Game Day: Princeton at #13/16 Miami

PrincetonatNo. 13/15 Miami

The Game
No. 13/15 Miami wraps up the non-conference slate on Tuesday, Dec. 29 when the Hurricanes face the Princeton Tigers at 7 p.m. in the BankUnited Center.

The Broadcasts
Catch the game on ESPN3 with Ted Sarandis and Sean Harrington making the call. Also check out the game on 1080 WHIM radio with Joe Zagacki, the Voice of the Hurricanes.

The Coach
Head coach Jim Larrañaga has a 571-384 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 101-50 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 41-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (as of Dec. 26)
AP: Miami -13, Princeton – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – 15, Princeton – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 11, Princeton – 116
NCAA RPI: Miami -15, Princeton – 167

The Weather
Game day temperatures: Coral Gables – 83/75; Princeton, N.J.- 54/43.

The Series
Miami is 1-1 in the all-time series against Princeton, which dates back to the 1948-49 season. The Canes are 1-1 at home against the Tigers, 0-0 on the road and 0-0 at neutral sites. Miami lost the last matchup with Princeton, losing to the Tigers in double overtime, 62-55, on Dec. 29, 1948 in Miami.

The Note
Miami is one of nine schools nationally in the top 25 of the AP Poll and Coaches Poll in men’s and women’s basketball. As of Dec. 27, the men are No. 13/15 and the women are No. 23/21.

Five ACC Teams Tops in KenPom Offensive Efficiency
Five ACC teams are in the top six of KenPom.com’s offensive efficiency ratings, as of Dec. 27. North Carolina leads the way at 119.1, trailed by Virginia (118.8), Duke (118.2) and Notre Dame (118.2). Indiana is at No. 5, followed by Miami (117.4).

Big Men Shoot 81.0 Percent at La Salle
Miami’s four big men were 81.0 percent from the field at La Salle, knocking down 17-of-21 shots against the Explorers. Tonye Jekiri (4-of-4) and Ebuka Izundu (3-of-3) were perfect from the floor, while Ivan Cruz Uceda was 7-of-8, and Kamari Murphy was 3-of-6.

Canes Post 10 Non-Conference Wins
Miami has posted 10 wins in the non-conference slate in two-straight seasons. With a win against Princeton, Miami would open the season 11-1, tallying 11 wins in the non-conference for the first time since Miami’s 12 wins in non-conference play in 2010-11. That season the Canes were 11-3 before Jan. 1, then defeated UNC Greensboro in mid-February for the 12th victory.

In Miami’s Last Two Games …
In Miami’s last two games, the Canes have outscored Charleston and La Salle 90.0-56.0 points per game. Miami has also out shot those two teams from the field (54.3%-34.7%), from three (39.0%-27.0%) and at the line (73.1%-55.6%). The Canes out-rebounded them 88-56, and had eight more assists.

Last Time Out – Miami 95, La Salle 49
The Canes’ 46-point win over La Salle was the largest margin of victory for Miami under Coach Jim Larrañaga. Previous highs were 35 points vs. Howard (11/14/14), 31 vs. Savannah State (12/8/14) and 30 vs. Appalachian State (12/30/11) … Coach Jim Larrañaga’s Miami teams have scored 90-or-more points nine times in 151 games, including four times this year … In games under Coach L, Miami is 19-0 when scoring 85-or-more points … Miami handed La Salle, a program that started in the 1931-32 season, a 46-point loss, their worst loss in history. La Salle’s previous worst loss was a 42-point defeat against C.C.N.Y. on Dec 15, 1945 … Miami hit 53.1 percent (34-64) from the field against La Salle, the eighth game the Canes have shot better than 50 percent from the field … UM held La Salle to 29.8 percent (17-57) shooting from the field, the lowest shooting percentage by an opponent this season … Miami’s bench scored 47 points, nearly outscoring La Salle’s 49 total points. The 47 bench points are the second-most this season behind 50 vs. Mississippi State … The Canes tallied 50 points in the paint, tying the season-best against Northeastern … The Canes’ 17 assists were the fourth time this season with 17-or-more dimes … Senior Ivan Cruz Uceda knocked down a career-best 20 points, tying his career-best four 3-pointers in a game … With 20 points, Cruz Uceda is the 11th Miami reserve to score 20 points in a game in the past 20 years. It is also the second-straight game a Miami reserve has scored 20 points in a game, following Ja’Quan Newton’s 20 points scored against College of Charleston … Senior Tonye Jekiri tallied his third double-double of the season and 14th of his career, posting 14 rebounds and 10 points … Junior Kamari Murphy grabbed 10 rebounds against the Explorers, the most of his Miami career, topping his previous best of seven against Charlotte Dec. 5 … Senior Sheldon McClellan dished out a career-best six assists, one more than his previous high of five against Charlotte, Dec. 5 … Five players – Ivan Cruz Uceda (20), Sheldon McCellan (14), Angel Rodriguez (11), Tonye Jekiri (10), Ja’Quan Newton (10) – scored in double-digits for the Canes, the fifth time this season with five-or-more players scoring 10+ points in a game … Miami’s staters: Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, Davon Reed, Kamari Murphy and Tonye Jekiri … With the win, Coach Jim Larrañaga improved to 571-384 overall and 101-50 at Miami … Miami is now 7-9 against La Salle, and 1-6 in the Palestra against the Explorers.

