Game Day: Virginia Tech at Miami - Feb. 8

Setting the Scene
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017
Time: 9 p.m.
Location: Watsco Center | Coral Gables, Fla.

-/RV Miami Hurricanes (15-7, 5-5 ACC)
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga
Record at Miami: 133-64, sixth season
ACC Record at Miami: 59-39
Career Record: 603-398, 33rd season

Virginia Tech Hokies (16-6, 5-5 ACC)
Head Coach: Buzz Williams
Record at VT: 47-43, third season
Career Record: 200-129, 10th season

Broadcasts
TV: RSN – Wes Durham, Cory Alexander
Affiliates: http://theacc.co/mbb17rsn0208b
FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Carolinas, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic Plus, YES, NESN, ROOT Sports Pittsburgh, SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports Detroit Plus, FOX Sports North Plus, FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, FOX Sports West, ROOT Sports Rocky Mtn., ROOT Sports Northwest
Radio: 560 WQAM – Joe Zagacki
Internet: ACC Network Extra – http://es.pn/2k1c7ws

Series
All-time: 19-13 Since rebirth in 1985-86: 19-13
Home: 9-4
Away: 6-7
Neutral: 4-2
Under Coach Larrañaga: 9-3
Coach L all-time vs. Virginia Tech: 9-3
Current streak: Miami won 1.
Last matchup: March 10, 2016. No. 11 Miami won 88-82.
Last Virginia Tech win: March 5, 2016. VT def. No. 7 Miami 77-62.

Polls
Miami – AP: NR / USA Today: RV (4) / RPI: 55 / KenPom: 39 / Warren Nolan: 55
VT – AP: NR / USA Today: NR / RPI: 40 / KenPom: 55 / Warren Nolan: 44

Weather
Coral Gables, Fla.: High 83 / Low 67
Blacksburg, Va.: High 57 / Low 39

The Series – Miami vs. Virginia Tech
Miami is 19-13 all-time against Virginia Tech, including 9-3 with Jim Larrañaga at the helm.
The Hurricanes have won six of the last seven matchups against the Hokies and were 2-1 against them last season.
In last year’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal matchup, Miami defeated Virginia Tech, 88-82. Davon Reed scored 17 points and grabbed three steals while Ja’Quan Newton dropped 10 points and recorded four assists.
Miami is 9-4 all-time at home against Virginia Tech.
Kamari Murphy grabbed 10 rebounds in Miami’s, 65-49, win over VT on Feb. 17 of last season.

Home Court Advantage
Miami has won 23 of its last 25 games at the Watsco Center, with a 10-2 mark this season, added to 13 straight victories in the 2015-16 campaign. In six seasons under Coach L, Miami is 73-22 overall at home, 40-7 in non-conference play at home and 34-15 in ACC action at home. In both 2012-13 and 2015-16, the Canes had just one loss overall at the Watsco Center.

R33D from Downtown
Senior guard Davon Reed drained 7-of-10 shots from long range at NC State, setting his career high in threes made, on his way to a career-best 26 points.
Reed has knocked down 44 shots from long range in the past 14 games. He hit seven at NC State and five against both Duke and FAU. For the year, he is 57-138 (41.3%) from downtown, hitting multiple 3-pointers in 16 outings, including three-or-more 10 times.
Reed has hit at least one three in every game this season (22 games). In 2011-12, Malcolm Grant tied Jack McClinton’s school record (set in 2008-09) of 35 straight games hitting a 3-point shot.

Izundu Breaks Out At NC State
Sophomore Ebuka Izundu recorded 16 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in 27 minutes at NC State on Feb. 4. He hit 6-of-9 of his shots from the field and was 4-of-5 at the line.
Prior to the game against the Wolfpack, Izundu totaled 13 points, 28 rebounds (3.1/g), six blocks (0.7/g) and had no steals in the first nine ACC games of the season. He was 6-of-16 from the field and 1-of-4 at the line in the first nine league outings.
As a rookie, Izundu totaled 10 points, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals in his six ACC appearances. He was 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-6 at the line in his first year with the Canes.

Scoring from the Hurricanes
This season Miami is 14-1 overall and 5-1 in ACC play when scoring 70+ points. UM has scored fewer than 60 points in five of its seven losses. Three Hurricanes are scoring in double digits: Davon Reed – 15.8 ppg, Ja’Quan Newton – 15.0 ppg and Bruce Brown – 12.1 ppg. Those three guys account for 59.0 percent (942 of 1597 points scored) of Miami’s scoring. In league play, Reed (17.7), Newton (14.5) and Brown (14.0) provide 65.7 percent (462-703) of Miami’s points.

