Game Day: Syracuse at #13/15 Miami

SyracuseatNo. 13/15 Miami

The Game
No. 13/15 Miami opens the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference slate at home against Syracuse on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2:30 p.m. at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Broadcasts
Catch the game on the ACC Network with Mike Gleason and Bobby Cremins on the call. ACC Network affiliates include: Fort Myers-Naples – CW; Gainesville – ABC; Jacksonville – IND; Miami-Fort Lauderdale – My Network TV; Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne – FOX; Panama City – This TV; Tallahassee-Thomasville – FOX; Tampa-St. Petersburg (Sarasota) – CW; West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce – CW.
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 572-384 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 102-50 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 41-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (as of Dec. 31)
AP: Miami -13, Syracuse – USA TODAY: Miami – 15, Syracuse –
KenPom.com: Miami – 11, Syracuse – NCAA RPI: Miami -15, Syracuse –

The Weather
Game day temperatures: Coral Gables – 82/70; Syracuse, N.Y. – 33/30.

The Series
Miami is 6-16 in the all-time series against Syracuse, which dates back to the 1963-64 season. The Canes are 3-9 at home against the Orange, 3-7 on the road and 0-0 at neutral sites. Miami is 1-2 against Syracuse under the direction of Coach Larrañaga. Miami won the last matchup with Syracuse, defeating the Orange, 66-62, on Jan. 24, 2015 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

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. 30, the men are No. 13/15 and the women are No. 22/20.

Miami in ACC Openers
The Canes are 3-8 in ACC openers since joining the league for the 2004-05 season. UM is 1-5 on the road and 2-3 at home in ACC opening games. The Canes have started ACC play at home for three straight seasons after being on the road four-straight from 2009-10 to 2012-13.
2004-05 at #9/10 Georgia Tech L, 69-80
2005-06 at #21/19 NC State L, 69-81
2006-07 #21/25 Georgia Tech W, 90-82
2007-08 Georgia Tech W, 78-68
2008-09 #25 Clemson L, 72-91
2009-10 at Boston College L, 60-61
2010-11 at #1 Duke L, 63-74
2011-12 at #21/23 Virginia L, 51-52
2012-13 at Georgia Tech W, 62-49
2013-14 Virginia Tech L, 60-61 (OT)
2014-15 #3 Virginia L, 80-89 (2OT)
2015-16 Syracuse

Miami and ACC Teams in KenPom Rankings
Five ACC teams are in the top six of KenPom.com’s offensive efficiency ratings, as of Dec. 30. In adjusted efficiency, North Carolina leads the way at 119.4, trailed by Duke (119.0), SMU (118.8), Virginia (118.4), Notre Dame (118.0) and Miami (117.5).
As of Dec. 30, Miami is one of five ACC teams that rank in the KenPom top 12. No other conference has more than two teams in the top 12. Eight ACC teams are in the KenPom top 40.

Coach L Ties to the ACC
Coach Jim Larrañaga was an assistant coach at Virginia from 1979-1986, under the leadership of Terry Holland. In those seven seasons, Larrañaga helped the Cavaliers to five NCAA appearances: Final Four twice, Elite Eight once, Sweet 16 once and Round of 64 once, as well as two NIT appearances, including the Championship and Quarterfinal round.

Canes Post 10 Non-Conference Wins
Miami has posted 10-or-more wins in the non-conference slate in two-straight seasons. With a win against Princeton, Miami opened 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. The 11 wins also mark the sixth time since joining a conference (BIG EAST in 1991-92) that the Canes have tallied 11-or-more non-conference wins.

Miami & McClellan n KenPom Rankings (as of Dec. 30)
Off. Efficiency – #6 – 117.5 Def. Efficiency – #41 – 95.8 Effective FG% – #6 – 58.1
Sheldon McClellan – True shooting % – #12 – 69.2 Offensive Rating – #11 – 136.9

Reed Steps Up Against New Jersey Opponent
Junior Davon Reed, of Ewing, N.J., notched 13 points, nine rebounds and a steal in 30 minutes against the Princeton Tigers, from his home state of New Jersey.

