Miami Athletics Announces Men's Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
8/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 21, 2006
OXFORD, Ohio--With a non-conference schedule that promises to be one of the most exciting of Charlie Coles' 11-year tenure as head coach at Miami University, Coles and the RedHawks unveiled a 13-game non-league ledger on Monday (Aug. 21). Miami will be challenged early and often and faces six teams who advanced to postseason play in 2005-06: NCAA--Kentucky, Illinois, Xavier; NIT--Michigan, Cincinnati; either Bradley (NCAA) or Rutgers (NIT).
"This certainly ranks as one of the most challenging and may be the most challenging non-conference schedule in my time as a head coach," said Coles, who enters his 17th year as a head coach. "It is challenging but not daunting, and I believe it will be a true test of how good we can be. This schedule is packed with quality opponents who will challenge our players to compete at the highest levels every night, which is the type of competitiveness we will need in league play later in the season. It's exciting to go up against perennial top 25 teams, of which there are many on the schedule, to see how far we can push the limits of success."
Miami starts the season at home against local rival Wright State on Saturday, Nov. 11 and then travels to Lexington to clash with the Kentucky Wildcats on Wednesday, Nov. 15 in the first meeting between the teams since the 1999 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The RedHawks return home to host Florida A&M on Friday, Nov. 17 and UIC on Tuesday, Nov. 21 as part of an exempt tournament that will conclude later in the week with a battle against Illinois at the Sears Centre in Chicago on Friday, Nov. 24 and a matchup against either Rutgers or Bradley the following evening. Miami rounds out the month of November at Xavier on Wednesday, Nov. 29 in the second of four tilts against local teams.
In a return game of the 2006 Bracket Buster Presented by e-Bay event, Miami makes a trip to Illinois State on Tuesday, Dec. 5 and turns around to host Michigan on Thursday, Dec. 7 and Oakland on Sunday, Dec. 10. The RedHawks will take a 10-day break for final examinations and return to the hardwood at Dayton on Wednesday, Dec. 20 before facing Cincinnati on Wednesday, Dec. 27 at U.S. Bank Arena in their final two games against local teams.
Additionally, the RedHawks will be on the road for the first time for the ESPN Bracket Buster game on Saturday, Feb. 17. Miami holds a 3-0 record when playing in the Bracket Buster event with wins over Missouri State (2004), Wichita State (2005) and Illinois State (2006). Pairings, game times and televised match-ups for the event will be announced in February.
The RedHawks return two All-MAC selections--senior forward Nathan Peavy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) and junior forward Tim Pollitz (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf)--from a team that posted an 18-11 overall record and 14-4 Mid-American Conference mark a year ago, which was the best league record by a Miami team since 1998-99. Senior guard Doug Penno (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) joins Peavy and Tim Pollitz as Miami's three returning starters from 2005-06. Additionally, the RedHawks return senior center Monty St. Clair (Cincinnati, Ohio/Roger Bacon), who came off the bench a year ago to play significant minutes behind Nate VanderSluis and who was a starter for Miami as a freshman and sophomore.
Miami returns 60.5 percent of its scoring and 66.7 percent of its rebounding from a year ago, including its top two rebounders--Peavy (6.9 rpg) and Tim Pollitz (5.7 rpg)--and four of its top five scorers--Tim Pollitz (2nd, 12.7 ppg), Peavy (3rd, 11.2), Michael Bramos (4th, 5.3) and Penno (5th, 5.1 ppg). The RedHawks' seven returners played in a combined 164 games with Peavy, Bramos, Penno and St. Clair playing in all 29 games. During the course of the season, five of the RedHawk returners made a combined 72 starts: Peavy (27), Tim Pollitz (25), Penno (15), Bramos (4) and St. Clair (1).
