Game Day: Miami vs. Stanford- April 2 at MSG

The Game

Miami faces Stanford in the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament on April 2 in Madison Square Garden at 9 p.m. in New York City.  

The Series

Miami is 1-1 in the all-time series against Stanford, with a 71-58 win in 1986 in the Palm Beach Hurricane Classic and a 93-59 loss on the road in 1989. 

The Broadcasts

Catch the game on ESPN with Bob Wischusen, Fran Fraschilla and Bobby Knight making the call. 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 561-382 overall record in his 31st season as a head coach. He is 91-48 in his fourth season at the University of Miami, with a 41-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls

AP: Miami – NR; Stanford – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – NR; Stanford – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 47; Stanford – 42
NCAA RPI: Miami – 65; Stanford – 59

The Weather

Projected temperatures on game day: Coral Gables – 82/70. Stanford, Calif. – 46/72.

The Notes

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

The NIT
In the 2015 NIT, Miami will face a pair of teams that have each won two NIT championships in Temple (1938, 1969) and Stanford (1991, 2012).

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.

Coach L in Madison Square Garden
In Larrañaga’s 31 years of coaching, he had never been the head coach of a team playing a game in Madison Square Garden, until March 31 against Temple. 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.

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.

Canes Making Comebacks
In three-straight games, Miami has trailed by at least six points in the second half, but come back to win.
Against Temple, Miami trailed by 11 in the first half and six in the second stanza.
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.
Against Alabama, Miami trailed by seven with 17:45 left in the game.
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 has won nine games this season in which it trailed by six-or-more points and four games in which it trailed by at least seven in the second stanza.

Second-Half Scoring Fuels Canes
In four NIT games, Miami has scored 41.0 points per game in the second stanza after just 26.8 per game in the first half. For the season, Miami averages 30.2 points in the first and 37.0 in the second period. Miami scored 40+ in the second period in three of four NIT games (only 35 vs. Temple), led by 45 at Richmond after scoring just 18 in the first half against the Spiders.

New York Coaches in the NIT
Since 2000, only four coaches originally from the state of New York have led their team to the championship game of the NIT. In 2015, coach Jim Larrañaga is from The Bronx. In 2014, Larry Brown (Brooklyn) was the runner up with SMU. John Beilein (Burt) won the event in 2007 with West Virginia. In 2000, Matt Doherty (East Meadow) was runner up with Notre Dame.

NIT Appearances Propel Teams into NCAA Tournament
Of the 30 teams to play in the championship game of the NIT since 2000, 15 played in the NCAA Tournament the next season, including two runners up (2010 North Carolina, 2009 Baylor) that made Elite Eight appearances and two NIT Champions (2013 Baylor, 2007 West Virginia) that made Sweet 16 appearances.

March is Hurricane Season
Miami is 7-1 in the month of March this season, and Jim Larrañaga is 19-8 in the month of March while coaching at Miami.

Larrañaga Posts Fourth 25-Win Season
With a 25-12 mark this season at Miami, Coach Jim Larrañaga has posted four 25-win seasons as a head coach. His first was a 27-8 mark at George Mason in 2005-06, when he led the team to the NCAA Final Four, and in 2010-11 he was 27-7 with a 1-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. At Miami, Coach L led the Canes to a 29-7 mark in 2012-13, winning the ACC regular season and tournament, then taking UM to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Balanced Attack in the Postseason
In four NIT games Miami has presented a balanced attack with …
* Five players averaging more than 8.0 points per game: McClellan (12.3 ppg), Lecomte (10.0), Reed (9.5), Burnett (9.0), Jekiri (8.0).
*Seven guys knocking down a 3-pointer: Burnett (7), Cruz Uceda (5), McClellan (5), Lecomte (3), Reed (3), Sherman (1), Jekiri (1).
*Five players grabbing 3.3 or more rebounds per game: Jekiri (7.5), Reed (7.5), McClellan (5.3), Cruz Uceda (4.8) and Newton (3.3).