Game Day: #8/9 Miami at #13/11 Virginia

The Game
No. 8/9 Miami hits the road for three-straight ACC games over the next nine days, beginning with No. 13/11 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., on Jan. 12 at 7 p.m.

The Broadcasts
Catch the game on ESPNU with Mike Couzens and Len Elmore on the call. 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 574-384 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 104-50 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 43-29 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (as of Jan. 10)
AP: Miami -12, Virginia – 4
USA TODAY: Miami – 11, Virginia – 4
KenPom.com: Miami – 9, Virginia – 7
NCAA RPI: Miami -14, Virginia – 10

The Weather
Game day temperatures: Coral Gables – 71/56; Charlottesville, Va. – 48/19.

The Series
Miami is 10-7 in the all-time series against Virginia, which dates back to the 1965-66 season. The Canes are 6-1 at home against the Cavaliers, 3-5 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. The Canes are 1-3 against Virginia under Coach L. Miami lost the last two matchups with Virginia, losing to the Cavaliers in double overtime, 89-80, on Jan. 3, 2015 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables and 65-40 in Charlottesville in 2014.

As a Ranked Team (Full list on page 6)
Since the rebirth of basketball at UM in 1985-86 …
– Miami is 14-6 when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 12-4 under Coach L when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 2-2 in true road games when ranked in the top 10 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 0-3 when both teams are ranked in the top 15.
– Miami is 24-82 against teams ranked in the top 15 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 8-15 under Coach L against teams ranked in the top 15 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 7-38 in true road games against teams ranked in the top 15 in at least one poll.
– Miami is 3-7 in true road games under Coach L against teams ranked in the top 15 in at least one poll.

– Miami is 1-1 against Virginia when the Canes are ranked in the top 25
– Miami is 1-0 against the Cavaliers when the Canes are ranked in the top 10.
– Miami is 0-3 against Virginia when the Cavaliers are ranked in the top 25.
– In the all-time series between Miami and Virginia, never have both teams been ranked for the contest.

Canes Have Stingy 3-Point Defense
In seven-straight games, Miami has held its opponents to less than 32.0 percent shooting from long range, a 22.7 percent mark in that timeframe. In the first seven games, Miami averaged 41.4 percent 3-point defense. Opponents shot better than 32 percent from three in six of the first seven games. The Canes held in-state opponents Florida and Florida State to 8.3 percent and 10.5 percent from long range.

Mac Attack
Sheldon McClellan scored 20 second-half points against Florida State and finished with 21 for the game. He was 7-7 from the field in the second half, tying the best field goal percentage in a half since 2004-05, when Reggie Johnson was 7-7 in the second half against Duke in January 2011. McClellan has scored 20+ points in four outings, including two-straight, and 14+ points in 11 games. In two ACC games, McClellan is averaging 21.5 points, hitting 54.5 percent from the field. He is third in the league in scoring,

Canes Off to Second-Best Start in ACC Play
Miami has opened the 2015-16 ACC slate with a 2-0 mark, the second-best start in program history. In 2012-13, the Canes opened 13-0 on their way to the 2013 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships.

McClellan One of Top Shooting Guards in the Nation, Top in ACC
Senior guard Sheldon McClellan has posted the eighth-best shooting percentage (55.0%) in the country among guards, and has the top shooting percentage among guards in the ACC, according to stats on NCAA.org on Jan. 10. McClellan is currently on three national player of the year early-season watch lists: Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year, Oscar Robertson Trophy for Men’s National Player of the Year and Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.

Miami Winning By Double Digits
In 12 of Miami’s 13 victories, the Canes have outscored their opponents by double digits. Nebraska is the only exception, as Miami won by only five points in overtime in Lincoln. UM is winning games by 18.0 points per outing, and averaging 82.8 points per contest.

