Game Day: #15/13 Miami at NC State

The Game
No. 15/13 Miami travels to Raleigh, N.C., for a 3 p.m. matchup on Jan. 30 against the NC State Wolfpack at PNC Arena.

The Broadcasts
Catch the game on ACC Network with Tim Brant and Dave Odom on the call. Affiliates include: Fort Myers-Naples- CW; 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 577-386 overall record in his 32nd season as a head coach. He is 107-52 in his fifth season at the University of Miami, with a 46-31 mark in ACC play.

The Polls (as of Jan. 25)
AP: Miami -15, NC State – NR
USA TODAY: Miami – 13, NC State – NR
KenPom.com: Miami – 9, NC State – 74
NCAA RPI: Miami -14, NC State – 99

The Weather
Game day temperatures: Coral Gables – 73/61; Raleigh, N.C. – 58/40.

The Series
Miami is 8-11 in the all-time series against NC State, which dates back to the 1939-40 season. The Canes are 4-4 at home against the Wolfpack, 2-6 on the road and 2-1 at neutral sites. UM is also 4-4 under Coach L, and 2-0 under Coach L when the Canes are ranked. Miami won the last matchup with NC State, defeating the Wolfpack, 65-60, on Jan. 22, 2015 at the BankUnited Center in Coral Gables.

The Canes Convert at the Line
Miami has connected on 344-of-455 (75.6%) shots at the free throw line while opponents have just 322 attempts at the charity stripe. UM averages 18.1 points per game at the line, and has posted a +14.3 scoring margin this season. Miami ranks 13th in the nation in free throw percentage and No. 52 in free throws made. The Canes have drawn 383 fouls, while committing only 322, which ranks UM No. 30 in the country.

Rodriguez Posts First Career Double-Double
Point guard Angel Rodriguez scored 13 points and dished out 11 assists, with just one turnover, against Duke for his first career double-double. The 11 handouts were the first time Rodriguez had 10+ assists while in a Hurricanes uniform. At Kansas State, he did so twice, recording 10 against Baylor and TCU his sophomore season. This season, Rodriguez has scored double-digit points 13 times, and he has done so 69 times in his four-year career.

Sharing the Ball Against Duke
Against Duke, Miami assisted on 24 of its 30 made field goals, with 42 paint points, 13 points off of turnovers and 10 fast break points. Miami also had 12 second-chance points. Four players had multiple assists, including Angel Rodriguez (11), Ja’Quan Newton (5), Tonye Jekiri (3) and Sheldon McClellan (3). Ivan Cruz Uceda and Davon Reed each added one. Duke had just eight assits.

McClellan One of Top Shooting Guards in the Nation, Top in ACC
Senior guard Sheldon McClellan has posted the 10th-best shooting percentage (52.9%) in the country among guards, and has the top shooting percentage among guards in the ACC, according to stats on NCAA.org on Jan. 27. McClellan’s 2-point shooting percentage is 61.0 percent this season.
McClellan is currently on three national player of the year 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.

Rodriguez Among the Best
Angel Rodriguez is now one of only three active Division I players with at least 1,200 career points, 450 assists, 180 steals and 150 3-pointers.
Angel Rodriguez, Miami – 1240 points, 476 assists, 182 steals, 161 3-pointers;
Jalan West, Northwestern State – 1592 points, 614 assists, 219 steals, 212 3-pointers;
Juan’ya Green, Hofstra – 2043 points, 662 assists, 207 steals, 211 3-pointers.
3 steals away: Marcus Paige, North Carolina – 1585 points, 528 assists, 177 steals, 248 3-pointers.

Quick Hits
– Miami is 15-1 this season in games decided by 10-or-more points, and Coach L is 65-18 all-time at Miami in games decided by more than 10 points.
– Miami’s bench has scored 25.5 points per game, including 50 against Mississippi State, 47 at La Salle, 39 vs. Charleston and 35 vs. Charlotte.
– The Canes have scored 33.4 points per game in the paint, including 50 paint points against Northeastern and La Salle, and 46 against Mississippi State.
– Miami is averaging 14.3 points off of turnovers, compared to 10.7 from opponents.
– Five Hurricanes are averaging at least 8.2 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 15 games after only scoring 10+ in four games as a rookie. He has already scored 228 points as a sophomore, after tallying 135 points in 34 games a season ago. Newton has at least two assists in 13 games and five-or-more assists in four times.
– Davon Reed has a steal in six-straight games and seven of the last eight outings. He has grabbed at least three rebounds in every game but two – vs. Charleston and at Clemson. Reed has knocked down a 3-pointer in 11 games and hit multiple threes in six outings. He has a block in back-to-back games.
– Sheldon McClellan has scored 20+ points in five outings and 14+ points in 15 games. He has scored 13+ in every ACC game, and 20+ in three outings. McClellan has a steal in every game but three (Charlotte, Princeton, Duke), and has shot better than 50 percent from the field in all but seven games. He has hit a free throw in every game and 4+ in 11 outings.
– James Palmer has an assist in eight of the last 12 games. He has two steals in three-straight outings.
– Angel Rodriguez has knocked down a 3-pointer in every game but five (La Salle, Syracuse, Florida State, Clemson and Boston College), and has hit multiple shots from long range nine times. He has scored in double digits in 13 games, and notched four-or-more assists in 11 outings. He has made a free throw in every game but one.
– Kamari Murphy has at least one block in 11 of the last 14 games. He has grabbed at least five rebounds in 12 of the past 14 outings.
– Tonye Jekiri has pulled down at least 10 rebounds in 13 games, including seven games with 12-or-more. He has 10+ rebounds in five of the last six outings. Jekiri has four-or-more offensive rebounds in the last four games. He has at least one block in four-straight games.
– Ivan Cruz Uceda has knocked down at least one 3-pointer in every game except four (Nebraska, Florida, Boston College and Duke). He has hit multiple 3-pointers in nine games. He has a rebound in every game but two (Northeastern and Clemson).

In ACC Games
– Ja’Quan Newton has an assist in every game, and multiple assists in four games.
He has grabbed four-plus rebounds in five games and has attempted at least four free throws in all but two outings (Florida State and Virginia).
– Davon Reed has grabbed four-or-more rebounds in six outings. He has a steal in six-straight games and a block in two-straight outings.
– Sheldon McClellan has an assist in six-straight games and multiple handouts in four outings. He has a steal in six games, with three in three outings. McClellan has hit four-or-more free throws in five games.
– James Palmer has at least one steal in three-straight games.
– Angel Rodriguez is 4-of-9 from the field in three straight games. After starting ACC play 2-of-25 from long range through the first five games, he is 5-of-12 in the last two league contests. He has three-or-more assists in five outings. Rodriguez has five-plus steals twice.
– Kamari Murphy has grabbed five-or-more rebounds in six games.
– Tonye Jekiri grabbed double-digit rebounds five times and blocked a shot in four-straight games. Jekiri has played at least 31 minutes in all seven league games.

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