes played.

LENDING A HELPING HAND: Miami amassed 22 assists against Chicago State on Dec. 18, the most by a Miami team since recording 23 against Buffalo on Feb. 4, 2006. Miami's post players lead the way for the RedHawks. Senior forward Tim Pollitz has 58 assists this season and averages 3.4 apg, while junior center Tyler Dierkers has recorded 52 assists and averages 3.3 apg. The duo accounts for 47 percent of the team's assists. Dierkers leads the nation in assist per game by a center, according to Stats, Inc.

DIERKERS LEADS MAC AND RANKS NATIONALLY IN ASSIST/TURNOVER RATIO: Junior center Tyler Dierkers leads the Mid-American Conference with a 2.21 assist/turnover ratio. He ranked 37th nationally in the category in the last NCAA rankings.

MIAMI'S STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE RANKS SECOND NATIONALLY: According to CollegeRPI.com as of Jan. 25, Miami ranks 67th in the RPI and its strength of schedule ranks second nationally.

Tim Pollitz SCORES 1,000th CAREER POINT: Needing just 14 points entering Miami's Dec. 1 game at No. 12/10 Louisville to reach the 1,000 career-point plateau, senior forward Tim Pollitz hit that benchmark on a jumper with 4:19 to play in the first half to knot the game 16-16. Pollitz became the 32nd player in program history to record 1,000 career points and now has 1,174 points.

BRAMOS HAS CAREER NIGHT AGAINST FLYERS: With an impressive 36-point effort against Dayton on Nov. 28, junior forward Michael Bramos had a career night. Bramos went 11-of-17 from the field (.647), including and whopping 9-of-15 from 3-point range (.600). His nine treys rank second on Miami's single-game chart, just one off the school record of 10. He knocked down seven of his nine 3-pointers in the first half. His 36 points were the most scored by a Miami player since Wally Szczerbiak scored 43 points against Washington on March 12, 1999 in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, Bramos had a career-high four blocked shots against the Flyers, accounting for all of Miami's blocked shots.

DIERKERS AND POLLITZ CLOSE TO TRIPLE-DOUBLES: Junior center Tyler Dierkers came close to a triple-double against Mississippi State on Nov. 25. Dierkers ended with seven points and career highs of nine rebounds and 10 assists. His 10 assists are the most by a Miami player since Alex Moosmann handed out 10 assists against UIC last season. Senior forward Tim Pollitz also was close to recording what would be only the second triple-double in Miami history with his 26 points, nine assists and eight rebounds against Chicago State on Dec. 18.

MIAMI MANAGERS HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CANCER: Miami University's basketball managers are one of 24 managerial groups to take part in the first year of Managers vs. Cancer. A Charlie Coles' signed basketball was one of several items being auctioned by the Managers vs. Cancer organization with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. To place bids on items or to make donations, log-on to www.managersvscancer.org.

BRAMOS AND POLLITZ NAMED TO ANAHEIM CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Junior forward Michael Bramos and senior forward Tim Pollitz were named to the five-member Anaheim Classic All-Tournament Team. The RedHawk duo join Southern California's OJ Mayo, who was named tournament MVP, Southern Illinois' Randal Falker and Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon. Miami was the only school with two all-tournament team selections.

A MIAMI WIN WOULD ... • Move Miami to 5-2 at home. • Be the RedHawks' 12th straight win in the all-time series with Eastern Michigan. • Make Miami 24-5 when facing EMU in Oxford. • Place head coach Charlie Coles solely in second place on the MAC's all-time conference win list 177.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ... • Drop Miami to 1-5 in league play. • Give the Eagles their first win against the RedHawks since 1998 and their first win in Millett Hall since 1996. • Hand Miami two home league losses for the first time since 2003-04.