Game Day: Miami at Louisville - Feb. 21

The Game

Miami travels to Kentucky to face No. 12 Louisville on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. for the second of a pair of regular season matchups. Miami is 3-3 this season against Top 25 teams, with a 2-1 record on the road. 

The Series

Miami is 2-8 in the all-time series against Louisville, which dates back to the 1950-51 season. The Canes are 2-5 at home against the Cardinals, 0-2 on the road and 0-1 at neutral sites. Louisville won the last matchup with Miami, defeating the Canes, 63-55, on Feb. 3, 2015 in Coral Gables. Miami is 1-2 vs. UofL when the Cards are ranked, winning against No. 7 in January of 1961, and falling to No. 10/10 in December of 2005 and to No. 9/8 in 2015.

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on ESPN with Tom Hart and Doris Burke making the call. Also check out the game on 560 WQAM Radio with Joe Zagacki, the Voice of the Hurricanes. 

The Coach

Head coach Jim Larrañaga has a 553-379 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 83-45 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 38-27 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (As of Feb. 19)

AP: Miami -NR; Louisville – 12
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; Louisville – 12
KenPom.com: Miami – 59; Louisville – 18
NCAA RPI: Miami – 64; Louisville – 20

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 75/67; Louisville, Ky. – 41/36. 

The Notes

McClellan on Jerry West Award Watch List
Junior guard Sheldon McClellan is listed on the 16-player watch list for the inaugural 2015 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Feb. 19. Named after Hall of Famer and 1959 NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player Jerry West, the annual honor in its inaugural year recognizes the top shooting guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprised of top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 16 candidates.

Miami vs. Ranked Opponents This Season
Miami is 3-3 against ranked teams this season, including 1-1 against Top 5 teams and 2-2 against Top 10 teams. In the three losses, one was a double-overtime defeat, and the Canes came up 13 total points short in the other two outings. The Canes are 1-2 at home and 2-1 on the road. vs. Top 25 opponents. See a complete list vs. ranked opponents since the arrival of Coach L on page 17. 

Canes On the Road In The ACC
Since the arrival of Coach L in 2011-12, Miami has the fourth-most ACC road wins (17) in league play, behind Duke (22), UNC (21) and Virginia (19), as of Feb. 19.
This season Miami is 4-3 in ACC home games and 3-3 on the road, increasing Coach L’s ACC records to 21-12 at home and 17-15 on the road. Prior to Larrañaga’s arrival in 2011-12, the Canes compiled records of 30-27 at home and 13-42 on the road in seven seasons in the league.

McClellan Lighting Up the Net
As national stats on Feb. 19, guard Sheldon McClellan was hitting 51.7 percent of his field goals, which was the …
* Top shooting percentage in the nation by a guard in the Power 5 conferences
* 8th-best shooting percentage by a guard in the nation
* 64th-best shooting percentage in the nation (all positions)
* Top shooting percentage by a guard in the ACC
The Canes are 13-0 when McClellan shoots 50 percent or better in a game.
He is one of 39 guards in the Power 5 conferences to score 31+ points in a game this season and one of seven guards in the ACC to score 31+ points in a game this season.
Among guards, he is eighth in the ACC in scoring.
In 14 games he has scored 15+ points, and 20+ in three outings.
He has posted two double-doubles – 16p, 10r vs. NC State, 31p, 11r at Charlotte.

Jekiri One of the Top Big Men in the Country
As of NCAA.com stats on Feb. 19, junior Tonye Jekiri is in the Top 15 in the country in rebounds among all players and the Top 5 among players in the Power 5 conferences.

Miami Plays to the Crowd
Miami is 8-2 when playing in front of a crowd that is 75 percent of the arena’s capacity, with one loss at sold-out No. 12 Notre Dame and one at home. Miami is 6-6 when the crowd is less than 75 percent capacity. (Numbers based on true home and road games, not neutral sites)

Cardiac Canes – Year Two
Miami has played nine games this season that have been decided by five points-or-less. In 2013-14, Miami led the ACC having played 13 games decided by five points-or-less or in overtime.

