Game Day: Miami vs. UNC - Feb. 28

The Game

Miami wraps up its home ACC slate on Saturday, Feb. 28 when the Canes face No. 15/18 North Carolina at 2 p.m. in the BankUnited Center. Graduate student Joe Thomas and six senior managers will be honored prior to the game.

The Series

Miami is 6-18 in the all-time series against North Carolina, which dates back to the 1949-50 season. UM is 4-2  against UNC in two seasons under Coach Larrañaga. The Canes are 2-7 against the Tar Heels at home, 1-2 at neutral sites and 3-9 on the road. Miami has won four-straight matchups against North Carolina, defeating the Tar Heels, 68-59, on Jan. 10, 2013 at the Smith Center, downing North Carolina 87-61 on Feb. 19, 2013 in Coral Gables, beating UNC 87-77 in the 2013 ACC Tournament Championship game and dropping the Tar Heels 63-57 on Jan. 8, 2014 in Chapel Hill.

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on CBS with Spero Dedes and Doug Gottlieb making the call. Also check out the game on 560 WQAM Radio with Joe Zagacki, the Voice of the Hurricanes, and 90.5 WVUM, Miami’s student station. 

The Coach

Head coach Jim Larrañaga has a 554-380 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 84-46 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 39-28 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (As of Feb. 26)

AP: Miami -NR; North Carolina – 15
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; North Carolina – 18
KenPom.com: Miami – 62; North Carolina – 16
NCAA RPI: Miami – 65; North Carolina – 17

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 80/71; Chapel Hill, N.C. – 31/11.

The Notes

Larrañaga vs. North Carolina
In 2006, Jim Larrañaga coached 11-seeded George Mason University to the NCAA Final Four. Along the way, he defeated the 3-seed, No. 12 North Carolina, 65-60 in Dayton in the second round. That season in the NCAA Tournament, the Patriots defeated Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and UConn before falling to Florida in Indianapolis.

Larrañaga and Williams
Miami coach Jim Larrañaga and North Carolina Coach Roy Williams are two of five ACC coaches with a Final Four appearance to his credit. At George Mason, Larrañaga took the 2006 Patriots to the Final Four. Larrañaga and Williams are two of five active ACC coaches with 500 or more wins. Larrañaga and Williams have both won the following coach of the year awards: Naismith, AP, Henry Iba and ACC.

Rodriguez Breaks Out of Slump; Team Effort Beats FSU
Against Florida State, Angel Rodriguez dropped 25 points, tying his career-best which was set against Virginia earlier this season. Prior to the game against the Seminoles, Rodriguez had scored in double digits in just two of the past eight outings after starting the year by scoring 10+ in 15 of 19 games. Davon Reed, Sheldon McClellan and Tonye Jekiri added support for the Canes vs. FSU. Reed put together a complete game against FSU, scoring 18 points, hitting 6-of-6 at the line, added to his career-best eight rebounds and one assist in 34 minutes. McClellan scored 19 points, his fourth-straight game with 17+ points, and Jekiri tallied his fourth-straight double-double.

Rodriguez Needs Two Points for 1,000 Career
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 358 points through 28 games at Miami, for a total of 998. On Dec. 8 against Savannah State, teammate Sheldon McClellan topped the 1,000-point plateau.

MCClellan on 16-Player Watch List for Jerry West Award
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.

Cardiac Canes – Year Two
Miami has played 11 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 28 games, Miami is 18-10 overall, 10-5 at home, and 8-5 away from the BankUnited Center (5-4 on the road and 3-1 at neutral sites). Despite facing four Top 15 teams on the road – at No. 6/7 Florida, at No. 4 Duke, at No. 12 Notre Dame, at No. 12 Louisville – Miami averages 4.2 ppg, 3.9 FG% and 6.4 3FG% better on the road than at home.

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 51.9 percent and Reed is hitting a team-best 53.1 percent. In ACC outings, Jekiri is 52.3 percent from the field, followed by Reed’s 56.5 percent and McClellan’s 48.7 percent.

Miami Plays to the Crowd
Miami is 9-3 when playing in front of a crowd that is 75 percent of the arena’s capacity, with one loss at No. 12 Notre Dame, one at No. 12 Louisville 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)

Jekiri One of the Top Big Men in the Country
As of NCAA.com stats on Feb. 23, junior Tonye Jekiri is in the Top 10 in the country in rebounds among all players and the Top 2 among players in the Big 5 conferences.

Last Week with Sheldon McClellan
In all three games Feb. 16-22, junior guard Sheldon McClellan shot better than 53.3 percent from the field and 50.0 from three in all three outings. He averaged 20.7 PPG, knocked down nine 3-pointers and dished out eight assists with just one turnover, while hitting 9-of-10 from the FT line to lead the Canes. In his last five games, he is averaging 18.4 points, hitting 58.2 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from three.

McClellan Lighting Up the Net
As national stats on Feb. 23, 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 Big 5 conferences
* 7th-best shooting percentage by a guard in the nation
* 62nd-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.

Canes Shine in the Second Half
Junior guards Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan know how to finish a game. In 12 games, Rodriguez has scored double-digit points in the second stanza, including 22 at Florida, 17 against Virginia, 15 at Duke, Wake Forest and vs. Florida State. Only three times (10 vs. Howard & Florida State, 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, 17 vs. Florida State and 14 against Virginia Tech. He’s scored 10+ in the first half in just four outings.

Jekiri’s Junior Season Numbers Continue to Improve
Junior Tonye Jekiri has posted nine double-doubles in his last 17 games, including eight in ACC play. Jekiri has posted 10+ rebounds 17 times, and in 12 of the last 15 games. This season he has 10+ points in 12 outings.
Jekiri leads the ACC with 17 10+-rebound games.
The native of Nigeria has nearly doubled his output in points and rebounds each season as a Hurricane. The 7-footer is averaging 8.8 points and 10.6 rebounds this season, up from 4.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg his sophomore year and 1.4 points and 1.6 rebounds his rookie campaign.