Game Day: Miami at Pittsburgh - March 4

The Game

Miami concludes the 2014-15 season with a pair of road games, at Pitt on March 4 at 8 p.m., then at Virginia Tech on March 8.

The Series

Miami is 16-18 in the all-time series against Pittsburgh, which dates back to the 1947-48 season. The Canes are 10-7 at home against the Panthers, 5-10 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. Pittsburgh won its last matchup with Miami, defeating the Canes, 59-55, on Feb. 5, 2014 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on the ACC Network with Tim Brando and Mike Gminski making the call. Affiliates include: Birmingham (Anniston & Tuscaloosa) – WABM – My 68, Mobile-Pensacola – WJTC – UTV44, Jacksonville – WJXT-D2 – This TV, Miami-Fort Lauderdale – WBFS – MY 33, Panama City – WMBB-D2 – This Panama City (13.2), Indianapolis – WHMB-D2 – WHMB-D2, Hazard – WYMT-D2 – This TV, Binghamton – WBPN – My 8 Binghamton, Pittsburgh – WTAE-D2, State College-Johnstown-Altoona – WHVL – Happy Valley, Wilkes Barre-Scanton – WQMY – My Network TV WQMY, Myrtle Beach-Florence – WPDE-D2, Charlottesville – WVIR-D3 – WVIR-D3.
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 554-381 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 84-47 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 39-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (As of March 2)

AP: Miami -NR; Pittsburgh – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; Pittsburgh – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 66; Pittsburgh – 76
NCAA RPI: Miami – 71; Pittsburgh – 49

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 82/72; Pittsburgh, Pa. – 41/16.

The Notes

Canes Face Hungry Opponents
Against Pitt, Miami faces its seventh-straight opponent coming off of a loss in the previous game. The Panthers fell at Wake Forest on March 1 before facing Miami this Wednesday. 

Beginning with Miami’s Feb. 11 game against Wake Forest, prior to the opponent’s game against Miami: 1. Wake lost to Georgia Tech, then defeated Miami; 2. Boston College lost to Syracuse, then lost to Miami in 2OT; 3. Virginia Tech lost at Clemson, then at Miami; 4. Louisville lost at Syracuse, then beat Miami; 5. Florida State lost at Virginia, then lost at Miami; 6. North Carolina lost vs. NC State, then beat Miami.

Miami vs. Pitt in Overtime
In three of the last four meetings between Miami and Pittsburgh, the game has gone into overtime. In 2014, Pitt won in single OT in Miami, in 2004 the Panthers won in double overtime and in 2002, Miami won in single overtime. For a complete list of UM’s overtime games, check page 16.

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 (23), UNC (22) and Virginia (20), as of Feb. 19.
This season Miami is 5-4 in ACC home games and 3-4 on the road, increasing Coach L’s ACC records to 22-13 at home and 17-16 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.

Canes Eyeing Milestones
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 29 games at Miami, for a total of 998.
Rodriguez has 123 assists this season, just 10 shy of No. 10 on the season assists list at Miami. No. 10 Anthony Harris (2004-05) had 133, No. 9 Thomas Hocker (‘87-88) has 136.
Rodriguez is already No. No. 10 on the steals list with 55 this season. He trails No. 9 Steven Edwards’ (‘92-93) 56 and No. 7 & No. 8 John Salmons’ 57, in both 2000-01 and 2001-02.
Junior Tonye Jekiri has played in 96 career games for the Hurricanes in three seasons. He is also 19 rebounds from No. 10 in the record book for rebounds in a season. No. 10 Edwin Morris (‘55-56) has 322 and No. 9 Wayne Canaday (‘69-70) had 327.

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.
The Canes had five losses by a total of 22 points in the month of February. Three of those games were decided by a total of five points.
In 2013-14, Miami led the ACC having played 13 games decided by five points-or-less or in OT.

Breaking Down the Stats
Through 29 games, Miami is 18-11 overall, 10-6 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 51.3 percent clip. Jekiri is at 51.3 percent and Reed is hitting a team-best 50.0 percent. In ACC outings, Jekiri is 51.3 percent from the field, Reed is at 52.7 percent and McClellan is hitting 48.1 percent of his attempts.

Miami Plays to the Crowd
Miami is 9-4 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 two 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)

McClellan Lighting Up the Net
As national stats on March 1, guard Sheldon McClellan was hitting 51.3 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
* 60th-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 40 guards in the Power 5 conferences to score 31+ points in a game this season and one of four 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.