RedHawks to Open 2015-16 Season at Xavier Friday
11/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Miami IMG Sports Network Affiliates: WMOH 1450 Hamilton; WFMG 101.3 Richmond; WONE 980 Dayton; WDBZ 1230 Cincinnati; WKBV-AM 1490 and 100.9 FM Richmond
OPENING NIGHT: Miami opens its 111th season on Friday, Nov. 13 at Xavier, marking the third time the teams have met in the RedHawks' season opener. The last time the teams met in a season opener was also on Nov. 13 during the 2007-08 season in Oxford with MU notching a 59-57 win. The first time Miami faced Xavier in its season opener was on Nov. 18, 2000 with the Musketeers winning on their home court, 68-54. Miami is 73-37 (.730) in season openers, including a 76-63 win against Southern Utah last season. When opening the season on the road, Miami is 15-23 (.395). Miami has lost its last four openers that have been on the road with its last season-opening road win coming on Nov. 21, 2003 at Liberty, 71-75.
ABOUT XAVIER: The Musketeers return 10 letterwinners, including three starters from last season's team that posted a 23-14 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Trevon Bluiett is the Musketeers' top returning scorer, averaging 11.0 ppg to rank second on the team a year ago. Myles Davis followed at 10.6 ppg. The duo packs a powerful one-two punch from beyond the arc, knocking down 45 and 63 triples, respectively, last season. Also returning is Jalen Reynolds, who averaged 9.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg and tallied a team-best 36 blocked shots.
THE SERIES WITH THE MUSKETEERS: Friday marks the 101st meeting between Miami and Xavier with the Musketeers holding a 53-47 edge in the series. When playing at Xavier, the Musketeers are 35-17 against the RedHawks. Xavier has won the last two meetings between the teams, both at the Cintas Center, and the last five meetings on their home court. The last time the teams met was on Nov. 20, 2013 with Xavier posting a 77-51 win. Miami's last win in the series was in Oxford on Dec. 1, 2010, 75-64. Its last win at Xavier was on Nov 22, 2004, 66-54.
UP NEXT: The RedHawks host Kenyon College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17 in their home opener. The game will be televised on ESPN3. It is the first in a six-game home stretch for the Red and White, which includes a three-day tournament Nov. 20-22. Miami hosts Lipscomb, Florida Atlantic and Northeastern in the Men Against Breast Cancer Challenge. As part of the six-game tournament, Miami coaches will wear pink in support of breast cancer awareness and all staffs will have pink ribbon pins for the weekend.
CHART CLIMBER: Senior guard Geovonie McKnight has played in every game during his Miami career (94) and is a two-year returning starter for the RedHawks. McKnight has a chance to set the career games played record, which is shared by Julian Mavunga and Will Sullivan (124). Additionally, McKnight already registers at 10th on the career steal list with 129 and will continue to climb that chart this season. He is seven away from the No. 9 total of 136 by Devin Davis (1994-97).
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Entering the season with 794 career points, senior guard Geovonie McKnight is just 206 way from becoming 35th member of Miami's 1,000 Point Club. Miami's last 1,000-point scorer was Julian Mavunga (2009-12), who amassed 1,389 points during his RedHawk career.
STEALING THE SHOW: Since fourth-year head coach John Cooper took the reins or the Miami program, the RedHawks have consistently been among the nation's top teams for steals. Miami has ranked among the top 35 in steals in the final NCAA statistical standings each of the last three years. In Cooper's first season guiding Miami, the RedHawks recorded 258 steals-the fourth most in program history-and ranked 32nd, averaging 8.3 steals per game. In 2013-14, the RedHawks finished 10th in the country in steals per game (8.6) with their 267 steals ranking as the third-most in program history. Last season, Miami amassed 245 steals and finished 35th nationally in steals per game (7.7).
WASHINGTON ON THE ASSIST: With his 176 assists as a junior, guard Eric Washington has placed himself in a position to break onto Miami's onto Miami's career top-10 assist chart in a mere two season with the Red and White. Washington needs 159 more to crack the career chart. Damon Frierson (1996-99) holds the No. 10 spot with 335 career assists.
WASHINGTON TABBED PRESEASON ALL-MAC EAST DIVISION: Senior guard Eric Washington was named to the Mid-American Conference East Division Preseason Team. Washington was a second-team All-MAC pick and second-team NABC All-District selection last year. He was Miami's leading scorer in 2014-15 at 14.2 ppg and notched the third-most single-season assists in program history (176). He led the MAC in conference-only games in assists (5.9) and ranked 25th nationally on the season (5.5 apg).
HOME COOKIN': Before the 2015-16 season even begins, the RedHawks are already setting records. Miami will play a program record 18 home games this season, eclipsing the previous best of 17 home contests the Red and White hosted a year ago.
