Dec. 17, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

REDHAWKS BEGIN FOUR-GAME ROAD STRETCH: Miami embarks on a four-game road stretch which spans the next three weeks when the RedHawks travel to Wisconsin to battle the Milwaukee Panthers at 8 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Dec. 19. Miami then travels to local-rival Xavier for a 7 p.m. game on Dec. 23. The RedHawks then have 12 days off before their next game when they travel to Colorado to battle the Buffaloes on Jan. 5. Miami begins Mid-American Conference action at Buffalo on Jan. 9.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE: The Panthers and RedHawks both enter Saturday's game well-rested after a week off since their last games. Following a pair of losses to Loyola and Marquette, Milwaukee won its last outing, an 84-73 triumph over North Dakota State in Fargo. With the win, the Panthers now boast a 7-4 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in the Horizon League. Two of Milwaukee's four losses are to teams that advanced in the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Western Kentucky and cross-town rival Marquette. The Panthers have used a consistent starting lineup with James Eayrs, Ricky Franklin, Tony Meier and Jerard Ajami starting all 11 games and Deonte Roberts starting all but the last game in which Lonnie Boga got the starting nod. Eayrs leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 14.2 ppg and 6.7 rpg, respectively, while Franklin chips in 14.1 ppg and leads the team in assists at 3.7 per contest.

THE SERIES WITH THE PANTHERS: Saturday marks the third all-time meeting between Miami and Milwaukee, with Miami having taken both games in the series. Last season the series resumed after a 62-year hiatus, with Miami posting a 69-45 win at home. This is the first game between the two schools played in Milwaukee, as the only other meeting between them was also played in Oxford, a 63-56 decision in 1947.

UP NEXT: Miami plays the second game in a four-game road stretch when the RedHawks travel to local rival Xavier for a 7 p.m. contest on Dec. 23. The game will be televised on FS Ohio. Miami has a lengthy break and plays its next game after facing the Musketeers on Jan. 5 when the RedHawks travel to face Colorado. The game will be televised on FS Rocky Mountain. Miami starts Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 9, traveling to Buffalo for a 4 p.m. game.

ROAD WARRIORS: Miami played its first five games away from Millett Hall over a 10-day stretch and logged 4,095 round-trip miles during its travels. During non-conference play, Miami will log approximately 7,412 round-trip miles of travel, which includes trips to Towson, Md., Lexington, Ky., Albuquerque, N.M., Milwaukee, Wis., Boulder, Colo., and local trips to face Cincinnati and Xavier.

MIAMI ISP SPORTS NETWORK: In its third year of its partnership with ISP Sports Marketing, the Miami ISP Sports Network continues its coverage of Miami men's basketball with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. "The Voice of the RedHawks" Steve Baker delivers the play-by-play coverage, while Joe Barry provides color commentary. Tune in to one of Miami's game-day affiliates: WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, OH), WPFB-FM 105.9 (Middletown, OH), WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, IN), WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, OH).

DOWN TO THE WIRE: In its Dec. 13 game against Wright State, Miami's last lead came at 10:21 in the first half before senior guard Kenny Hayes tossed in a driving layup with 22 seconds remaining in the game to hand the RedHawks a gritty 56-55 win. The Raiders were scoreless over the final 3:49 of the game, while the RedHawks received layups from junior guard/forward Antonio Ballard with 3:19 to play and the game-winning bucket from Hayes with 22 seconds left. It was the third time in the last four meetings with Wright State that the game was decided by one point with Miami coming out on the winning end of the tight outcomes for the first time during that stretch.

TOUGH COMPETITION: Miami's strength of schedule is the 23rd toughest nationally, according to CollegeRPI.com, which leads all Mid-American Conference schools. Only one team Miami has faced had a losing record at the time of the meeting and only two currently own losing records, while three are currently ranked in the national polls and two others are receiving votes. Against the two opponents who were ranked at the time Miami played them, the RedHawks lost by just six combined points. In the second game of the season, the RedHawks came within two points of No. 4 Kentucky, 72-70. On Dec. 10, Miami again pushed its nationally-ranked opponent down to the wire, falling to No. 19 Cincinnati by four points, 63-59.

MINUTE MAN: Senior guard Kenny Hayes is averaging 35.20 minutes per game and leads the Mid-American Conference in minutes played. Central Michigan's Robbie Harman ranks second at 34.33 minutes per game. Junior forward Nick Winbush ranks 25th in the category, averaging 29.20 minutes per game this season.

HOT SHOTS: Miami has emerged as the Mid-American Conference leader in field-goal percentage, 3-point field-goal percentage and made 3-pointers. Through 10 games, the RedHawks are hitting 45.0 percent of their field goals, 38.7 percent of their 3-pointers and averaging 7.9 3-pointers per game.

