MIAMI NOTES

RedHawks seek elusive third straight victory

By MIKE SMITH
When the final horn sounded Saturday at Millett Hall, Miami registered its fourth two-game winning streak of the campaign. It has no three-game winning streaks and to reach that mark, the RedHawks will have to tame a Bowling Green team that has won 10 of its last 11. The two meet at 7 p.m. ET Tuesday in Millett Hall.

-- MAC co-leader Akron managed to break an eight-game Falcon streak with an 83-67 decision Jan. 5. However, BGSU rebounded with victories over Ohio and Northern Illinois. 

-- A key contributor in those win was senior forward Rashaun Agee, who earned MAC Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week honors for . . .

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​. . . his efforts. Agee erupted for the Falcons, leading BGSU to two MAC wins and missing back-to-back double-doubles by a single rebound while leading the Falcons in assists in both games. 

-- Agee began the week with 12 points against Ohio to go along with a career-high 15 rebounds, the most rebounds by a Falcon this season. Of Agee's 15 boards, a career-high eight came on the offensive end. He also added a career-high and team-leading six assists in the contest. Agee followed it up with a stellar performance in his home state Saturday. Against NIU, Agee tallied a team-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds, just a rebound shy of a double-double. Agee added four assists to his stat line, again leading the Falcons in stat for the second straight game.

-- Agee is one of four Falcons averaging in double figures. Marcus Hill tops the list at 20.1 ppg. That is second among all MAC scorers. Miami faced the top scorers Saturday, and Tyson Acuff tallied 19 points -- a shade under his 21.8 ppg average. 

-- Also averaging double figures for BGSU is Trey Thomas (12.5 ppg) and center Jason Spurgin (11.1 ppg). 

-- Overall, the Falcons are rank sixth among MAC teams in scoring (75.8 ppg) and are second in scoring defense (69.0 ppg). That leaves them second in scoring margin (6.5).

-- Bowling Green tops the league in rebounds (38.4 rpg) and is fourth in rebounding margin (3.0).

-- A Miami win would put the RedHawks above .500 for the second time this season. The only other time was at 4-3 following a 79-74 win at Marshall. 

-- Miami is eighth among MAC teams in scoring (74.6 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (70.6 ppg). 

-- Although MU currently ranks last in rebounding (32.3 rpg), the RedHawks have recently been chipping away at their deficits and out-rebounded Eastern Michigan 39-31 Saturday. 

Jaquel Morris held down the fort inside early in the season, but he has some help these days. (MVSmith/MRO)

-- After playing the first month with Jaquel Morris as the only true-center option, MU has recently been buoyed by the additions of Mirambeaux and 7-1 freshman Reece Potter. The former give MU size, experience and a powerful inside presence. Potter is shooting 47.7 percent from the field on the year and is averaging 8 ppg in MAC play while averaging 14.25 minutes per game in conference play. 

-- Miami is third in field goal percentage (46.9%), first in 3-point goal percentage  (37.8%) and first in opponent 3-point percentage (28.5%). 

-- After a bumpy start, MU is now fifth in turnover margin and second in Assist/Turnover Ration. Miami leads the conference in assists (15.81 per game). 

-- Anderson Mirambeaux (13.9 ppg) and Darweshi Hunter (12.3 ppg) are the only two RedHawks averaging in double figures. However, head coach Travis Steele's team has a number of scoring options. Freshman guard Eian Elmer got another start Saturday and responded with a team-high 23 points. Senior forward Bryson Bultman, meanwhile, has been in double figures three times (14, 14, 6, 15) in four MAC outings. He also led the team in rebounding twice (11, 8) in those contests. 

-- Freshman point guard Evan Ipsaro has seen limited duty since injury an ankle against Western Michigan Jan. 2. He played 20 minutes against EMU but did not attempt a shot. ​

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