Canes Face No. 21/22 Iowa State in Semifinal

Miamivs.No. 21/22 Iowa State

Setting the Scene
Date: Friday, Nov. 25, 2016
Time: 11 a.m.
Location: HP Field House | Orlando, Fla. | AdvoCare Invitational

Broadcasts
Television: ESPN2 – Roy Philpott, Tim Welsh, Andy Katz
Radio: 560 WQAM – Joe Zagacki
Online: Watch ESPN – http://es.pn/2gc78e9

Series
All-time: First meeting
Coach L all-time vs. Iowa State: 0-0

Polls
Miami – AP: RV;  USA Today: RV
Iowa State – AP: 21;  USA Today: 22

Weather
Coral Gables: High 79/Low 67
Ames: High 49/Low 28

The Matchup Between Miami and Iowa State
This is the first meeting between Miami and Iowa State.
The game with Iowa State is just the second time in school history the Canes will face a Division I opponent from the state of Iowa (Beat Northern Iowa, 78-69, on 11/27/98).
The matchup is Coach L’s first meeting with a Big 12 team since he arrived at Miami in 2012.
In 2013-14 as a sophomore at Oklahoma State, Kamari Murphy had seven points and six rebounds in the first matchup against Iowa State, then tallied six points and nine rebounds in the second meeting.

Miami Defense is Stingy in the First Half
The Hurricanes have held their first four opponents to 88 total first-half points (22.0 ppg) through four games, and forced opponents to shoot just 20 percent (9-45) from three. Miami also has forced opponents to cough up the rock, averaging 9.0 forced turnovers in the first stanza.

Miami at Neutral Sites Under Larrañaga
In Larrañaga’s first five seasons at The U, Miami is 20-11 in neutral site games (including postseason).

Ja’Quan Newton Continues to Improve
Junior point guard Ja’Quan Newton has tremendously improved his stats over his first three seasons at Miami from 4.0 ppg as a rookie, to 10.5 as a sophomore and 16.8 this year. With 20 points against Stanford (11/24), Newton was the first Cane this season to score 20-or-more points in a game.

Sophomore Surge By Lawrence
Sophomore Anthony Lawrence, Jr., has recorded 12 steals through four games (3.0 spg) this season after just tallying 17 total steals (0.5) as a rookie. He’s also improved his points per game from 4.1 as a rookie to 9.0 this season and his minutes have increased from 12.0 to 27.8 mpg.

Murphy Cleaning Up the Boards
Redshirt senior Kamari Murphy is cleaning up the boards for Miami, pulling down 8.0 per game this season. He has at least seven in each of the Canes’ four games. A year ago, Murphy grabbed seven-or-more rebounds in 11 outings.

Recapping Miami at Puerto Rico Last Season
Miami defeated Mississippi State, 105-79, then downed No. 16 Utah, 90-66, and dropped No. 22/20 Butler, 85-75, to win the 2015 Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Canes outscored their opponents by 20.0 points per game, and outrebounded opponents by 8.7 rebounds per game. Miami also won the event in 2007-08. Senior guard Angel Rodriguez was named the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Most Valuable Player. He averaged 13.7 points and 4.0 assists, including 19 points in the championship game. The native of Cupey, P.R., just 20 minutes from San Juan, was greeted by many friends and family at each game. Sheldon McClellan, Rodriguez and Tonye Jekiri were named to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off All Tournament Team.

Milestones for the Canes
1,000 Games – Coach Larrañaga opened the 2016-17 season just 21 shy of 1,000 career games coached. Miami’s 21st game of the season is vs. Florida State on Feb. 1. He has coached 53 games at American International, 314 at Bowling Green, 437 at Geoge Mason and now 178 at Miami.
1,000 Program Wins – The University of Miami men’s basketball program has won 994 of its 1,721 games.
600 Victories – Coach Larrañaga is just eight wins shy of 600 career victories. With 600 wins, he will be one of five ACC coaches with 600 victories, and the other four men are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
100 Blocks – Redshirt senior Kamari Murphy has recorded 94 career blocks, with 61 at Oklahoma State and 33 at Miami.
1,000 Points – Senior Davon Reed has scored 895 points in 102 career games at The U.
100 Games – Seniors Kamari Murphy and Davon Reed each played in their 100th career game at North Florida on Nov. 16, 2016. Murphy, a redshirt senior, played in 66 games at Oklahoma State before coming to Miami as a junior. All of Reed’s games played are at UM.