Game Day: Miami vs. Temple - March 31 at MSG

The Game

Second-seeded Miami travels to Madison Square Garden to face No. 1 seed Temple in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament on March 31 at 7 p.m. in New York City. 

The Series

Miami is 1-2 all-time against Temple, with an 0-1 mark at home, 0-1 on the road and 1-0 at a neutral site, the 2003 Orange Bowl Classic in Florida. This is Coach L’s first meeting with Temple.

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on ESPN. Also tune in to 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 560-382 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 90-48 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 41-29 mark in ACC play..

The Polls

AP: Miami – NR; Temple – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; Temple – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 52; Temple – 54
NCAA RPI: Miami – 65; Temple – 34

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 83/67. Philadelphia, Pa. – 56/37.

The Notes

Miami in the NIT
NIT Appearances 12th
Overall Record 10-11
First Round 6-6
Second Round 3-2
Quarterfinals 1-3
Semifinals 0-0

* Miami is ranked the No. 2 seed for the third-straight appearance in the NIT, including the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
* The Canes are 10-11 in their 11 NIT appearances.
* Miami has won one quarterfinal game, in 2015 at Richmond.
* UM is 6-6 in the first round, 3-2 in the second round and 1-3 in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
* Miami has won at least one game in the NIT in five-straight appearances, since 2006.
* The Canes have won two games in the NIT in three appearances: 2006, 2011 and 2015.
* UM has won three games in the NIT once, in 2015.
* Miami last hosted a pair of NIT games in 2012, when the Canes defeated No. 7 Valparaiso then lost to No. 6 Minnesota.
* In 2011, the Canes defeated No. 7 FAU and No. 3 Missouri State at home before falling at No. 1 Alabama.
* No current Hurricanes were on the 2012 NIT team. Only Tonye Jekiri has played in the postseason, the 2013 NCAA campaign.

Coach L in Madison Square Garden
In Larrañaga’s 31 years of coaching, he has never been the head coach of a team playing a game in Madison Square Garden. He played in the World’s Most Famous Arena multiple times while playing college ball for Providence, and was an assistant coach for Virginia when the Cavaliers won the NIT in 1980. Larrañaga’s final collegiate game as a Friar was played against UNC in 1971, an 86-79 loss for PC in the NIT Elite 8.

Larrañaga Returns Home
Miami head Coach Jim Larrañaga is returning to his roots this week, playing in his home state of New York. Larrañaga grew up in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx, playing high school basketball for Jack Curran at Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens.

Assistant Coaches Return to New York
Assistant coaches Chris Caputo and Michael Huger both grew up in the state of New York. Caputo is a native of Elmhurst, N.Y., and played prep ball at Archbishop Molloy High School for the late Jack Curran. Huger was raised in New York City, helped lead Stevenson High School (Bronx) to back-to-back PSAL City Championships in 1988 and 1989, and played AAU ball for the famous Riverside Church Hawks.

Call it a Comeback
With 16:51 left in the quarterfinal game at Richmond, Miami trailed the Spiders by 18 points, 36-18. A 3-pointer made by Sheldon McClellan with 2:04 left in the game knotted the score at 55, then Miami took a 6-point lead with 26 seconds remaining and again with 14 seconds left, to take home the win.
Earlier this season, Miami overcame a 15-point second-half deficit at then-No. 8/7 Florida for the Canes’ first road win of the season over a Top 10 team. Miami also trailed NIT second-round opponent Alabama in the second half, a 7-point deficit with 17:45 remaining in the game. Miami has won eight games this season in which it trailed by six-or-more points and four game in which it trailed by at least seven in the second stanza.
In the final 16:51, Miami held Richmond to six field goals, including a 4-minute stretch and a 6-minute stretch with no field goals made. In that same 16:51, the Canes knocked down the team’s only two 3-pointers, one jumper, seven layups and 23 free throws, after attempting 0 shots from the stripe in the first 25 minutes of the game.
After scoring just 18 points in the first half, Miami tallied 45 in the second stanza to earn a spot in the NIT semifinals.

Balanced Attack in the Postseason
In five postseason games – two in the ACC Tournament and three in the NIT – Miami has presented a balanced attack with …
* Six players averaging more than 8.0 points per game: McClellan (11.8 ppg), Jekiri (9.6), Reed (9.6), Lecomte (9.0), Burnett (8.8), Rodriguez (8.0).
*Eight guys knocking down a 3-pointer: Burnett (6), Reed (6), Cruz Uceda (5), McClellan (5), Lecomte (3), Rodriguez (2), Sherman (1), Jekiri (1).
* Six players shooting 42 percent or better from the field: Thomas (.750), Rodriguez (.500), Cruz Uceda (.458), McClellan (.444), Jekiri (.442), Sherman (.429).
For a complete listing of postseason stats, check pages 10 and 11 of the notes.