Game Day: Miami at Virginia Tech - March 7

The Game

Miami wraps up the 2015 ACC regular season on Saturday, March 7 against Virginia Tech at Noon in Blacksburg, Va.

The Series

Miami is 15-12 in the all-time series against Virginia Tech, which dates back to the 2000-01 season. The Canes are 8-4 at home against the Hokies, 5-6 on the road and 2-2 at neutral sites. Miami won the last two matchups against Virginia Tech, defeating the Hokies, 57-53, on March 12, 2014 at the ACC Tournament, then 76-52 on Feb. 18, 2015 in Coral Gables, Fla. 

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on RSN with Tom Werme and Cory Alexander making the call. Affiliates: FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports South, SUN Sports, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, New England Sports Network Plus, YES Network, FOX Sports IndianaDelay Broadcast, FOX Sports MidwestDelay Broadcast, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, ESPN3 (Subject to Blackout), FOX Sports Detroit, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, SportsTime Ohio, ROOT Sports Rocky Mtn.
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 555-381 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 85-47 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 40-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (As of March 5)

AP: Miami -NR; Virginia Tech – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; Virginia Tech – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 62; Virginia Tech – 177
NCAA RPI: Miami – 71; Virginia Tech – 226

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 82/70; Blacksburg, Va. – 47/29. 

The Notes

Canes Face Hungry Opponents
Against Virginia Tech, Miami faces its eighth-straight opponent coming off of a loss in the previous game. The Hokies fell to Boston College on March 2 before facing Miami this Saturday. 

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; 7. Pittsburgh lost to Wake Forest, then lost to Miami.

Canes On the Road In The ACC
Since the arrival of Coach L in 2011-12, Miami has the fourth-most ACC road wins (18) in league play, behind Duke (23), UNC (23) and Virginia (21), as of March 5.
This season Miami is 5-4 in ACC home games and 4-4 on the road, increasing Coach L’s ACC records to 22-13 at home and 18-16 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. 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 97 career games for the Hurricanes in three seasons. He is also eight rebounds shy of No. 10 in the record book for rebounds in a season. No. 10 Edwin Morris (‘55-56) had 322 and No. 9 Wayne Canaday (‘69-70) had 327.

Canes Seeking 20-Win Season
With a victory at Virginia Tech, Miami will post its third 20-win season in four years since the arrival of Jim Larrañaga. Since 2011-12, Coach L has tallied seasons of 20-13, 29-7, 17-16, and currently 19-11, for an average of 21.3 wins per season. Since joining the ACC in 2004-05, Miami posted three 20-win seasons before the arrival of Larrañaga, 23-11 in 2008, 20-13 in 2010 and 21-15 in 2011.

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 12 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 30 games, Miami is 19-11 overall, 10-6 at home, and 9-5 away from the BankUnited Center (6-4 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, 3.7 FG% and 7.3 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 50.6 percent clip. Jekiri is at 51.5 percent and Reed is hitting a team-best 52.7 percent. In ACC outings, Jekiri is 51.6 percent from the field, Reed is at 55.4 percent and McClellan is hitting 47.2 percent of his attempts.

Miami Plays to the Crowd
Miami is 10-4 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 5, guard Sheldon McClellan is hitting 47.2 percent of his field goals, which is the …
* Top shooting percentage in the nation by a guard in the Big 5 conferences
* 9th-best shooting percentage by a guard in the nation
* 67th-best shooting percentage in the nation (all positions)
* Top shooting percentage by a guard in the ACC
The Canes are 14-0 when McClellan shoots 50 percent or better in a game.
He is one of 42 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 seventh in the ACC in scoring.
In 17 games he has scored 15+ points, and 20+ in four outings.
He has posted two double-doubles – 16p, 10r vs. NC State, 31p, 11r at Charlotte.

Coaching Staff Longevity
Coach L’s and his three assistant coaches have been coaching together for a combined 32 seasons. Chris Caputo has been with Coach L for 13 years, Eric Konkol is at 11 years and Michael Huger in his eighth season as an assistant after playing for Larrañaga four seasons at Bowling Green.

Jekiri’s Junior Season Numbers Continue to Improve
Junior Tonye Jekiri has posted 10 double-doubles in his last 19 games, including nine in ACC play. Jekiri has posted 10+ rebounds 18 times, and in 13 of the last 17 games. This season he has 10+ points in 13 outings.
Jekiri leads the ACC with 18 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 8.7 points and 10.5 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.

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 12 games, McClellan has scored double-digit points in the second half, including 21 at Charlotte, 17 vs. Florida State, 16 at Pittsburgh and 14 against Virginia Tech. He’s scored 10+ in the first half in just four outings.

Reed Clutch from Distance
Sophomore Davon Reed is knocking down 51.9 percent of his shots from long range in ACC games. He is tied with Sheldon McClellan for the team high in 3-pointers in league games and despite only playing 22 of 30 games (due to injury), he is fourth on the team with 29 from long range overall. He has hit a 3-pointer in 11 of the last 14 games, and for the season has nine games with multiple threes, topping out with five against Louisville.

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 13 games.
* Less than 14 turnovers in every game.
* Led at the half in only five games: vs. BC, at Notre Dame, Florida State (2x), at Louisville.
* Hit 15+ freethrows in eight games.

What’s Trending in ACC Games Only …
Davon Reed: 10+ points in eight of the past 13 games … Hit better than 44 percent in every game but four … Knocked down multiple 3-pointers in nine of the last 14 outings … Connected on a 3-pointer in all but five games … Tallied a steal in eight of last 11 games … Played more than 30 minutes in all but three games since Jan. 17 at ND.
Sheldon McClellan: 17+ points in five of the last six games … 14 games with 10+ points, nine with 15+ points … One double-double … Hit a 3-pointer in 14 games … Knocked down 17 from long range in past seven games, after 10 combined in first nine games … Shot better than 40 percent in 15 of 17 games … Attempted at least two free throws in all but two games.
Angel Rodriguez: Multiple assists in every game but two … 3+ assists 13 times, 5+ in eight outings … Knocked down 29-of-35 free throws in past eight games … Grabbed a rebound in all but three games.
Manu Lecomte: Tallied an assist in every game but three … Grabbed a rebound in 11 games … Hit multiple 3-pointers in five games.
Tonye Jekiri: Nine double-doubles … 15+ rebounds in seven outings, 10+ rebounds in 13 games … 10+ defensive rebounds three times … 4+ offensive rebounds in 10 games … 10+ points in 10 games … 3+ blocks five times.