Dec. 31, 2011

Miami at Vanderbilt
Monday, January 2 - 8 p.m. (ET)
Memorial Gymnasium - Nashville, Tenn.
Radio: Miami IMG Sports Network (WMOH 1450 Hamilton; WFMG 101.3 Richmond; WONE 980 Dayton, WDBZ 1230 Cincinnati)

Miami Game Notes  l  Vanderbilt Notes

GameTracker  l  Live Audio (Miami All-Access Subscription)

REDHAWKS TAKE FLIGHT FOR VANDERBILT: Miami concluded 2011 on a good note with a thrilling 73-69 win over William & Mary and tries to start 2012 with a bang when the RedHawks visit Vanderbilt for an 8 p.m. (ET) game on Monday, Jan. 2. The Commodores are coming off an impressive 74-57 win at No. 14/13 Marquette and enter Tuesday’s contest winning their last three.

COLES RECORDS 350th CAREER WIN: With a 73-69 win against William & Mary on Dec. 29, Miami head coach Charlie Coles collected his 350th career win. Coles is Miami’s all-time winningest coach with 258 wins in 16 seasons at Miami and is the MAC leader for career conference wins with 213 in 22 seasons as a head coach in the MAC.

THE NUMBERS DON’T LIE: Senior forward Julian Mavunga ranks among the nation’s top players in numerous statistical categories and his numbers are speaking volumes against some solid competition. Mavunga is one of just two players in the nation averaging more than 19 ppg and 10 rpg. Mavunga ranks among the top 20 in the country in scoring (20th), rebounding (17th), games with a double-double (t-12th), percentage of games with a double-double (t-10th) and percentage of team points scored (1st). He also ranks among the top 10 nationally in made free throws per game (3rd), minutes played (6th) and games of 40 or more minutes. (Rankings courtesy of Stats, Inc.)

AMONG THE NATION’S BEST: Already this season, senior forward Julian Mavunga is proving he is among the nation’s strongest players. In games played through Dec. 30, Mavunga is one of just two players nationally to average 20 or more points and 10 or more rebounds. Of those, he is the only player to average 2.0 assist per game. The last time a Miami player averaged a double-double for a season was Ron Harper in 1986 (24.4 ppg, 11.7 rpg) and 1985 (24.9 ppg, 10.7 rpg). He also leads the nation in percentage of team points scored (32.7 percent). (Rankings courtesy of Stats, Inc.)

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS: Senior forward Julian Mavunga ranks 17th nationally in rebounding, averaging 10.4 rpg. If he can keep up his torrid rebounding pace, Mavunga is on target to put his name on Miami’s single-season Top-10 rebounding chart. Other than Ron Harper in 1985 and 1986, the other eight marks on the single-season chart were attained by players from 1951 to 1968.

ON THE PLUS SIDE: For the second time in three games, Miami has had a positive assist/turnover ratio. The RedHawks amassed 11 rebounds and had a season-low seven turnovers—their first single-digit turnover performance of the season—against William & Mary. Against Evansville, Miami compiled a season-most 18 assists and had 13 turnovers.

SEWELL STEPPING UP: Sophomore guard Josh Sewell has been solid in Miami’s last six games, averaging 10.8 ppg and 3.3 rpg while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from long-range. He has scored in double figures in four of Miami’s last six games, including a season-high 18 points against William & Mary. He hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to help lift Miami to a 73-69 win over William & Mary.

HARRIS UPPING PRODUCTION: Sophomore forward Jon Harris has been a solid contributor for the RedHawks in their last eight games. Over that stretch, Harris averaged 8.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.6 apg and had six blocked shots. He also averaged 1.8 made 3-pointers per game while playing the second-most minutes (33.6) of any RedHawk behind senior forward Julian Mavunga. Against Belmont, Harris recorded a career-high eight rebounds and tallied seven against William & Mary. He played a career-most 38 minutes against Evansville. Harris has scored in double figures in three of Miami’s last six games.

ROLLINS ON A ROLL: Miami’s quarterback on offense and a spark plug on defense, sophomore guard Quinten Rollins does many of the little things that make a difference in the game. Over the last four games, he has put together some very solid numbers, averaging 8.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg and has two blocked shots. Rollins amassed a career-high 18 points and had four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action against William & Mary. He notched five steals, four assists, 11 points and a blocked shot against Belmont. Additionally, he tallied five assists, five rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot aginst Wright State and had five assists, two steals and six rebounds in 37 minutes of action at Cincinnati.