Miami Holds the Lead
In Miami’s 10 victories, the Canes have led all but 11 minutes and 33 seconds combined. The Canes trailed 4:59 vs. UTRGV and 3:59 at Nebraska, added to 1:21 vs. Louisiana, 0:39 vs. Charleston, 0:22 vs. Mississippi State and 0:13 vs. Florida.
In Miami’s 10 wins, the Canes have only trailed after the first half against Nebraska, which held a lead with 3:39 left in overtime. Otherwise, UTRGV had a lead with 12:52 left in the first half, the latest lead for an opponent this season, besides Nebraska and Northeastern. Florida led with 16:45 left in the game, and Louisiana (19:01), Mississippi State (19:43) and Charleston (19:18) only led within the first minute of the game.
Miami hasn’t trailed in four games – against Utah, Butler, Charlotte and La Salle. Miami trailed by only three points in each of its first two games against UTRGV and Louisiana, two points against Mississippi State, three points at Nebraska, one vs. Florida and Charleston.

Miami in KenPom Rankings (as of Dec. 27)
Off. Efficiency – #6 – 117.4 Def. Efficiency – #33 – 95.5 Effective FG% – #6 – 50.8
Sheldon McClellan – True shooting % – #4 – 72.3 Offensive Rating – #4 – 142.8

Taking Care of Business at the Line
Miami is outscoring its opponents by 19.5 points per game this season, and averaging 20.2 made free throws per game. Through 11 games, the Canes are connecting on 77.4 percent of shots at the line, and have hit at least 19 free throws in each game but one, with just seven made FTs against Northeastern, in the Canes’ only loss.

Pair of Freshmen Perfect from the Field
Freshman guard Anthony Lawrence Jr. was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field against Charleston, including 3-of-3 from long distance. In the next game, freshman forward Ebuka Izundu was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field at La Salle.

Canes Finding Bottom of the Net
In 151 games under Coach Larrañaga at Miami, the Canes have scored 85-or-more points in 19 outings, eight of which are in the 2015-16 season. UM has only scored 90-or-more points nine times in those 151 games, including four times this year. Two of those other five games were 90-point outings against Duke, which was ranked No. 1 (1/23/13) and No. 4 (1/13/15) at the time.
In games under Coach L, Miami is 19-0 when scoring 85-or-more points, 10-0 at home, 4-0 on the road and 5-0 at neutral sites. The Canes’ 105 points against Mississippi State were the most points Miami has scored under Coach L.

Quick Hits
– Miami is 9-0 this season in games decided by 11-or-more points, and Coach L is 59-17 all-time at Miami in games decided by more than 10 points.
– As a team, Miami is hitting 50.7 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three.
– Miami has posted 14.6 assists per game in the first 11 outings.
– Miami’s bench has scored 28.8 points per game, including 50 against Mississippi State, 47 at La Salle, 39 vs. Charleston and 35 vs. Charlotte.
– The Canes have scored 33.3 points per game in the paint, including 50 paint points against Northeastern and La Salle, and 46 against Mississippi State.
– Miami is averaging 15.3 points off of turnovers, compared to 10.2 from opponents.
– Five Hurricanes are averaging at least 9.4 points per game.
– Four Canes pull down at least 3.0 rebounds per game.
– Six players are averaging at least 21.0 minutes per game.
– Nine of 10 scholarship players are shooting better than 40 percent from the field and three are better than 45 percent from long distance.
– Every scholarship Cane has scored 10+ points in at least one game.
– UM is averaging 8.3 threes made per game and 20.2 made free throws per game.

What’s Trending – Individually
– Ja’Quan Newton has scored double-digit points in nine games after only scoring 10+ in four games as a rookie. He has already scored 129 points as a sophomore, after tallying 135 points in 34 games a season ago.
– Anthony Lawrence, Jr. has tallied at least nine points in five outings. He also has an assist in each of his last three appearances.
– Davon Reed has grabbed at least three rebounds in every game but vs. Charleston. He has hit three-or-more free throws in every game but two (vs. Utah and Florida).
– Sheldon McClellan has scored 14+ points in nine games. He has a steal in every game but one (vs. Charlotte), and has shot better than 50 percent from the field in all but three games (Butler, Nebraska and Charleston).
– James Palmer has an assist in four-straight games.
– Angel Rodriguez has knocked down a 3-pointer in every game but one (La Salle). He has scored in double-digits in eight games, and notched four-or-more assists in seven outings.
– Kamari Murphy has at least one block in six-straight games. He has grabbed at least five rebounds in the past six outings.
– Tonye Jekiri has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in eight games, including five games with 12-or-more. He has at least one assist in every outing but two (vs. Charlotte and at La Salle). In four-straight games, he has shot better then 66.6 percent.
– Ivan Cruz Uceda has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in every game except two, at Nebraska and vs. Florida.