Miami Basketball News and Notes: 3/7/16

While the disappointment of Saturday's loss at VT as well as losing out on a share of the Conference Regular Season Title are still fresh, UM must quickly refocus with the ACC Tournament to deal with this week and a shot at improving their March Madness seeding.

Here's the full ACCT Schedule:

Tuesday, March 8

First round

Noon – No. 12 NC State vs. No. 13 Wake Forest (ESPN2/ACC Network)

2 p.m. – No. 11 Florida State vs. No. 14 Boston College (ESPN2/ACC Network)

Wednesday, March 9

Second round

Noon – No. 8 Pitt vs. No. 9 Syracuse (ESPN/ACC Network)

2 p.m. – No. 5 Duke vs. Tuesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)

7 p.m. – No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech (ESPN2/ACC Network)

9 p.m. – No. 6 Virginia Tech vs. Tuesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN2/ACC Network)

Thursday, March 10

Quarterfinals

Noon – No. 1 North Carolina vs. Wednesday noon winner (ESPN/ACC Network)

2 p.m. – No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Wednesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)

7 p.m. – No. 2 Virginia vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)

9 p.m. – No. 3 Miami vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner (ESPN/ACC Network)

Friday, March 11

Semifinals

7 p.m. – Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN/ACC Network)

9 p.m. – Thursday evening winners (ESPN/ACC Network)

Saturday, March 12

Championship

9 p.m. – Friday evening winners (ESPN/ACC Network)

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The 'Canes will likely face Virginia Tech again, or Florida State.

At this point in the season, neither young team will be easy out.

But on a neutral court and being more well rested (given the double bye) than the Hokies or the FSU/BC winner they should be able to get to the semifinals where UVA and/or Clemson/GT will be waiting.

Again I like their odds.

Given Coach L and staff a lot of credit for bringing the to team to George Mason's facility to practice (a short commute from Blacksburg) for the week.

They should be ready to roll.

Larrañaga ACC Coach of the Year

On Sunday, Coach L was honored by the ACC Media as the Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in 4 seasons.

Well deserved.

Full Awards Below:

015-16 ACSMA All-ACC Teams

(First-place votes, followed by total points)

All-Atlantic Coast Conference

First Team

Brice Johnson, Sr., North Carolina      51      *255

Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia  51      *255

Cat Barber, Jr., NC State       48      249

Grayson Allen, So., Duke        47      247

Jaron Blossomgame, Jr., Clemson 32      213

Second Team

Michael Gbinije, Sr., Syracuse  8       155

Sheldon McClellan, Sr., Miami   6       136

Demetrius Jackson, Jr., Notre Dame      3       130

Brandon Ingram, Fr., Duke       4       129

Damion Lee, Sr., Louisville     1       90

Third Team

Marcus Georges-Hunt, Sr., Georgia Tech  -       76

Anthony Gill, Sr., Virginia     -       70

Zach Auguste, Sr., Notre Dame   -       45

Michael Young, Jr., Pittsburgh  -       37

Angel Rodriguez, Sr., Miami     3       35

Honorable Mention:

Justin Jackson, North Carolina; Tonye Jekiri, Miami; Zach LeDay, Virginia Tech; Chinanu Onuaku, Louisville; Marcus Paige, North Carolina; London Perrantes, Virginia; Devin Thomas, Wake Forest.

All-ACC Freshman Team

Brandon Ingram, Duke    *51

Dwayne Bacon, Florida State     50

Malik Beasley, Florida State    49

Malachi Richardson, Syracuse    34

Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest    28

All-ACC Defensive Team

Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia  49

Tonye Jekiri, Sr., Miami        39

Michael Gbinije, Sr., Syracuse  36

Landry Nnoko, Sr., Clemson      30

Chinanu Onuaku, So., Louisville 27

ACC Player of the Year

Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia  38

Brice Johnson, Sr., North Carolina      9

Cat Barber, Jr., NC State       3

Grayson Allen, So., Duke        1

ACC Freshman of the Year

Brandon Ingram, Duke    48

Dwayne Bacon, Florida State     1

Malik Beasley, Florida State    1

Malachi Richardson, Syracuse    1

ACC Coach of the Year

Jim Larrañaga, Miami    24

Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech    22

Tony Bennett, Virginia  2

Roy Williams, North Carolina    1

Brad Brownell, Clemson  1

Brian Gregory, Georgia Tech     1

ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia  39

Tonye Jekiri, Sr., Miami        9

Michael Gbinije, Sr., Syracuse  1

Marshall Plumlee, Sr., Duke     1

Chinanu Onuaku, So., Louisville 1

ACC Most Improved Player of the Year

Jaron Blossomgame, Jr., Clemson 21

Grayson Allen, So., Duke        15

Cat Barber, Jr., NC State       4

Zach LeDay, Jr., Virginia Tech  4

Ja'Quan Newton, So., Miami      2

Joel Berry, So., North Carolina 2

Marcus Georges-Hunt, Sr., Georgia Tech  1

Dennis Clifford, Sr., Boston College    1

Chinanu Onuaku, So., Louisville 1

ACC Sixth Man of the Year

Isaiah Hicks, Jr., North Carolina       19

Ja'Quan Newton, So., Miami      12

Luke Kennard, Fr., Duke 7

Tyler Lydon, Fr., Syracuse      6

Devon Bookert, Sr., Florida State       6

Sheldon Jeter, Jr., Pittsburgh  1

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Thoughts:

McClellan is right where he belongs on the second team.  He's a tremendous player, and probably merited some consideration for 1st team, but all of the players ahead of him had spectacular years.

Rodriguez is good on the 3rd team as well.  If he played the entire season the way he played the last few weeks, he'd also be on the 1st team.  But the season is a marathon, not a sprint.

Hicks ahead of Newton for 6th Man honors stings a bit.  But given that the UM sophomore missed the last 3 games due to suspension, there's not too much to gripe about.

He also probably deserved more votes for Most Improved.

Jekiri probably deserved Defensive Player of the Year honors, but Brogdon is an excellent two way player.  UM's big man is so important to what they do on that end of the court.  You have to wonder if his low block numbers (1.1 a game) cost him.

The biggest snub to me though, is leaving Davon Reed off the All Defensive team.  Reed is very underrated overall, but especially as a guy who chases around the other team's best perimeter player game in and game out. He's also excellent in help defense.

Additional Thoughts:

• I was shocked to see how poorly the 'Canes handled the Tech zone this weekend.  It wasn't just that the 3 points shots weren't falling, they were also terrible with the ball.  The turnovers were a combination of forcing plays and lack of focus.   They have to be better, because they will surely face some zone this postseason.
• Jekiri is a wonderful overall player.  But his ability to finish in close has especially been an issue of late.  I am not sure if he is a little worn day or maybe banged up, but he really needs to be stronger from 5 feet in. As a freshman his lone offensive output was off lobs.  It seems he has improved every facet of his game, yet strangely deteriorated on that one thing.  The TJ who lit up Utah on Puerto Rico is the one they need going forward. Miami doesn't necessarily need 20 from him in any given contest.  But he needs to make a higher percentage of his inside chances.
• Besides my overall concerns mentioned above, I am stoked to see what this team can do this week and in the Big Tourney.  Coach L was born for these scenarios.  The players need to step up, but I truly believe they are still in position to make a special run, especially given who their leader is.

Stay tuned later in the week for an ACC Tourney Preview right here on SOTU.