7-0 'Canes, Collins Face Test From Gophers

Miami is one of only 30 of 347 teams who have yet to lose a game.

By JANIE CAMPBELL

Updated 1:51 PM EDT, Wed, Dec 2, 2009

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It's been a stellar November for the Miami men's basketball team, who are 7-0 for just the fifth time in program history and the 2nd time under coach Frank Haith. They're also racking up votes in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls, sitting pretty at 30th in each, and have won 6 of their 7 games by at least 15 points.

Jack McClinton who?

Only a little. The Hurricanes are playing well without last year's senior sharpshooter, no doubt, and senior Dwayne Collins has been puttin' in work with over 13 points a game. But they've also been playing such powerhouses as, er, Nova Southeastern, Florida Gulf Coast, and USC Upstate.

Tonight's game against 4-2 Minnesota is the first real test, and everyone'll be watching. Not just at the BankAtlantic Center or on ESPNU, either: "You only have a few opportunities like this where you have a power conference team on your campus,'' Haith said. "At the end of the year, you need games like this from the NCAA tournament standpoint. No question, this is an important game for us to have a good showing."

Minnesota's led by Tubby Smith (suspiciously neither tubby nor a smith), who won a national championship with Kentucky in '98. Even more formidable than his experience is the size of his centers: Colton Iverson is 6-10, 258, and Ralph Sampson is 6-11, 241. Both are averaging a block and a half per game, which'll make things interesting for Collins (6-8, 241) and teammate Cyrus McGowan (6-9, 237).

Collins, who needs just eight points to become the 30th Hurricane with 1,000 in a career, will hopefully get even more help from 6'11" redshirt freshman Reggie Johnson. But nothing will be easy: the Gophers beat no. 12 Butler on Thanksgiving, and their two losses came at the hands of teams now ranked (Texas A&M and Portland).

Miami needs a win tonight to boost credibility; the Gophers need to shore up and make a move. May the orange and green team win.