Feb. 16, 2007
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MIAMI TRAVELS TO INDIANA STATE FOR O'REILLY ESPNU BRACKET BUSTER: Miami takes a brief break from Mid-American Conference play to participate in the O'Reilly ESPNU Bracket Buster. The RedHawks play their fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference team in the Bracket Buster when the travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to face the Indiana State Sycamores at 2:05 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17. Miami has been successful in its previous Bracket Buster games, compiling a 3-0 mark, however, this is the first time the RedHawks are on the road for their Bracket Buster game.
ABOUT INDIANA STATE: The Sycamores enter Saturday's game with a 12-14 overall record and a 5-11 Missouri Valley Conference mark. Indiana State has struggled as of late, losing 10 of their last 11 games. Gabe Moore paces the Sycamores, averaging 12.0 ppg, while Marico Stinson averages 10.0 ppg. The Sycamores like to shoot from long range, averaging 6.8 made 3-pointers per game. Stinson leads the team with 48 treys this season, followed by Cole Holmstrom with 41 and Moore with 32. Moore also has a team-best 44 steals and 100 assists on the season. Adam Arnold leads the Sycamores on the boards, averaging 6.1 rpg.
THE SERIES WITH THE SYCAMORES: Saturday marks the sixth meeting between Miami and Indiana State with the Sycamores holding a 4-1 lead in the all-time series. The last time the teams met was at the Puerto Rico Shootout on Nov. 25, 2000, with the Sycamores posting a 54-46 win. Miami and Indiana State have met just one other time in Terre Haute with the Sycamores posting a 72-53 win. Miami's lone win in the series came on Dec. 7, 1991, in Oxford, 77-61. The following is the series between the RedHawks and Sycamores:
Nov. 25, 2000 N L, 46-54 Bayamon, Puerto Rico Dec. 07, 1991 H W, 77-61 Oxford, OH Dec. 15, 1990 A L, 53-72 Terre Haute, IN Feb. 12, 1947 N L, 52-59 Cincinnati, OH Mar. 07, 1936 N L, 27-45 Indianapolis, IN
UP NEXT: The RedHawks resume MAC play on Wednesday, Feb. 21 when they host Akron at 7:30 p.m. Miami hosts Buffalo on Feb. 24 in its final home game. Tip time has been moved to 2:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on FSN Ohio. Prior to tip-off, Miami will honor its three seniors: Nathan Peavy, Doug Penno and Monty St. Clair.
ON THE DEFENSIVE: When asked about Miami's defensive tenacity, head coach Charlie Coles' usual response is that a team's defensive effort is always something they can control, and his RedHawks have followed that line of thought to the letter. In MAC-only games, Miami ranks second in scoring defense (59.5 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (.417). Additionally, Miami ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense (57.2 ppg) and is the only Division I program to restrict every opponent to less than 70 points. The following is a list from Stats, Inc., of the fewest times allowing an opponent to score 70 or more points:
Miami (OH) 0 Michigan State 1 Princeton 1 Bucknell 2 Southern Illinois 2 Air Force 3 Delaware State 3 George Mason 3 Georgetown 3 Northwestern 3 Pittsburgh 3 Samford 3 Texas A&M 3 Washington St 3 Wisconsin 3
POLLITZ POURING IT ON: Junior forward Tim Pollitz is the only MAC player to rank among the league's top five in scoring and field goal percentage in MAC-only games, ranking second in scoring (18.5 ppg) and in field goal percentage (.641). Additionally, Pollitz has hit at least 23 more field goals than any other player in the conference. Pollitz has amassed 20 or more points in five of the RedHawks' last seven contests.
REDHAWKS COLLECT 550th MAC WIN: With a 74-64 win at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 7, the RedHawks recorded the 550th Mid-American Conference win in program history. Miami is the only MAC program with more than 500 league wins. Ohio is the next closest with 487. Coincidentally, the RedHawks won their 500th MAC game at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 29, 2003.
20/20 VISION: On Feb. 7, junior forward Tim Pollitz and senior forward Nathan Peavy scored 22 and 21 points, respectively to lead the RedHawks to a 74-64 win at Eastern Michigan. It marked the first time two players scored 20 points apiece in a game since Feb. 4, 2006 when Peavy and Pollitz scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, against Buffalo in an 81-74 win. Pollitz has scored 20 or more points in five of Miami's last six games, while Peavy has scored 20 or more points four times, and sophomore guard/forward Michael Bramos has scored 20-plus points three times this season.
ON THE MARK: Through 12 Mid-American Conference games, Miami is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor in MAC action to lead the league. The RedHawks are connecting at their highest rate in more than 16 years.
MAC FACTS: While the RedHawks rank second in the league in MAC-only games in field goal percentage defense (.417) and scoring defense (59.5), Miami has moved into first in field goal percentage (.488) and blocked shots (4.58). Additionally, the Red and White ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (1.05).
CONSISTENT SCORING: After scoring eight combined points in Miami's first two games, junior forward Tim Pollitz has been in double figures for scoring in 21 of the RedHawks' last 22 contests. He has led Miami in scoring in 13 games, including seven of the RedHawks' last nine games.
