Game Day: Miami at Syracuse - Jan. 4

MiamiatSyracuse

Setting the Scene
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Carrier Dome | Syracuse, N.Y.

RV Miami Hurricanes (11-2, 1-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga
Record at Miami: 129-59, sixth season
ACC Record at Miami: 55-34
Career Record: 599-393, 33rd season

Syracuse Orange (8-6, 0-1 ACC)
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim
Record at Syracuse: 892-348, 41st season
Career Record: 892-348, 41st season

Broadcasts
Television: RSN – Wes Durham, Mike Gminski
Affiliates: http://theacc.co/mbb17rsn0104a
FOX Sports South; FOX Sports Carolinas; FOX Sports Sun; FOX Sports Midwest Plus/FOX Sports Indiana Plus; Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic; YES; NESN; ROOT Sports Pittsburgh; SportsTime Ohio; FOX Sports Detroit Plus; FOX Sports North Plus; FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus; FOX Sports San Diego; FOX Sports Prime Ticket; ROOT Sports Rocky Mtn.; ROOT Sports Northwest.
Radio: 940 WINZ – Joe Zagacki
Online: ACC Network Extra http://es.pn/2g5ABpB

Series
All-time: Miami trails 7-16
Since rebirth in 1985-86: 7-15
Home: 4-9
Away: 3-7
Neutral: 0-0
Last matchup: Jan. 2, 2016. Miami W, 64-51.
Under Coach Larrañaga: 2-2
Coach L all-time vs. Syracuse: 2-3

Polls
Miami – AP: RV / USA Today: RV / KenPom: 30
Syracuse – AP: NR / USA Today: NR / KenPom: 56

Weather
Coral Gables: High 85 / Low 67
Syracuse, N.Y.: High 37 / Low 21

Larrañaga Approaching 600 Career Victories
Coach Jim Larrañaga is just one win shy of 600 career victories, posting a 599-393 mark in 33 seasons as a head coach. 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. Coach L has won 27 games at American International, 170 at Bowling Green, 273 at George Mason and 129 at Miami.

Miami in ACC Road Openers
The Canes are 4-8 in ACC road openers since joining the league for the 2004-05 season. Miami opens its road slate against Syracuse for the second time in four seasons. The then-No. 2 Orange won that first meeting, 49-44, on Jan. 24, 2014.

The Matchup Between Miami and Syracuse
Miami is 2-2 against Syracuse since Coach L took over, but the Canes have won the last two matchups against the Orange.
Davon Reed has averaged nine points a game in his career against Syracuse including 16 vs. the Orange as a freshman.
The Hurricanes won last year’s matchup against the Orange despite scoring just 17 points in the first half. Coach L’s squad went off for 47 second half points, 14 of which came from Ja’Quan Newton, and Miami grabbed a 64-51 victory.
This will be the first of two games this season that Miami will play an opponent that made last year’s Final Four. The other is North Carolina on Jan. 28.
Jim Larrañaga’s first matchup with Jim Boeheim came back on December 13, 1995 while Larrañaga was at Bowling Green. Syracuse won that one 75-64.

R33D from Long Range
Senior guard Davon Reed has knocked down 17 shots from long range in the past five games. He was 3-of-5 vs. SC State, then went 5-of-9 vs. Florida Atlantic, 3-of-7 vs. George Washington, 3-of-7 vs. Columbia and 3-9 vs. NC State. For the year, he is 30-76 (39.5%) from downtown, hitting multiple 3-pointers in nine outings, including three-or-more six times.

Murphy Just One Swat from 100
Senior forward Kamari Murphy has recorded 99 career blocks in 111 games played. He has 38 swats in his 45 games at Miami, after recording 61 blocks in 66 games at Oklahoma State from 2012-14.

Starting The ACC Gauntlet
According to KenPom.com, seven ACC teams are ranked in the top 30 in the country, including four in the top 10. As of Jan. 1, Miami is No. 30 and Syracuse is No. 56. The Canes next returning to the Watsco Center for No. 29 Notre Dame. UM ends the regular season ACC schedule with five straight teams who are currently in the top 31 – Clemson (21), at Virginia (3), vs. Duke (7), at Virginia Tech (31) and at Florida State (20).

What’s Trending, Individually
Freshman guard Bruce Brown has grabbed at least four rebounds in each of the first 13 games, has eight-or-more in six outings and pulled down double-digit boards in two contests. He has at least two assists in 10 contests, and has a steal in 10 of 13 games.
Sophomore Ebuka Izundu has a block in five of the last seven outings and has scored in seven straight games.
Sophomore guard Anthony Lawrence, Jr., has swiped at least one steal in each game but two (Wofford and SC State), and had three-or-more in four outings. He has five-plus rebounds in five of the last six outings.
Redshirt senior forward Kamari Murphy has reorded a pair of double-doubles (vs. Wofford, vs. NC State). He has pulled down seven-plus rebounds in every game but four (Rutgers, SC State, GWU and Columbia), and grabbed double-digit boards in five outings.
Junior point guard Ja’Quan Newton has recorded four 20-point games this season. He has scored 11-plus points in every game but one (FAU-8). Newton has three steals in a trio of games and has dished three-or-more assists in nine outings. He has made a free throw in every game but one (GWU), hitting 100 percent of his attempts five times.
Senior guard Davon Reed has scored in double digits 11 times this season, including nine straight games. He has grabbed five-plus rebounds in six outings. Reed has hit at least one shot from long range in every game, with multiple threes in nine contests, led by five against FAU. He has multiple threes in five straight games.
Freshman DJ Vasiljevic has drained three-or-more shots from 3-point range in four outings and has hit a three in all but three outings (Florida, Rutgers, FAU).

Milestones for the Canes
600 Victories – Coach Larrañaga is just one win 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 George Mason and now 187 at Miami.
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 1,042 points in 111 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 are at UM.
1,000 Program Wins – The University of Miami men’s basketball program has won 1,001 of its 1,730 games.