SULLIVAN MAKING STRIDES: Freshman guard Brian Sullivan is coming off two strong showings in Miami’s last three games. Sullivan tallied a career-high 18 points against Evansville, his third double-figure scoring effort of the season. He was 7-of-11 (.636) from the floor, including 4-of-6 (.667) from 3-point range. Sullivan was Miami’s second-leading scorer at Ohio State with eight points off 3-of-5 (.600) shooting from the field, including a 2-for-2 effort from long range and had a season-high four rebounds. Over Miami’s last three games, he is averaging 9.7 ppg while shooting 55.0 percent from the field.

LEGARZA RETURNS: After sitting out the first five games of the season due to a left knee injury, junior center Vince Legarza returned to action at Troy on Dec. 3. Legarza played 17 minutes against the Trojan, starting the second half for the RedHawks, and recorded four rebounds, one blocked shot and a steal. Legarza made his second career start against Wright State on Dec. 10, playing seven minutes against the Raiders, and his third career start against Belmont on Dec. 17. He had career highs of six points and two steals against William & Mary on Dec. 29 in 15 minutes of action.

LEADER OF THE MAC: Last season senior forward Julian Mavunga led the MAC in conference-only games in rebounding and has only upped his production this season. Through 11 games this season, Mavunga leads the MAC in scoring (19.9 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg). He ranks 20th nationally in scoring and 17th in rebounding and is one of just two players nationally averaging over 20 ppg and 10 rpg. As a junior, Mavunga was the only player in the MAC to rank among the top 15 in MAC-only games in points (16.1 ppg, 5th), rebounds (9.5 rpg, 1st) and assists (3.3 apg, 9th). He also ranks among MAC leaders this season in defensive rebounds (8.2, 1st), minutes played (37.8, 1st), offensive rebounds (2.2, 10th), free throw percentage (.748, 13th) and blocked shots (0.6, 15th).

FINDING BALANCE: Miami put forth one of its best total efforts of the season in the RedHawks’ 66-61 win over Belmont. Four players scored in double figures (Julian Mavunga 17, Jon Harris 12, Josh Sewell 12, Quinten Rollins 11). Miami was able to capitalize on opponent turnovers converting them into 20 points. The RedHawk bench had one of its most-productive outings of the season with 23 points. Miami also had four players score in double figures against Evansville (Mavunga 18, Brian Sullivan 18, Sewell 14, Harris 10) and had one of its best offensive outputs, scoring a season-high 75 points while shooting a season-best 56.5 percent from the field. The RedHawks also had their most assists (18) and had a positive assist/turnover ratio for the first time this season against the Purple Aces. In its 73-69 win over William & Mary, Miami had two players score 18 points (Sewell and Rollins), while Mavunga had 16 points and Harris added eight. The RedHawks committed a season-low seven turnovers against the Tribe and had a positive assist/turnover ratio.

ABOUT THE COMMODORES: Vanderbilt enters Monday’s game with a 9-4 mark and is coming off three dominant wins, including a 74-57 win at No. 14/13 Marquette. Four Commodores are averaging double figures in scoring, led by John Jenkins’ 20.1 ppg. Jeffery Taylor follows at 18.0 ppg, while Lance Goulbourne averages 10.6 ppg and a team-leading 7.9 rpg and Brad Tinsley averages 10.2 ppg. Vanderbilt is a potent long-range team, knocking down 117 treys this season and ranking 14th nationally at 9.0 3-pointers per game. A big reason for that is Jenkins, who averages 3.8 triples per game.

SERIES WITH VANDERBILT: Monday marks the fifth meeting between Miami and Vanderbilt with the Commodores holding a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. Vanderbilt has won the last two meetings between the teams. The last time the teams met was on Dec. 5, 1970 in Nashville with Vanderbilt posting a 74-67 win. The Commodores are 3-1 when playing Miami in Nashville. Miami’s lone win in the series came in Nashville on Dec. 14, 1935, 34-22.

UP NEXT: The RedHawks open their Mid-American Conference slate in the second game of a women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, hosting Akron. Miami hits the road for a 7 p.m. game at Kent State on Jan. 11 before returning home to host Buffalo at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Miami Probable Starters:
G-Quinten Rollins
G-Josh Sewell
C-Drew McGhee
F-Jon Harris
F-Julian Mavunga

Vanderbilt Probable Starters:
G-Brad Tinsley
G-John Jenkins
C-Steve Tchiengang
F-Jeffery Taylor
F-Lance Goulbourne

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