PENNO IN THE CLUTCH: Since the start of MAC play, senior guard Doug Penno has come up with key plays in clutch situations. • Jan. 7 vs. Kent State: Penno hit the game-tying 3-pointer to help spur the RedHawks to a 65-63 win. • Jan. 11 at Akron: Penno stole the in-bounds pass under Miami's bucket and eventually came up with the game-tying assist as sophomore guard Carl Richburg nailed a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left to cap a 7-0 run for the RedHawks. • Jan. 21 vs. Ohio: Penno had an assist on the go-ahead bucket and drilled two 3-pointers in overtime to lift Miami to a 72-69 win. • Jan. 30 vs. Northern Illinois: Penno hit back-to-back treys to cap a 8-0 Miami run and lift the RedHawks to a four-point lead with 3:42 remaining. He again had the assist on the go-ahead basket, lofting a pass on an alley-oop to Nathan Peavy with 1:51 to play to put Miami up for good in a 62-59 win against the Huskies. • Feb. 3 vs. Western Michigan: With time winding down on the clock, Penno nailed the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer, lifting Miami to a 62-59 win. Penno had nine second-half points and recorded Miami's first buzzer-beating win since Feb. 9, 2005.
DOWN TO THE WIRE: Several of Miami's games this season have gone down to the wire, including seven of the RedHawks' nine games in Mid-American Conference play. • Jan. 7 vs. Kent State: Miami edged Kent State, 65-63, in its MAC opener on a jumper by Tim Pollitz with 2.3 seconds remaining. • Jan. 11 at Akron: The Red and White suffered a similar loss at Akron. After erasing a seven-point deficit within a one-minute span, Miami had its comeback dashed by an Akron layup with one second remaining to give the Zips a 54-52 win. • Jan. 17 vs. Bowling Green: Bowling Green pulled within five points of the RedHawks with under a minute to play, but Miami held on for the 66-60 win. • Jan. 21 vs. Ohio: It took overtime to defeat Ohio. A Tim Pollitz layup with 1:26 remaining in regulation evened the score to send the game to overtime where the RedHawks outscored the Bobcats 9-6 to seize the 72-69 win. • Jan. 27 at Toledo: A Tim Pollitz 3-pointer with two seconds remaining put Miami within four points of the Rockets, but it was not enough as Toledo posted a 61-56 win • Jan. 30 vs. Northern Illinois: An lay-in by Nathan Peavy with 1:51 left put Miami up for good and Peavy and Tim Pollitz sunk two free throws apiece to secure a 62-59 win against the Huskies. • Feb. 3 vs. Western Michigan: Doug Penno drilled the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift Miami to a 62-59 win. Miami erased a 16-point first-half deficit and scored its most points in a half, amassing 43 second-half points.
UNDER 60: Western Michigan's 59 points against Miami on Feb. 3 marked the 11th time this season the RedHawks have restricted an opponent to less than 60 points. Over the past three seasons, Miami has confined opponents to less than 60 points 39 times, including 16 times last season.
`HAWK HITS: The RedHawks posted their most points in a half (45 in the second half) and their most points in a game (74) at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 7 ... Miami shot a season-best 59.1 percent from the field against Ball State on Feb. 10 ... Sophomore guard Carl Richburg is out for the season with a shoulder injury sustained during the Jan. 21 Ohio game ... No opponent this season has been able to score 70 points on the RedHawks ... Head Coach Charlie Coles is three MAC wins away from tying former Ohio head coach Jim Snyder for second in career MAC wins ... Coles currently owns 173 MAC triumphs.
TOUGH COMPETITION: Annually boasting a strong non-conference strength of schedule, Miami's 2006-07 non-conference slate is no different. Playing 12 non-conference tilts, the RedHawks' strength of schedule ranked No. 20 nationally prior to MAC play, according to CollegeRPI.com as of Jan. 5, 2007.
HOME SWEET HOME: This season, Miami plays 13 games in the confines of Millett Hall where the Red and White own a 370-115 all-time record (.763). In 2004-05, Miami set a program record for home wins, going 13-1 at Millett Hall and posting a 13-0 record in the regular-season. Last season, the RedHawks forged an 11-2 home record. Miami secured its 19th consecutive season at .500 or better at home with its win against Northern Illinois on Jan. 30, 2007.
LAST TIME OUT: Kent State opened the game on an 11-0 run and never looked back as the Golden Flashes posted a 61-45 win ... A jumper by Nathan Peavy at the 13:51 mark of the first half ended the Golden Flashes' opening run ... The RedHawks would get as close as seven points off a Tim Pollitz layup with 13:29 remaining in the half, 11-4, and off a Peavy dunk at the 11:45 mark, 13-6 ... Kent State rounded out the half on a 4-0 run to give the Golden Flashes a 28-16 lead ... KSU extended its lead to 30-16 just seconds into the half ... The RedHawks rattled off five unanswered points off a Tim Pollitz layup and a Monty St. Clair three-point play to put the RedHawks back within nine points, 30-21, by the 17:40 mark ... Miami would close within nine points three more times, the last coming off a Peavy layup with 11:25 to play to make the score 39-30, but Kent State went on a 10-2 run to extend its lead to 17 points by the 8:26 mark, 49-32 and rolled to the 61-45 win ... Tim Pollitz was the only RedHawk to score in double figures with 14 points ... KSU's Omni Smith led all scorers with 17 points, while Armon Gates added 13 points.
A MIAMI WIN WOULD ... • Improve Miami's record to 13-12 on the season and 2-4 against Indiana State. • Be Miami's fourth straight win in a Bracket Buster game. • Be Miami's first win at Indiana State.A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ... • Drop Miami to 12-13 and 1-5 against Indiana state. • Be Miami's second straight loss in the series with Indiana State. • Give Miami back-to-back losses.
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