Miami-Boston College Preview

1/14/2008 8:34 PM

By MIKE LIPKA
STATS Writer

Miami has matched the best start in school history mostly from the comfort of south Florida. If the 21st-ranked Hurricanes hope to continue it, however, they'll have to end two dubious losing streaks.

Miami will play its first road game in more than a month Tuesday when it visits Boston College, hoping to end a seven-game road losing streak in ACC play and a 12-game skid to the Eagles.

Miami (14-1, 1-0 ACC) last played on the road on Dec. 13, beating Mississippi State 64-58 in just their second road game of the season.

But they lost their last seven conference road games in 2006-07, and were handed their only loss this season the last time they left campus, a 76-70 defeat to Winthrop at a neutral site in nearby Sunrise, Fla., on Dec. 29.

The Hurricanes have won back-to-back games since that loss, including a 78-68 win in their ACC opener against Georgia Tech on Saturday. They won that game despite shooting just 2-of-19 from 3-point range.

"I'm very pleased with us finding other ways to win the game," Miami coach Frank Haith said. "The thing you've got to hold your hat on is defense and rebounding and not turning the ball over and winning the effort game to give yourself a chance, and I thought we did that."

The Hurricanes had 15 offensive rebounds, and sophomore Dwayne Collins matched a career high with five blocked shots.

Leading scorer Jack McClinton, who averages 15.4 points, was held to just 3-of-11 shooting and 14 points, but guard James Dews had a career-high 20 points and reserve Jimmy Graham matched a career high with 13.

McClinton is just 6-for-20 (30.0 percent) from the floor in the last two games since a season-best 30-point performance in the loss to Winthrop.

"We felt like with them denying Jack, we all as a team felt like we had to pick it up," Dews said.

A win against Boston College (11-4, 2-0) would give the Hurricanes their best 16-game start in school history. The 2001-02 team also started 14-1, but lost their 16th game.

But the Hurricanes, who finished 12-20 last season, haven't beaten the Eagles since January 2000, when the teams were both in the Big East. The Eagles have won five games in their current winning streak over Miami at the Conte Forum.

The most recent meeting, in last season's ACC tournament, went to overtime before the Eagles won 74-71 behind a career-high 32 points from guard Tyrese Rice.

Rice, the ACC's second-leading scorer with 19.9 points per game, scored 32 again in BC's 112-73 home win over Wake Forest on Saturday, also adding eight assists and six rebounds.

The Eagles shot a season-best 66.1 percent, including 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) from 3-point range, and scored 100 points in conference play for the first time since a February 1985 game against Seton Hall.

They more than doubled their offensive output from their previous game, a 57-51 upset loss to Robert Morris at home. This is the last of eight consecutive home games for the Eagles, who are just 4-3 on the homestand, with their other losses to Massachusetts and No. 3 Kansas.