Canes vs. UNC: Big challenge on tap
Game Day: Miami vs. No. 6 UNC - March 9
Setting the Scene
Date: Thursday, March 9, 2017
Time: 12 p.m.
Location: Barclays Center | Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 9 seed Miami Hurricanes (21-10, 10-8 ACC)
Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga
Record at Miami: 139-67, sixth season
ACC Record at Miami: 64-42
Career Record: 609-401, 33rd season
No. 1 seed, No. 6 North Carolina Tar Heels (26-6, 14-4 ACC)
Head Coach: Roy Williams
Record at North Carolina: 391-114, 14th season
Career Record: 809-215, 29th season
Miami in the ACC Tournament
Titles: 1, 2013
All-Time Record: 14-11
Coach L Record: 8-4
Quarterfinals: 3-7
Semifinals: 1-1
Finals: 1-0
Record as #9 Seed: 2-2
Record vs. #1 Seed: 0-3
Record vs. North Carolina: 1-1
Broadcasts
TV: ESPN - Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas, and Allison and Allison Williams
ACC Network - Tim Brando, Mike Gminski and Jason Capel
Radio: 560 WQAM - Joe Zagacki
Internet: Watch ESPN - http://es.pn/2mqauIG
Polls (as of 3/8)
Miami - AP: NR / USA Today: NR / RPI: 41 / KenPom: 29 / Warren Nolan: 38
UNC - AP: 6 / USA Today: 6 / RPI: 4 / KenPom: 4 / Warren Nolan: 4
Weather
Coral Gables, Fla.: High 82 / Low 68
Brooklyn, N.Y.: 56/36
Chapel Hill, N.C.: 74/49
The Series: Miami vs. North Carolina
In the six years since Coach L's arrival for the 2011-12 season, Miami (5-4) and Duke (8-4) are the only two teams with a winning record over North Carolina.
Miami is a combined 10-7 against Carolina (5-4) and Duke (5-3) under Coach L. Notre Dame (8-7) is the only other ACC school to have a combined winning record against the Blue Devils and Tar Heels in those six years. In the six years prior to Coach L's arrival, Miami was 2-17 overall against North Carolina (1-8) and Duke (1-9).
The Hurricanes have won five of the last seven meetings with North Carolina.
On Feb. 9, 2013, Miami tied a program record by hitting 15 3-pointers in its 87-81 victory over UNC.
Miami won the ACC Tournament in 2013, defeating North Carolina, 87-77, in the championship game, for the Canes’ first ACC title. UM also finished the 2013 regular season atop the standings.
Jim Larrañaga and George Mason bested Roy Williams and UNC, 65-60, in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament on GMU's way to the Final Four.
Jack McClinton set Miami’s record for most points in ACC game when he scored 35 in 2009 against North Carolina.
Miami's first game in the Watsco Center was Jan. 4, 2003, a 64-61 overtime victory over the Tar Heels.
Canes From New York
Head Coach Jim Larrañaga, associate head coach Chris Caputo and forwards Kamari Murphy and Rodney Miller have returned to their home city of New York for the ACC Tournament.
Coach L grew up in the Park Chester neighborhood of The Bronx, playing on the courts "down the east." He played high school basketball at Archbishop Molloy, for legendary coach Jack Curran. Being from The Bronx, Larrañaga took the city bus to school every day, a trip of 90 minutes.
Caputo is from Elmhurst, N.Y., and also attended Archbishop Molloy, playing for Coach Curran.
Murphy graduated from Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, the same school that produced Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson. He averaged 17 points and more than 10 rebounds per game as senior and helped lead Railsplitters to PSAL Class-AA title game as senior and Brooklyn regular-season crown and borough title.
Miller is from Laurelton, N.Y., but played high school ball at Oak Hill (Va.).
Murphy Returns to Brooklyn
In his first game played in Brooklyn since his prep days at Lincoln High, senior Kamari Murphy notched his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Syracuse.
The Hurricanes in the ACC Tournament
The Canes are the No. 9 seed for the fourth time in UM history.
