#RockTheBUC: MBB vs. Virginia Tech Wednesday
No. 5/7 Miami vs. Virginia Tech
Feb. 27, 2013 | 7 p.m.
BankUnited Center | Coral Gables, Fla.
TV: ACC Network | ESPN3
FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports South, SUN Sports, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus, New England Sports Network Plus, FOX Sports Tennessee, FOX Sports Arizona Plus, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports West, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, ESPN3, FS Detroit Plus.
Radio: 560 WQAM | 90.5 WVUM | Sirius 91 | XM 91
Webcast: WQAM.com | WVUM.org | ESPN Radio
Twitter: @CanesHoops
Facebook: /MiamiBasketball
Series: Miami leads, 12-10
Last Meeting: Jan. 30, 2013. Miami won, 73-64, in Blacksburg, Va.
Miami 22-4 (13-1 ACC)
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The Game With a 13-1 record in the ACC, No. 5/7 University of Miami hosts Virginia Tech Feb. 27 in the BankUnited Center at 7 p.m., in the second meeting between the schools this season. The Hurricanes won the first outing, 73-64.
The SeriesMiami is 12-10 against Virginia Tech all-time, with the series dating back to the 2000-01 season. The Canes are 6-3 against the Hokies at home, 1-2 at neutral sites and 5-5 on the road. Miami defeated VT, 73-64, earlier this season to give UM four wins in the past five meetings.
The BroadcastsCatch the game on the ACC Network with Mike Hogewood and Mike Gminski making the call. Affiliates include: FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports South, SUN Sports, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus, New England Sports Network Plus, FOX Sports Tennessee, FOX Sports Arizona Plus, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports West, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, ESPN3, FS Detroit Plus. Also check out the game on 560 WQAM Radio with Joe Zagacki (play-by-play) and Josh Darrow, as well as Miami’s student station, 90.5 WVUM.
The CoachHead coach Jim Larrañaga is in his 29th season as a head coach and second at Miami. He has a 512-351 overall record and is 42-17 in his second season at Miami.
The WeatherProjected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables -78/60. Blacksburg, Va.- 49/31.
The Rankings – RPI/SOSAs of Feb. 25, 2013 Warren Nolan: 2 / 3 Sagarin: 14 / 6 Realtime: 2 / 3 KenPom: 13
The NotesOn Jan. 28, the Canes jumped 11 spots in the AP Poll & entered the USA TODAY poll for the first time since December 2008. Miami is now No. 5/7 in the nation, tying the school’s highest ranks in history. According to research by The AP, Miami is the sixth school to ascend from unranked to the top five in four weeks or less since the AP Top 25 begin in 1989-90. Connecticut was the last school to make the leap, doing so in 2010-11. Miami is the first team to beat Duke and UNC by 25+ points since the start of ACC play in 1953.
Canes at Home in the ACC Miami is on an nine-game home ACC winning streak, dating back to last season. The Canes have defeated Wake Forest, Florida State (2x), Boston College (2x), Maryland, Duke, North Carolina and Virginia at the BankUnited Center in that span. Miami’s last home ACC loss was Feb. 15, 2012, when North Carolina defeated the Canes 73-64. Coach L is 20-8 overall in ACC play at Miami, including 12-2 at home. Miami was 6-2 at the BUC in league play last year.
Canes Defend Home Court The Hurricanes are 12-0 at the BankUnited Center in 2012-13 and are 119-47 overall in the BUC. The Hurricanes have notched double-digit home wins at the BankUnited in six-straight seasons and nine times in 10 full seasons calling the arena home.
Home Court Advantage Miami has shot better than 42 percent from the field in 11 of its 12 home games, shooting a season-high 59.0 percent vs. Jacksonville. The Canes shot 56.9 percent against No. 1 Duke, hitting 58.6 percent in the first half and 55.2 percent in the second. Miami was consistent vs. Detroit hitting 14-27 shots (51.9 %) in both the first and second halves. The Canes have shot better than 60 percent in two home second halves, with 63.6 percent vs. SU and 62.5 percent vs. JU.
Selling Out the BankUnited Center Miami posted capacity crowds of 7,972 fans in wins over Florida State (1/27), No. 1 Duke (1/23), North Carolina (2/9) and Virginia (2/19). This year is the first time in program history that there have been back-to-back sellouts at the BankUnited Center and four games in the same season.
