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Season of expectation begins for Miami

Nov 15, 2008 - 11:20 AM Florida Southern at No. 16 Miami 7:30 p.m. EST

CORAL GABLES, Florida (Ticker) -- At a school known more for its football program, Miami's hoops team enters the 2008-09 season with unusually high expectations.

The 16th-ranked Hurricanes will look to get off to a good start when they welcome in-state rival Florida Southern to the BankUnited Center on Saturday.

For just the second time in school history, Miami is ranked in the preseason USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. They also entered the 1964-65 season in the 16th slot in what was then known as the UPI poll.

The Hurricanes return their top five scorers from a squad that went 23-11 last season, falling to Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Senior guard Jack McClinton led Miami with 17.7 points a game while sinking 43 percent from behind the arc (94-220).

Florida Southern returns four starters from last season's Sunshine State Conference championship team that went 24-9.

The Division II Moccasins captured the Disney Classic championship on Sunday. Tournament MVP Rob Eldridge, who registered 14.8 points and 3.5 assists per game last season, scored 17 points to lead Florida Southern to the title.