Game Day: Miami at Virginia - Feb. 20

MiamiatNo. 18/19 Virginia

Setting the Scene
Date: Monday, Feb. 20, 2017
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: John Paul Jones Arena | Charlottesville, Va.

-/rv Miami Hurricanes (18-8, 8-6 ACC)
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga
Record at Miami: 136-65, sixth season
ACC Record at Miami: 62-40
Career Record: 606-399, 33rd season

18/19 Virginia Cavaliers (18-8, 8-6 ACC)
Head Coach: Tony Bennett
Record at Virginia: 183-80, eighth year
Career Record: 252-113, 11th year

Broadcasts
TV: ESPN – Sean McDonough, Doris Burke, Allison Williams
Radio: 940 WINZ – Joe Zagacki
Internet: ACC Network Extra – http://es.pn/2lMpLYa

Series
All-time: 11-9 Since rebirth in 1985-86: 9-9
Home: 7-1
Away: 3-6
Neutral: 1-2
Under Coach Larrañaga: 2-5
Coach L all-time vs. Virginia: 2-6
Current streak: Virginia won 1.
Last matchup: March 11, 2016. No. 4 UVa def. No. 11 Miami 73-68.
Last Miami win: Feb. 22, 2016. No. 12/11 Miami def. No. 3 UVa 64-61.

Polls
Miami – AP: NR / USA Today: RV (7) / RPI: 54 / KenPom: 36 / Warren Nolan: 50
Virginia – AP: 14 / USA Today: 15 / RPI: 15 / KenPom: 3 / Warren Nolan: 16

Weather
Coral Gables, Fla.: High 80 / Low 68
Charlottesville, Va.: High 69 / Low 40

The Series – Miami vs. Virginia
Miami is 11-9 against Virginia all-time. The Canes are 2-5 against Virginia when the Cavaliers are ranked in the AP top 25.
The Hurricanes are looking for their first win at Virginia since Feb. 26, 2009. UM’s other two wins at UVa were Jan. 12, 2005 and Dec. 10, 1966.
Each of the last three meetings between these two teams have come with both teams ranked in the top 15.
Miami is 6-2 in their all-time series with Virginia when scoring 70 points or more.
Last season Davon Reed scored 32 total points in the first two games against the Cavaliers, but then was held to just three points in the final meeting. Kamari Murphy averaged 6.0 rebounds in the three matchups and Ja’Quan Newton scored 31 points combined.

Against Virginia Since the Arrival of Coach L in 2011-12 …
– Miami is 2-5 against Virginia, playing the Cavaliers only once per year in the first four seasons.
– Miami has led at the half twice, in the Canes’ 54-50 home victory in 2013 and the 64-61 home victory on Feb. 22, 2016.
– UM shot better than UVa from the field three times, 46.8 to 38.5 percent, in the 2013 victory, 45.7 percent to 43.1 percent on Feb. 22, 2016 and 54.8 percent to 52.0 percent on March 11, 2016.
– The Canes have only once shot a better 3-point percentage than the Cavaliers (50.0% to 36.4%), despite hitting more shots from long range in two of the seven matchups.

Coach L Ties to Virginia
Coach Jim Larrañaga was an assistant coach at Virginia from 1979-1986, under the leadership of Terry Holland. In those seven seasons, Larrañaga helped the Cavaliers to five NCAA appearances: Final Four twice (1981, 1984), Elite Eight once, Sweet 16 once and Round of 64 once, as well as two NIT appearances, including the Championship and Quarterfinal round. They also won three ACC Championships and finished in the Top 5 of the rankings during his tenure.
After being an assistant at Virginia, Coach L set a goal to become a head coach in the ACC, which he achieved when he arrived at UM in April of 2011.

Coach L Against the ACC
In Larrañaga’s six seasons in the ACC, Miami has at least a .500 record against 11 league opponents. UM has a .500 record or better at home against 13 teams, and on the road against nine ACC squads. The Hurricanes have won a road game against all but three league opponents: Virginia (0-3), Wake Forest (0-3) and Louisville (0-2).

Individual Numbers Against Ranked Teams
In Miami’s six games against AP top-25 teams this year, four Hurricanes are putting up stout numbers against the top teams in the nation. Ja’Quan Newton leads all scorers with 15.5 ppg, followed by Davon Reed’s 14.3 ppg and Bruce Brown’s 13.8 ppg. Kamari Murphy is pulling down 9.2 rpg in ranked matchups.

Ranked Opponents Ahead for Miami
Three of Miami’s final four 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. 12/14 Duke (2/25) next weekend. UM faces two ranked teams on their respective home courts: No. 14/15 Virginia (2/20) and No. 17/18 Florida State (3/4).
Of Miami’s four remaining games, two are against teams ranked above the Canes in the current ACC standings: Duke (10-4) and Florida State (9-5). Virginia (8-6) is tied with Miami, and one is against Virginia Tech (7-7), which is ranked lower with Miami.

The ACC Gauntlet
Miami opened the 2016-17 conference slate with four of six games on the road and will end the season with three of four away from home, which includes road games at No. 14/15 Virginia and No. 17/18 Florida State, while playing No. 12/14 Duke at home.

The Last Time Out …
Against Clemson on Feb. 18, four Hurricanes scored in double digits – Murphy 15, Reed 14, Izundu 12 and Lawrence Jr. 10 – and everyone who played scored at least five points.
UM tallied a season ACC high 19 assists, with three players recording five handouts: Lawrence Jr., Reed and Brown. Six of seven guys who played against Clemson recorded an assist.
All seven Hurricanes recorded a rebound, while four had four-or-more: Murphy 9, Reed 7, Brown 5, Lawrence Jr. 4.
Miami held Clemson to make just three of 17 (17.6%) shots from three. The Tigers were 0-of-8 in the first half.
UM hit at least half of its shots for the second game in a row and for the third time in the last five outings.
Miami had 19 assists on 28 made shots.
The Canes have had single-digit turnovers in two of the last three games after having less than 10 in just three of the first 23 outings.

Canes Facing Hungry Teams
Against Virginia, Miami will play its 10th ACC game against a team coming off of a loss. Miami (5-4) won at Syracuse, at Pitt, vs. Boston College, at NC State and vs. Virginia Tech, but lost at Wake Forest, at Duke, vs. Florida State and at Louisville after the opponent had lost its previous game.