Miami and ACC Teams in KenPom Rankings
Six ACC teams are in the top 17 of KenPom.com’s offensive efficiency ratings, as of Jan. 10. In adjusted efficiency: 1 North Carolina, 2 Duke, 3 Notre Dame, 4 Pittsburgh, 6 Virginia and 17 Miami.
As of Jan. 10, Miami is one of four ACC teams that rank in the KenPom top 8. Seven ACC teams are in the KenPom top 30.

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.

Larrañaga Among the Best in College Basketball
Entering the 2015-16 season, Coach Larrañaga was tied for 12th on the list of Winningest Active Coaches at Major Schools and is tied for 57th on the NCAA’s list of All-Time Winningest Coaches. See page 11 of the notes for a complete listing.

Miami Holds the Lead
In Miami’s 13 victories, the Canes have led for all but 43 minutes and 22 seconds combined. The Canes trailed 19:49 to Syracuse, 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. Miami hasn’t trailed in five games – against Utah, Butler, Charlotte, La Salle and Florida State.
In Miami’s 13 wins, the Canes have only trailed after the first half against Syracuse, Nebraska and Princeton. The Cornhuskers held a lead with 3:39 left in overtime, the Orange led by one with 7:07 left in regulation and the Tigers led with 6:02 left in regulation.

Miami & McClellan in KenPom Rankings (as of Jan. 5)
Off. Efficiency – #17 – 115.5 Def. Efficiency – #15 – 92.7 Effective FG% – #12 – 56.3
Sheldon McClellan – True shooting % – #7 – 69.0 Offensive Rating – #8 – 136.2

Miami in ACC Road Openers
Miami is 4-7 in ACC road openers, with wins at No. 4 Duke in 2015, at Georgia Tech in 2013, at No. 24/17 Boston College in 2009 and at No. 25 Maryland in 2007.

Quick Hits
– Miami is 12-0 this season in games decided by 10-or-more points, and Coach L is 62-17 all-time at Miami in games decided by more than 10 points.
– As a team, Miami is hitting 49.7 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three.
– Miami has posted 13.8 assists per game in the first 13 outings.
– UM is averaging 7.5 threes made per game and 19.3 made free throws per game.
– Miami’s bench has scored 27.6 points per game, including 50 against Mississippi State, 47 at La Salle, 39 vs. Charleston and 35 vs. Charlotte.
– The Canes have scored 34.1 points per game in the paint, including 50 paint points against Northeastern and La Salle, and 46 against Mississippi State.
– Miami is averaging 15.1 points off of turnovers, compared to 10.7 from opponents.
– Five Hurricanes are averaging at least 8.7 points per game.
– Five 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.
– 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 12 games after only scoring 10+ in four games as a rookie. He has already scored 169 points as a sophomore, after tallying 135 points in 34 games a season ago. Newton has at least two assists in 11 games, including eight-straight.
– Anthony Lawrence, Jr. has tallied at least nine points in five outings. He has a rebound in all but two outings (Utah and Florida State).
– 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 three (vs. Utah, Florida, Syracuse).
– Sheldon McClellan has scored 20+ points in four outings and 14+ points in 11 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 five games (Butler, Nebraska, Charleston, Princeton, Syracuse). He has hit a free throw in every game and 4+ in eight outings.
– James Palmer has an assist in six of the last seven games and a rebound in seven-straight outings.
– Angel Rodriguez has knocked down a 3-pointer in every game but three (La Salle, Syracuse, Florida State). He has scored in double-digits in nine games, and notched four-or-more assists in nine outings.
– Kamari Murphy has at least one block in eight of the last nine games. He has grabbed at least five rebounds in the past nine outings.
– Tonye Jekiri has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in nine games, including five games with 12-or-more. He has at least one assist in every outing but five (Charlotte, La Salle, Princeton, Syracuse and Florida State).
– Ivan Cruz Uceda has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in every game except two, at Nebraska and vs. Florida, including five-straight outings. He has a rebound in every game but one (Northeastern).