SENIORS RULE: Of its 16-player roster, eight of the RedHawks are seniors. Guard Geovonie McKnight is in his fourth year with the program, while guards Eric Washington and Willie Moore are in their third years. Washington had to sit out two years ago due to NCAA transfer guidelines and is in his second season of competition for the Red and White. Forward Brian Oddo also is in his third year with the program. Forwards Chris Bryant, LJ Livingston and Kalif Wright are in their second years as RedHawks, each transferring in from junior colleges a year ago. The newest member of the senior class is Jere Vucica, a graduate transfer who earned his undergraduate degree at North Alabama and is pursuing a master's degree at Miami in transformative education.
MANY HAPPY RETURN(ER)S: Miami returns 78.0 percent of its scoring and 76.9 percent of its rebounding from a season ago and also brings back 10 letterwinners, including four of its starters-Eric Washington, Geovonie McKnight, Logan McLane, Chris Bryant-from 2014-15. Other letterwinners returning are seniors Willie Moore, LJ Livingston, Kalif Wright and Brian Oddo along with sophomores Zach McCormick and Rod Mills.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: In addition to the 10 letterwinners returning, Miami adds a group of six newcomers. Among that group are three who were with the RedHawk program last year but had to sit out due to NCAA transfer guidelines in junior Jake Bischoff and sophomores Dion Wade and Ali Barnes. Graduate senior Jere Vucica and sophomore Abdoulaye Harouna enter their first season at MU. Sophomore Jake Wright also joins the team but will sit out this season due to NCAA transfer guidelines.
UNITED NATIONS: Attending a meeting with the Miami men's basketball program may feel a bit like attending a meeting of the United Nations. Three members of the 2015-16 squad hail from foreign countries, while one of the RedHawks' managers also is an international student. Graduate senior forward Jere Vucica is from Split, Croatia, while sophomore guard Dion Wade is from Antwerp, Belgium and sophomore guard Abdoulaye Harouna is from Niamey, Niger. Manager Jiaying Wang is from Beijing, China. The quartet combine to speak nine different languages including English. Vucica speaks Croatian, French, Dutch, English and also a little bit of Italian. Wade speaks Dutch, Arabic, French and English. Harouna speaks French, Hausa, Zarma and English, while Wang speaks Mandarin and English.
ALPHABET SOUP: Nicknames are not unusual especially in sports, however, Miami may be taking it to extremes. Seven members of the team frequently go by just a letter or two. Senior guards Geovonie McKnight and Eric Washington typically go by G and E, respectively. Although his given name is Leonard, senior forward LJ Livingston goes by initials. Graduate senior forward Jere Vucica often goes by J, while sophomore guard Abdoulaye Harouna goes by H. Even senior forwards Kalif Wright and Chris Bryant sometimes get in on the letter game with Wright going by K and Bryant sometimes referred to as CB.
ODDS 'N ENDS: The last time Miami played Xavier, the RedHawks' starting point guard was Quinten Rollins, who is currently a cornerback with the Green Bay Packers and was a second-round draft pick by the Packers last spring ... Miami has five players from the area, with four hailing from the Cincinnati area ... senior Willie Moore prepped at Aiken, while sophomores Zach McCormick (Turpin), Rod Mills (St. Xavier) and Ali Barnes (Lakota West) are also local products ... senior Geovonie McKnight is another area product from Middletown.
REDHAWKS ON ESPN3: All but two men's basketball home games (Nov. 20 vs. Lipscomb and Nov. 21 vs. Florida Atlantic) will air on the ESPN3 platform. In addition, the MAC recently announced that several games have been picked up for over the air broadcast. The men's basketball games at Bowling Green (BCSN), home against Toledo (Time Warner Cable Sports), home against Central Michigan (American Sports Network), at Western Michigan (American Sports Network), home against Akron (American Sports Network) will be television productions. All television broadcasts will also air on ESPN3. All ESPN3 broadcasts (that have not been also picked up by TV affiliates) feature the "Voice of the RedHawks" Steve Baker handling play-by-play with former Miami men's basketball assistant coach and longtime color analyst Joe Barry.
MIAMI SPORTS NETWORK FROM IMG COLLEGE: In its ninth year of its partnership with IMG College, the Miami Sports Network from IMG College continues its coverage of Miami men's basketball with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. For all home games and a select few road games, Terry Bridge will deliver the play-by-play and former RedHawk men's basketball player Ben Helmers joins the crew for his first season providing analysis. For most road games, "The Voice of the RedHawks" Steve Baker will deliver the play-by-play coverage, while Bridge will provide color commentary. Tune in to one of Miami's game-day affiliates: WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio), WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.), WDBZ-AM 1230 (Cincinnati, Ohio), WONE 980 (Dayton, Ohio), WKBV-AM 1490 and 100.9 FM (Richmond, Ind.), MURedHawks.com (Miami College Sports Live Subscription).
A MIAMI WIN WOULD ...
- Make Miami 74-37 in season openers.
- Be the RedHawks' first win when opening the season on the road since Nov. 21, 2003 at Liberty, snapping a four-game skid in season openers on the road.
- Be Miami's first win in the Cintas Center since, Nov. 22, 2004.
A MIAMI LOSS WOULD ...
- Give Xavier a 53-48 lead in the all-time series.
- Drop Miami to 15-24 when opening the season on the road.
- Be the Musketeers third straight win in the series with the RedHawks.