Breaking Down the Stats
Through 26 games, Miami is 17-9 overall, 9-5 at home, and 8-4 away from the BankUnited Center (5-3 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites). Despite facing three Top 15 teams on the road – at No. 6/7 Florida, at No. 4 Duke and at No. 12 Notre Dame – Miami averages 6.8 ppg, 5.0 FG% and 6.6 3FG% better on the road than at home.

Canes Shine in the Second Half
Junior guards Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan know how to finish a game. In 11 games, Rodriguez has scored double-digit points in the second stanza, including 22 at Florida, 17 against Virginia, 15 at Duke and Wake Forest and 14 vs. Boston College. Only twice (10 vs. Howard, 11 vs. Providence) he has scored double-digits in the first stanza. In 11 games, McClellan has scored double-digit points in the second half, including 21 at Charlotte and 14 against Virginia Tech. He’s scored 10+ in the first half in just three outings.

Three Canes Shooting Better than 50 Percent
Juniors Sheldon McClellan and Tonye Jekiri and sophomore Davon Reed are all hitting at least 50 percent of their shots this season. In all games, McClellan is hitting shots at a 51.7 percent clip. Jekiri is at 51.5 percent and Reed is hitting a team-best 53.5 percent in his 18 games played. In ACC outings, Reed is sizzling with his 57.3 percent from the field.

Reed Clutch from Distance
Sophomore Davon Reed is knocking down 50.0 percent of his shots from long range overall, while notching a 54.8 percent (23-42) clip from three in ACC games. He leads the team with 23 3-pointers in league games and despite only playing 18 of 26 games (due to injury), he is fourth on the team with 24 from long range overall. He has hit a 3-pointer in nine of the last 10 games, and for the season has seven games with multiple threes, topping out with five against Louisville (Feb. 3).
In his last five games, Reed has improved his averages drasitcally from his first 13 games of the season. Since the last game against Louisville, Reed is averaging 13.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg and hitting 57.5 percent from the field. In his first 13 games, he was posting 5.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg and shooting 50.0 percent FG.

In ACC games, Miami has …
* Hit 10+ 3-pointers in four games – at Duke, Clemson, at Syracuse, at Boston College – while only Virginia and Wake Forest have hit 10+ against the Canes.
* 10+ assists in 11 games.
* Less than 13 turnovers in every game.
* Led at the half in only three games: vs. BC, at Notre Dame, at Florida State.
* Hit 15+ freethrows in six games.

What’s Trending in ACC Games Only …
Davon Reed: 10+ points in six of the past nine games … Hit better than 44 percent in every game but two (0-1 vs. BC and 3-7 vs. VT) … Knocked down multiple 3-pointers in seven of the last 10 outings … Connected on a 3-pointer in all but three games … Grabbed 4+ rebounds five of the last seven games … Tallied a steal in seven-straight games … Played more than 30 minutes in all but one game since Jan. 17 at ND.
Sheldon McClellan: Two-straight 20+ point games … Ten games with 10+ points, six with 15+ points … Eleven assists the past two games … One double-double … Hit a 3-pointer in 10 games … Knocked down 10 from long range in past four games, after 10 combined in first nine games … Shot better than 40 percent in 11 of 13 games … Attempted at least two free throws in all but one game.
James Palmer: Three rebounds in four-straight games after eight total in first nine outings … Scored in five-straight games, and 10 of the last 11.
Angel Rodriguez: Multiple assists in every game but one … 3+ assists 11 times, 5+ in seven outings … Knocked down 18-of-21 free throws in past five games … Grabbed a rebound in all but two games.
Manu Lecomte: Tallied an assist in every game but one … Grabbed a rebound in eight games … Hit multiple 3-pointers in five games.
Tonye Jekiri: Six double-doubles … 15+ rebounds in five outings, 10+ rebounds in 10 of 13 games … 10+ defensive rebounds three times … 4+ offensive rebounds in eight games … 10+ points in seven games … 3+ blocks four times.

Rodriguez Closing in on 1,000 Career Points
Point guard Angel Rodriguez is closing in on 1,000 career points. The native of Cupey, P.R., scored 640 points in two seasons at Kansas State and has recorded 328 points through 26 games at Miami, for a total of 968. On Dec. 8 against Savannah State, teammate Sheldon McClellan topped the 1,000-point plateau.