Record Student Attendance at the BUC Miami has set a record for the most games with 1,200 or more students (4), and is on pace for a record student average attendance and cumulative season student attendance. The past average attendance was 641 per game, and UM is at 654 per game this season. The cumulative student attendance record is 10,269 and 6,541 students have already attended Miami’s games, and the Canes have three remaining home contests.
Canes Dominant at Home With the Feb. 10 win over UNC, Miami won four-straight home games by at least 22 points: No. 1 Duke +27, FSU +24, BC +22, UNC +26.
Miami vs. the ACC in the Coach L Era After defeating NC State on Feb. 2 and Virginia on Feb. 19, Miami has now defeated all 11 ACC opponents at least once in the Coach L era. In his first season at UM, Coach Larrañaga and the Canes defeated eight of their 11 ACC opponents at least once. Coach L added three more teams this season, downing both UNC and NC State on their home courts and Virginia in Coral Gables. Last season Miami beat Boston College in both meetings, and downed five teams in their sole matchup – Clemson, Duke, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest. UM split games with Maryland and Florida State, but lost to North Carolina (twice), NC State (twice) and Virginia.
Meteoric Rise in National Polls According to research by The AP, Miami is the sixth school to ascend from unranked to the top five in four weeks or less since the AP Top 25 began in 1989-90. Connecticut was the last school to make the leap, doing so in 2010-11. Syracuse (2009-10), Georgia Tech (2003-04), Arizona (1995-96) and Kansas (1989-90) have also gone from unranked to the top five in four weeks or less.
Canes in the Polls On Jan. 28, Miami made a historic climb in the national polls jumping 11 spots in the AP Poll and entering the USA TODAY poll for the first time since December 2008, posting a No. 14/15 ranking. According to the Associated Press, Miami’s climb in the AP Poll was tied for the second-largest since the poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989-90. Arizona holds the record for the biggest rise, jumping 15 spots in November 1995. Miami’s late-January rise is the second-latest behind UConn’s +12 jump in March of 2011 after winning the BIG EAST Tournament. Miami was No. 2/2 on Feb. 18, marking the school’s highest rank in both the AP and USA TODAY. Miami’s highest AP rank was No. 8, on March 1, 1960 and highest USA TODAY rank was No. 10 on March 1, 1999.
Coach L in the Top 10 Miami coach Jim Larranaga is the 10th coach in the last 10 years to lead two top-10 programs, according to research by the AP. Miami was No. 2 on Feb. 18, and following the 2006 season, George Mason was listed as the No. 8 team in the nation in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll on March 28. The other nine coaches are: John Calipari – Memphis, Kentucky; Mark Gottfried – Alabama, North Carolina State; Tubby Smith – Kentucky, Minnesota; Kelvin Sampson – Oklahoma, Indiana; Bob Huggins – Cincinnati, West Virginia; John Beilein – West Virginia, Michigan; Mark Turgeon – Wichita State, Texas A&M; Tom Crean – Marquette, Indiana; Sean Miller – Xavier, Arizona.
Four 20+ Point Wins in ACC Play According to @STATS_CBK: The @CanesHoops team has 4 conference wins this year by at least 20 pts. In its previous 8 seasons in the ACC, they had 5 such wins combined. This season Miami has defeated Duke (+27), North Carolina (+26), Florida State (+24) and Boston College (+22) at home.
Larkin A Bob Cousy Award Finalist Shane Larkin has been named a Bob Cousy Award finalist, listing the sophomore as one of the top 12 point guards in the nation. Larkin joins ACC peer Lorenzo Brown (NC State) and 2012-13 opponent Keith Appling (Michigan State) on the list.
Wrapping Up Miami At Wake Forest Starters: Shane Larkin, Durand Scott, Trey McKinney Jones, Kenny Kadji and Julian Gamble … The Hurricanes suffered their first conference loss of the season and their first loss of the 2013 calendar year. The loss snapped their 14-game winning streak and a 13-game ACC winning streak this season. Miami’s last loss came on Dec. 25, 2012 vs. Indiana State … The Hurricanes have scored less than 70 points in three straight games after scoring 70 or more points in their previous seven games … Miami is 6-9 in the all-time series against Wake Forest, including a 1-7 mark on the road … Wake Forest is only the second team this season to shoot better than 50% against the Hurricanes (54.2%). The last team to do so was NC State, shooting 53.8% on Feb. 2, 2013 … Rion Brown, who finished the game with six rebounds, was one shy of his season high of seven, which he recorded against Jacksonville on Nov. 16, 2012 … All nine Hurricanes who played in today’s game recorded at least two points and two rebounds.