Last Time Out – Miami 76, Princeton 64
Miami trailed 30-27 at the half, only the second game this season the Canes have been behind at the break. Against Northeastern, UM’s only loss, the Canes trailed 35-30 … Senior Sheldon McClellan scored just two points in the first half, but ended with six points vs. Princeton. McClellan’s previous low was three points in the first half against Butler, then finished the game with eight points … Starters for Miami: Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, Davon Reed, Kamari Murphy and Tonye Jekiri. With the win, the Canes improve to 5-0 when those five players start the game … Miami is 2-1 in the all-time series against Princeton, which dates back to the 1948-49 season. The Canes played the Tigers in back-to-back games in Miami, winning the first game 37-35 on Dec. 28, 1948. Miami lost the second matchup with Princeton in double overtime, 62-55, on Dec. 29 … In Miami’s 11 victories, the Canes have led all but 23 minutes and 33 seconds combined. The Canes trailed 12:00 vs. Princeton, 4:59 vs. UTRGV, 3:59 at Nebraska, 1:21 vs. Louisiana, 0:39 vs. Charleston, 0:22 vs. Mississippi State and 0:13 vs. Florida … Miami is 10-0 this season in games decided by 11-or-more points, and Coach L is 60-17 all-time at Miami in games decided by more than 10 points.

Miami Holds the Lead
In Miami’s 11 victories, the Canes have led all but 23 minutes and 33 seconds combined. The Canes trailed 12:00 vs. Princeton, 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 11 wins, the Canes have only trailed after the first half against Nebraska and Princeton. The Cornhuskers held a lead with 3:39 left in overtime and the Tigers led with 6:02 left in regulation. Otherwise, UTRGV had a lead with 12:52 left in the first half, the latest lead for an opponent this season, besides Nebraska, Princeton and in the loss to Northeastern. Florida led with 16:45 left in the first half, 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.
Taking Care of Business at the Line
Miami is outscoring its opponents by 18.8 points per game this season, and averaging 19.4 made free throws per game. Through 12 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 two, with 11 against Princeton and just seven made FTs against Northeastern, in the Canes’ only loss.

Canes Scoring 85+ Points Per Game
In 152 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 152 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 10-0 this season in games decided by 11-or-more points, and Coach L is 60-17 all-time at Miami in games decided by more than 10 points.
– As a team, Miami is hitting 51.0 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three.
– Miami has posted 14.3 assists per game in the first 11 outings.
– UM is averaging 8.0 threes made per game and 19.4 made free throws per game.
– Miami’s bench has scored 28.6 points per game, including 50 against Mississippi State, 47 at La Salle, 39 vs. Charleston and 35 vs. Charlotte.
– The Canes have scored 34.0 points per game in the paint, including 50 paint points against Northeastern and La Salle, and 46 against Mississippi State.
– Miami is averaging 14.8 points off of turnovers, compared to 11.0 from opponents.
– Five Hurricanes are averaging at least 9.2 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.
– All 10 scholarship players are shooting better than 40 percent from the field and three are better than 42 percent from long distance.
– Every scholarship Cane has scored 10+ points in at least one game.

What’s Trending – Individually
– Ja’Quan Newton has scored double-digit points in 10 games after only scoring 10+ in four games as a rookie. He has already scored 142 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.
– 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 two (vs. Charlotte and Princeton), and has shot better than 50 percent from the field in all but four games (Butler, Nebraska, Charleston and Princeton).
– James Palmer has an assist in five-straight games.
– Angel Rodriguez has knocked down a 3-pointer in every game but one (La Salle). He has scored in double-digits in nine games, and notched four-or-more assists in eight outings.
– Kamari Murphy has at least one block in seven-straight games. He has grabbed at least five rebounds in the past seven 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 three (vs. Charlotte, at La Salle and vs. Princeton).
– Ivan Cruz Uceda has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in every game except two, at Nebraska and vs. Florida.