2014-15 @CanesHoops Season In Review

The Highlights
* Miami was one of six teams to play in the month of April, facing Stanford in the NIT championship game on April 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York. 
* On Jan. 13, Miami defeated eventual national champion then-No. 4 Duke, 90-74, at Cameron Indoor Stadium, ending Duke’s 41-game home winning streak, the longest active streak in Division I, and snapping Duke’s 19-game ACC home game winning streak.
* The Canes defeated then-No. 8/7 Florida on Nov. 17 in the O’Connell Center, led by Angel Rodriguez’ 22 points in the final nine minutes, draining five 3-pointers in the last seven minutes to help Miami to the win. With the victory, the Canes snapped Florida’s 33 game home winning streak and 25-game home non-conference winning streak at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. * The 33-game streak was the third-longest in the country, behind 34 from both Duke and Stephen F. Austin.
* UM downed both Duke and Syracuse on the road in the same season, the second time this has ever happened, and the first time since Michael Jordan’s UNC team did during the 1983-84 season.
* Miami opened the season 8-0, and on Dec. 1 was ranked No. 15 in the country by both the AP and USA TODAY.
* Miami suffered 13 losses, including six games (four opponents) against nationally ranked teams. In those six games, the Canes led by at least 12 points twice: 12 points at No. 12 Notre Dame and 13 points at No. 12 Louisville.
* In one season, Miami defeated 500-win coaches Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Billy Donovan.
* Miami was one of 38 teams in the country, and one of 11 teams from a Top 8 conference, to win 10+ games away from its home arena this regular season. Gonzaga led the way with 14 road & neutral site victories.
* Junior Tonye Jekiri led the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounds (10.9 ACC only, 9.9 all games) and double-doubles (9) in ACC games. He is Miami’s first player to average 10+ rpg in a season in ACC play.

The Awards
* Tonye Jekiri: ACSMA & Coaches 2015 All-ACC Defensive Team, ACSMA All-ACC Team, H.M., Gildan Charleston Classic All-Tournament Team.
* Sheldon McClellan: NIT All-Tournament Team, Riley Wallace Award Finalist, Midseason Watch List for Jerry West Award, ACSMA All-ACC Team, H.M., ACC Player of the Week – Dec. 1, 2014.
* Davon Reed: NIT All-Tournament Team, All-ACC Academic Men’s Basketball Team, 2015.
* Angel Rodriguez: ACSMA All-ACC Team, H.M., 2015 Bob Cousy Collegiate PG of the Year Award Preseason Watch List, 2015 Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List, ACC Player of the Week – Nov. 24, Gildan Charleston Classic Most Valuable Player.

Miami Sets School Record for Games Played, Second-Most Wins
Miami played a school-record 38 games this season, topping the 36 games played in 2012-13. The Canes’ 25 wins were second all-time in school history, behind the 29-7 mark in 2012-13.

This Season Miami …
• Played in the National Invitation Tournament Championship game
• Defeated Duke and Syracuse on the road in the same season, the second time this has ever happened, and the first time since UNC did so during the 1983-84 season
• Defeated three ranked teams: at No. 8/7 Florida, vs. No. 24/25 Illinois and at No. 4 Duke
• Defeated a pair of Top 7 teams in the same season, both on the road: No. 6/7 Florida and No. 4 Duke
• Won two true road games against ranked opponents – No. 6/7 Florida and No. 4 Duke – for the first time in Miami history since 1998-99
• Defeated Coach K, Coach Boeheim & Coach Donovan, all on the road
• Ended Duke’s 41-game home winning streak, the then-longest active streak in Division I
• Snapped Duke’s 19-game ACC home game winning streak
• Snapped Florida’s streak of 33 consecutive home wins, which was the longest streak in school history
• Scored 90 points at Duke, the most points scored by an unranked opponent in a regulation win in Cameron Indoor Stadium since NC State’s 96 points on Feb. 23, 1983.
• Dealt Duke the most lopsided loss (16 points) an unranked visitor has handed to a ranked Blue Devil team in the ACC era
• Defeated Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, in front of the largest collegiate crowd of the season to date (Jan. 24): 30,677

Canes Post 20+-Win Season
With a victory at Virginia Tech on March 7, Miami posted 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 25-13, for an average of 22.8 wins per season. Since joining the ACC in 2004-05, Miami posted three 20-win seasons before Larrañaga, 23-11 in 2008, 20-13 in 2010 and 21-15 in 2011.

