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miami university basketball
Miami kicks off road trip at Illinois
Thursday, December 20, 2007
OXFORD — Charlie Coles has a list, and this week, he's checking it twice.
More precisely, he's checking off two items on the list.
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This isn't a Christmas list, but it is a wish list, and two wishes will be granted when his Miami University squad, embarking on one of the more challenging three-day road trips in program history, takes on Illinois tonight and No. 3 Kansas Saturday night.
"We schedule those games because (our players) deserve to play in them, provided we play reasonably well," Coles said.
"I think it's good," he added. "One of my goals as a coach is to have been in all the famous arenas when I give it up."
Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill., and Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., sure fit the bill.
Illinois is 78-3 at Assembly Hall over the past three seasons, the best home record in the nation during that span. Since the arena was built in 1963, the Illini have had 158 sellouts.
Kansas is 204-17 at Allen Fieldhouse over the last 15 years, and that includes a 62-game winning streak. Since it opened for business in 1964, the arena has hosted 37 NCAA Tournament games and more than 5 million fans.
Miami senior Tim Pollitz, who scored a career-high 26 points in the RedHawks' 74-68 victory over Chicago State on Tuesday, shrugged his shoulders at the prospect of playing Illinois and Kansas in back-to-back games.
"It's nothing new. Coach Coles always schedules tough opponents," said Pollitz, who then grinned. "There's nothing like playing a Big Ten team and then a Big 12 team on the road.
"The atmosphere will be great, a packed house in both games," Pollitz added. "Let the chips fall where they may."
Michael Bramos, Miami's leading scorer who has erupted for 36 points against Dayton, 30 against Mississippi State and 28 against South Alabama, did not play against Chicago State and might miss tonight's game. He suffered a sprained ankle at Wright State last Saturday.
"I have no idea," Coles said when asked about the status of Bramos for the road trip. "I love Michael. But after Wright State, I felt like, hey, we're all right. You've got to play with what you've got.
"We've got to be optimistic about it," he added, "and go to Illinois and Kansas and hope they take it easy on us. ... I hope and pray we can play well."
