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Miami goes for 12th straight win to start season

Dec 23, 2007 - 2:01 PM NC A&T (5-6) at No. 22 Miami Fl (11-0) 1:00 pm EST

CORAL GABLES, Florida (Ticker) - Ranked for the first time in six seasons, Miami has celebrated with a pair of blowout wins this week.

The 22nd-ranked Hurricanes will go for their third win of the week and 12th of the season when they host North Carolina A&T on Sunday.

Miami was picked to finish last in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason media poll, but has surprised just about everyone by winning its first 11 games for the first time since beginning 14-0 during the 2001-02 season.

Miami, which has won by an average of 29.0 points in wins Monday and Thursday, feature a balanced attack. Jack McClinton is scoring 14.1 points per game for the Hurricanes, who have five players averaging at least 9.3 points per contest.

The Aggies come in losers of two straight and four of five overall.

NC A&T is just 1-5 on the road this season and is led by guard Steven Rush. The 5-11 senior set a school record with 115 3-pointers last season and has made 30 so far this season. Rush is scoring 16.8 points per game - including a 40-point performance at DePaul on November 24 when he made 10 shots from the arc.

It will be the third meeting in the last five seasons between the teams. Miami has won the last two, including an 87-62 victory on November 22, 2005.