Game Day: Miami vs. Florida Atlantic - Dec. 16

FAUatMiami

Setting the Scene
Date: Friday, Dec. 16, 2016
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Watsco Center | Coral Gables, Fla.

Broadcasts
Television: ACC Network Extra – Kyle Sielaff, Mike Jarvis II
Radio: 940 AM WINZ- Joe Zagacki
Online: ACC Network Extra – http://es.pn/2fz2zde

Series
All-time: Miami leads 21-1
Since rebirth in 1985-86: 21-1
Home: 13-0 Away: 5-1
Neutral: 3-0
Last matchup: Dec. 17, 2011. Miami W, 93-90 in 2OT at the Orange Bowl Classic.
Under Coach Larrañaga: 1-0
Coach L all-time vs. FAU: 2-0

Polls
Miami – AP: RV; USA Today: RV; KenPom: 26
FAU – AP: NR; USA Today: NR; KenPom: 220

Weather
Coral Gables: High 81 / Low 73
Boca Raton, Fla.: High 82 / Low 74

The Matchup Between Miami and FAU
Miami is 21-1 all-time against FAU and has never lost to the Owls in Coral Gables.
In 2004, Miami’s Anthony King recorded the school’s first triple-double with 11 points, 13 blocks and 10 rebounds. He set a school record with the 13 blocks in one game. That is only three blocks behind the NCAA Division I record of 16, which is held by Mickell Gladness, formerly of Alabama A&M.
In that same game in 2004, Robert Hite scored 38 points on 11 made field goals in the second half of the Hurricanes’ 84-68 victory. The 11 made field goals in one half is the most by a Miami player since 2004-05.
In the 22 meetings with FAU, Miami has scored at least 80 points in 12 of those games.
Coach L is 2-0 against FAU in his head coaching career, but this will be his first head-to-head matchup with Owls head coach Michael Curry.

From the Archives: FAU Vs. Miami, Dec. 17, 2011
Center Reggie Johnson made his season debut to give the Miami Hurricanes a lift, and they overcame the heroics of freshman Omari Grier to beat Florida Atlantic in double overtime, 93-90. Johnson, back after undergoing right knee surgery in June, came off the bench and had 15 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and five assists. Grier, making his first start, scored a season-high 27 points. He sank a 3-pointer for the final points in regulation, and another three to force the second overtime. Miami (6-4) shot 62 percent, including 14-for-20 from 3-point range. Florida Atlantic (4-7) went 15-for-29 on 3-pointers. The Hurricanes’ Kenny Kadji scored 21 points and was chosen as the most valuable player in the Orange Bowl Classic game. He went 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Durand Scott added 18 points, and reserve Rion Brown scored 15 in 27 minutes. Raymond Taylor had 20 points and nine assists for Florida Atlantic. FAU’s leading scorer Greg Gantt sat out because of a sprained left ankle. Malcolm Grant’s 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the game put the Hurricanes ahead to stay, 87-84. Grant then fed Scott for a layup, and Kadji and Scott each made two free throws in the final 68 seconds. Even so, the Owls had a chance to send the game to a third OT, but Taylor missed a 25-footer with one second left. Florida Atlantic trailed 71-65 before sinking three baskets in the final 40 seconds of the second half to force overtime. Grier’s 3-pointer with less than 2 seconds left made it 72-all. Grier sank another 3-pointer to tie the game again at 82 with 33 seconds left in the first overtime. He finished 7-of-12 from behind the arc. Scott made a pair of 3-pointers to help the Hurricanes take a 10-2 lead, and their biggest margin was 25-15. Grier hit consecutive 3-pointers and Taylor hit a driving layup during an 8-0 run that gave the Owls their largest lead at 48-43.

Milestones for the Canes
600 Victories – Coach Larrañaga is just five 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.
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 183 at Miami.
1,000 Program Wins – The University of Miami men’s basketball program has won 997 of its 1,726 games.
100 Blocks – Redshirt senior Kamari Murphy has recorded 99 career blocks, with 61 at Oklahoma State and 38 at Miami.
1,000 Points – Senior Davon Reed has scored 966 points in 107 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.

Brown Records Program’s Second Triple-Double
Freshman guard Bruce Brown recorded a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against South Carolina State on Dec. 6. It was the second triple-double in program history at Miami, the 11th in the NCAA this season, fourth by a Power 6 player, second by a freshman (De’Aaron Fox, Kentucky) and the 23rd in ACC history.
In 2004, Miami’s Anthony King recorded the school’s first triple-double with 11 points, a school-record 13 blocks and 10 rebounds against FAU.

Getting Everyone Involved
Miami tallied 24 assists and 31 made field goals against South Carolina State, as three players had five-or-more handouts. Bruce Brown led the sharing with 10, followed by six from Davon Reed and five from Ja’Quan Netwon. Prior to SC State, Miami had just two outings with 15-plus assists as a team, and in four games tallied less than 10 handouts.
On six occurrences this season, an individual has posted at least five assists, led by Brown’s 10 (SC State) and five (Western Carolina), Newton’s nine (Wofford), seven (UNF) and five (SC State), and six from Reed (SC State).

Miami Guards Sharing the Ball
First-year starting point guard Ja’Quan Newton dished out a career-high nine assists in Miami’s win over Wofford in the Hoophall Miami Invitational and freshman guard Bruce Brown handed out 10 in the win against SC State. Newton’s nine handouts matched Angel Rodriguez’ nine vs. Virginia Tech in the 2016 ACC Tournament, the most last season by a Cane. Rodriguez’ 11 assists at Duke on Jan. 25, 2016 are the most by a Cane in six seasons under Coach L, followed by the 10 from Brown, nine twice from Shane Larkin, and once from Rodriguez, Rion Brown and Newton.

Freshman Guard Brown Second in Rebounds
Freshman guard Bruce Brown is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, trailing senior forward Kamari Murphy’s 8.2 rpg. Brown has grabbed four-plus boards in every game, including seven-plus four times.

Brown Tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week
Guard Bruce Brown was recognized as the ACC Freshman of the Week Dec. 5. Brown, a 6-foot-5 guard from Boston, averaged 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists per game in a pair of wins over Rutgers and Wofford that week. He hit 70 percent (7-10) of his shots from the field, 50 percent (2-4) from long range and connected on all seven of his attempts from the foul line.
Brown went 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the line for 11 points in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge win over Rutgers. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had a pair of assists in 28 minutes. Against Wofford at AmericanAirlines Arena, he scored 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. He went 2-of-3 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the line in the victory. Brown added five rebounds and three steals with one assist while playing 37 minutes against the Terriers.

Home Sweet Home
In six seasons under Coach L, Miami is 67-20 (.770) overall at home and 36-7 (.837) in non-conference play at home. In both 2012-13 and 2015-16, the Canes had just one loss at the Watsco Center.

Murphy Just One Swat from 100
Senior forward Kamari Murphy has recorded 99 career blocks in 107 games played. He has 38 swats in his 41 games at Miami, after recording 61 blocks in 66 games at Oklahoma State from 2012-14.