MAC NUGGETS: Four Miami players rank among Mid-American Conference statistical leaders. Senior guard Kenny Hayes ranks 7th in scoring (13.2), 8th in assists (3.7), 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.12) and 15th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.375). Junior forward Nick Winbush ranks 13th in scoring (12.2), 2nd in made 3-pointers (2.60), 4th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.464), tied for 7th in blocked shots (1.00) and 10th in field-goal percentage (.518). Sophomore forward/center Julian Mavunga ties for 13th in rebounding (6.0), 5th in defensive rebounds (5.00) and ranks 15th in blocked shots (0.80). Junior guard Rodney Haddix II ranks 3rd in 3-point field-goal percentage (.467).

SERVING UP TREYS: As a team, Miami is averaging 7.9 3-pointers per game. In addition to their record-setting performance at Kentucky (15), the RedHawks have tallied nine treys against New Mexico, Evansville and Cincinnati, seven against Louisiana Tech, Nicholls State and Dayton, six at Towson and against Wright State and four against Temple. Although it is early to talk about records, if the RedHawks keep up this furious 3-point shooting pace they could eclipse the season record of 243 held by the 1993-94 squad. The No. 2 single-season total is 222 during the 1999-2000 season. Miami has hit 79 treys over 10 games.

DOUBLE-TIME: Five times this season Miami players have recorded double-doubles. Sophomore forward/center Julian Mavunga has recorded three double-doubles, while junior forward Nick Winbush and senior center Adam Fletcher each recorded their first career double-doubles. Fletcher amassed 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds against Wright State (Dec. 13), while Winbush recorded 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against Temple (Dec. 8). Mavunga's first two career double-doubles came in the World Vision Classic/Basketball Travelers Tournament when he amassed 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Louisiana Tech (Nov. 20) and followed that with a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Nicholls State (Nov. 21). Mavunga poured in a career-high 18 points and chipped in 10 boards against Evansville (Nov. 28).

WINBUSH FOR THREE: Junior forward Nick Winbush drilled eight 3-pointers at Kentucky, which ties for third on Miami's single-game charts and set a then-Rupp Arena record for 3-pointers by an opponent. Winbush was an impressive 6-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first half and was 8-for-10 from 3-point range for the game. His eight treys tie for the seventh most nationally made by a player in a game this season. He led all scorers with a career-high 26 points. Through 10 games this season, Winbush is 26-of-56 from beyond the arc, nailing 46.4 percent of his 3-point attempts. In the latest NCAA statistics (Dec. 13), Winbush ranked 30th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage.

LONG RANGERS: Three of Miami's top four 3-point shooters have hit over 45 percent of their 3-point attempts. Junior guard Rodney Haddix II is 14-of-30 from 3-point range for a .467 shooting percentage, while sophomore forward/center Julian Mavunga has drained 8-of-14 treys for a .571 shooting percentage. Junior forward Nick Winbush leads the team with 26 3-pointers this season and has a .464 shooting percentage from long range. Additionally, senior guard Kenny Hayes has drained 15 treys, which is the second-most makes of any RedHawk this season.

FRESH FACES: Both of Miami's freshmen guards saw action in Miami's first nine games this season with Orlando Williams playing in all 10 contests. Williams is averaging 11.0 minutes per game and has made two starts this season, while Allen Roberts averages 6.4 minutes per game.

REDHAWKS SET 3-POINT RECORD: Draining 15 3-pointers at Kentucky on Nov. 16, Miami set a program record for 3-point field goals. It ties for the 17th most made in a game nationally this season. The RedHawks went 15-of-26 from beyond the arc, receiving long-range field goals from junior forward Nick Winbush, junior guard Rodney Haddix II and guard/forward Antonio Ballard, senior guard Kenny Hayes and freshman guard Orlando Williams.

NEAR PERFECT: Against the Nicholls State Colonels, junior guard Rodney Haddix II was near perfect from the field, hitting 6-of-7 field goals, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, while draining all six of his free-throw attempts. Haddix's lone miss of the night came with 2:04 to play in the game.

FOR STARTERS: Freshman guard Orlando Williams got his first career start against Evansville on Nov. 28. He became the fourth RedHawk this season to earn his first career start, joining sophomore guard Kramer Soderberg, junior guard Rodney Haddix II and sophomore forward/center Julian Mavunga.

20/20 VISION: Miami had two players score in double figures against Nicholls State on Nov. 21. Senior guard Kenny Hayes led all RedHawks with 23 points, while junior guard Rodney Haddix II tallied a career-high 21 points. The duo also scored 22 and 20 points, respectively, against California (Pa.) in exhibition action earlier this season.

A MIAMI WIN WOULD ...
•	Give Miami back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
•	Be Miami's first true road win of the year.
•	Improve the RedHawks' all-time record against Milwaukee to 3-0.

A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
•	Drop the RedHawks to 1-4 in the month of December.
•	Give Milwaukee its first win in the series versus Miami.
•	Make the RedHawks 0-5 on the road.