Miami’s Road Wins Rank Top 11 Nationally
Miami was one of 38 teams in the country, and one of 11 teams from a Top 8 conference, to win 10+ games away from its home arena this regular season. Gonzaga led the way with 14 road and neutral site victories.
The Canes have posted 10+ wins away from home in two of Coach L’s four seasons at Miami. In 2012-13, Miami won 15 on the road, including five neutral-site games. This year, Miami was 10-5 away from the BankUnited Center, with a 3-1 neutral-site record, in the regular season.

Canes in National Stats, Via NCAA.com
Miami was 13th in the country in turnovers per game (10.1), committing less than 15 turnovers in 35 outings.
The Canes knocked down 292 shots from 3-point range, good enough for 20th in the nation. UM hit at least seven from long range in 23 games, and tied a school record of 15 made in a game, going 15-of-25 at Virginia Tech on March 7.
UM shot 74.6 percent from the free throw line, which was the 22nd-best mark in the country. Miami drained at least 70 percent of its free throws in 28 games this year. The Canes’ 544 free throws made were No. 39 in the NCAA.
Miami averaged just 15.6 fouls per game, a mark that was 22nd-best in the nation, grabbed 1317 total rebounds (29th) and posted a 1.27 assist-to-turnover ratio (44th).

Canes Finish Sixth in ACC After Being Picked 10th
Miami finished sixth in the 2014-15 ACC rankings after being projected to finish 10th by the media at Operation Basketball in October. In each of Coach L’s four seasons at Miami, the Canes have exceeded preseason expectations. In his first season, Miami was picked fifth and finished tied for fourth. In just his second season, UM won the ACC after being projected to finish fifth. A year ago, the Canes were selected 12th, but ended 10th.
The Canes and Notre Dame both made a jump of four spots: Miami from 10th to sixth and Notre Dame from seventh to third. Wake Forest and Virginia Tech were the only schools who were slotted in the correct spots. In order of preseason projections, here are the final mis-projections of each team: Duke -1, North Carolina -3, Louisville -1, Virginia +3, Syracuse -3, Pittsburgh -4, Notre Dame +4, Florida State -3, NC State +2, Miami +4, Clemson +2, Wake Forest +0, Georgia Tech -1, Boston College +1, Virginia Tech +0.

Larrañaga in ACC Play
Since his arrival in 2011, Jim Larrañaga has recorded the top three win totals in ACC play in Miami history at 15-3 in 2013, 10-8 in 2015, and 9-7 in 2012. In 2014, Miami’s record was 7-11, tied for the fifth-best mark. Miami’s fourth-most wins were eight in 2007-08.

Miami’s Record vs. ACC Opponents
This season Miami was 1-5 against the top five teams in the ACC, with a 16-point win over second-place Duke and a double-overtime loss to league champion Virginia. The Canes were 9-3 against teams ranked seventh and lower.

Larrañaga Posts Fourth 25-Win Season
With a 25-13 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.

Coach L Notches Career Win No. 550
In his first victory against Syracuse, Coach Jim Larrañaga won his 550th career game. Larrañaga’s 100th win came in 1991 against Kent State while at Bowling Green. While at George Mason, win No. 200 came in 1997 vs. Northeastern, No. 300 in 2003 against East Carolina and No. 400 in 2008 vs. William & Mary. In 2012, the Canes defeated Georgia Tech for Coach L’s 500th.