Miami last faced North Carolina in the 2013 ACC Tournament, when the Canes defeated the Tar Heels, 87-77, to win the ACC Championship.
The Canes are playing in the ACC Tournament for the 13th time.
Miami is 14-11 in ACC Tournament play.
Under head coach Jim Larrañaga, Miami is 8-4 in the ACC Tournament in just five seasons. The Hurricanes were 6-7 in the first seven years in the league, including two seasons (2005, 2009) without a victory in the ACC Tournament.
UM has won at least one game in the tournament in 11 of 13 seasons, including eight straight.
UM has won seven of its last 10 games in the ACC Tournament after going 3-0 in 2013 and 1-1 in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Miami won the ACC Tournament in 2013, defeating North Carolina, 87-77, in the championship game, for the Canes’ first ACC title. UM also finished the 2013 regular season atop the standings.
Miami’s three wins in 2013 are the most by the Canes in the ACC Tournament.
Miami’s highest seed was No. 1, in 2013.
Since Miami joined the ACC in 2004-05, four teams have won both the regular season and tournament, once by Miami (2013) and Virginia (2014), twice by Duke (2006, 2009) and three times by North Carolina (2007, 2008 and 2016).
Since 2012, four teams from outside the state of North Carolina have won the ACC Championship: Florida State, Miami, Virginia and Notre Dame. Prior to 2012, a team from North Carolina won the previous seven, and 17 of the past 18.
Recapping the 2013 ACC Tournament and 2013 Championship Game
ACC All-Tournament Teams and MVP
Shane Larkin was named the ACC Tournament MVP, while Durand Scott was listed on the first team and Trey McKinney Jones and Julian Gamble were on the second team.
Larkin averaged 23.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.3 steals, while shooting 51.1 percent from the field, 45.0 percent from distance and 88.9 percent at the line. Scott averaged 15.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists. Gamble posted 8.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 1.7 bpg, while McKinney Jones put up 11.7 ppg, hitting eight shots from distance.
Championship vs. North Carolina - Game Recap From 2013
Miami claimed its first conference tournament championship in school history ... Miami became the first school outside of North Carolina since 1985 (GT) to win the ACC outright regular-season and tournament titles in the same season. Miami is also the first ACC school outside of the state of North Carolina to do so ... Shane Larkin was named the ACC All-Tournament MVP ... Larkin and Durand Scott were named to the ACC All-Tournament first team, while Julian Gamble and Trey McKinney Jones were named to the second team ... The Hurricanes improve to 5-18 against North Carolina in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1949-50 season. The Canes have defeated UNC three times this season after losing 10 straight games to the Tar Heels ... The Hurricanes shot 54.4 percent from 3-point range and connected on 12-of-22 3-point attempts, breaking their previous ACC Tournament mark of 10 (recorded against Florida State on March 9, 2012) ... Miami shot 75 percent from the free throw line and has now posted back-to-back games shooting over 70 percent from the free throw line ... Shane Larkin scored a career-high 28 points, surpassing his previous mark of 27 against Jacksonville on Nov. 16, 2012 ... Larkin now has three straight 20-point performances. He has reached double figures in nine consecutive games, and has scored in double figures in all five games played in the tournament (12, 16, 20, 23, 28) ... Trey McKinney Jones recorded a career-high 20 points, as well as connecting on a career-high six 3-pointers. His previous career high was 18 points (and five 3-pointers) against Michigan State on Nov. 28, 2012 ... Rion Brown who finished the game with 12 points and recorded his highest point total since scoring 10 points vs. Virginia on Feb. 19. Brown has scored in double digits five times this year, including two straight games against BC on Feb. 5 and UNC on Feb. 9 ... Brown, who shot 60 percent from the field for the game, has shot better than 43 percent from the field eight times, including 81.8 percent (9-11) at Georgia Tech ... Four Hurricanes finished the game with double digit scoring, Shane Larkin (28), Trey McKinney Jones (20), Rion Brown (12) and Julian Gamble (11).