Canes Facing Hungry Teams
Heading into the game against Virginia Tech, Miami will play its eighth ACC game against a team coming off of a loss. Miami (4-3) won at Syracuse, at Pitt, vs. Boston College and at NC State, but lost at Wake Forest, at Duke and vs. Florida State after previous losses.

New Roles for the Hurricanes
Of Miami’s nine available scholarship players, four are freshmen who did not play for UM last season, and only three of the returners played significant minutes for the Canes.
Miami’s lack of experience not only equates to minutes played, but also to experience at their current position. Every player on the team has a new role this season, except senior forward Kamari Murphy. Ja’Quan Newton was the 2015-16 sixth man, and is now the Canes’ starting point guard. Davon Reed was a third option offensively as a junior, but is now a primary option.

Ranked Opponents Ahead for Miami
Four of Miami’s final eight regular season games will be played against teams currently listed in national polls. The Canes, who are receiving votes in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, host No. 18/19 Duke (2/25) later this season. UM faces four ranked teams on their respective home courts: No. 4 Louisville (2/11), No. 12/13 Virginia (2/20) and No. 14/15 Florida State (3/4).
Of Miami’s eight remaining games, five are against teams ranked above the Canes in the current ACC standings: Virginia (7-3), Florida State (8-3), Louisville (7-3), Duke (6-4), Georgia Tech (5-6). Two are against Virginia Tech (5-5), who is tied with Miami. The one team ranked below Miami is Clemson (3-7).

Reed in Miami’s Career Record Books
In his fourth year at The U, senior Davon Reed is making his way into the UM career record books. Reed is currently seventh in 3-point field goals made (180), sixth in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal made (22) and ninth in minutes played (3,275).

Quick Hits – Team
Miami has made six-or-more shots from three in every ACC game but one (FSU), after doing so in only eight of 12 non-conference outings.
For the season, the Canes have shot better than 45 percent in 14 games, and five times in ACC play.
UM’s defense has held opponents to shoot less than 30 percent from downtown in 10 games (three in ACC).
Miami has forced double-digit turnovers in 17 outings.
Miami has outrebounded all but five of its opponents – Stanford (-4), GWU (-1), Syracuse (-4), Wake Forest (-2) and Florida State (-1).
Twelve of Miami’s 15 victories are by a double-digit margin. The only single-digit margin games were +1 vs. Boston College and +8 vs. GW.

What’s Trending, Individually
Freshman guard Bruce Brown has scored in double digits in five of the last seven outings, including his 30 points against UNC. He has grabbed at least four rebounds in 20 of 22 games, has eight-or-more in seven outings and pulled down double-digit boards in two contests. He has at least two assists in 16 contests, with five-plus in nine outings.
Freshman Dewan Huell has scored in nine straight games and has a rebound in seven straight outings.
Sophomore Ebuka Izundu has multiple rebounds in all but two games this season.
Sophomore guard Anthony Lawrence, Jr., has swiped at least one steal in each game but eight, and had three-or-more in five outings. He has five-plus rebounds in eight of the last 15 outings. He has hit a 3-pointer in 13 games.
Redshirt senior forward Kamari Murphy has recorded a pair of double-doubles (vs. Wofford, vs. NC State). He has pulled down double-digit boards in seven outings. He has a block in six of the last nine games.
Junior point guard Ja’Quan Newton has recorded five 20-point games this season. He has scored 11-plus points in every game but three (WFU-9, FAU-8, Syracuse-8). Newton has three steals in a trio of games and has dished out three-or-more assists in 14 outings. He has made at least one free throw in every game but two (GW and Pitt).
Senior guard Davon Reed has scored in double digits 19 times this season, including 17 of the last 18 games. He has scored 20-plus in five outings this season. He has grabbed five-plus rebounds in 10 games. Reed has hit at least one shot from long range in every game, with multiple threes in 16 contests, led by seven at NC State and five against Duke and FAU. He has multiple threes in 12 of the last 14 games. He has three-plus assists in 10 games.
Freshman DJ Vasiljevic has drained three-or-more shots from 3-point range in five games and has hit a three in all but five outings (Florida, Rutgers, FAU, Duke, NC State).

.nd {height: 50px;

}

th {color: #ffffff;}