Miami Hurricanes Basketball Game 4 Preview: Akron Zips

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The University of Miami Hurricanes basketball team has started the season at 3-0 with a pair of blowout wins and a tough, grind-out game against in-state rival Florida. Angel Rodriguez has stood out as the unquestioned leader of this team and Coach Larranaga said that the team still hasn’t “figured out a way” to get Sheldon McClellan easy buckets. That’s a great thing to here for Miami fans because McClellan is a guy that can score with the best of them, and when the team figures that out, they’re going to be lethal on the offensive side of the ball.

The Miami Hurricanes took down Drexel on Thursday 66-46 and moved on to the semifinals in the Charleston Classic. On Friday, the Canes gear up to play the Akron Zips (2-0).

Akron Scouting Report

After their first game of the season, the team got news that forward Demetrius Treadwell had been suspended indefinitely because of an allegation that he assaulted a female player at the university. Treadwell has not been charged or anything, but with the severity of the matter, Treadwell will not be suiting up with the Zips until the situation is settled.

Treadwell was an All-MAC selection last year and was the Zips’ best player for the last couple of seasons.

With Treadwell not suiting up, the Zips rely on Pat Forsythe to man down the paint for them. Forsythe did a good job against USC in the teams first game of the tournament, and they’re going to need a similar performance for the Zips to upset the Canes.

The other two players to be aware of on this team are Kwan Cheatham Jr. and Noah Robotham.

Cheatham Jr. has been the best player through two games for the Zips, averaging 12 points 6 rebounds 3 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Against USC, Cheatham Jr. had 15 points and 7 rebounds for Akron. Standing at 6’9” 230 pounds, I expect Joe Thomas and Omar Sherman to split the responsibility of dealing with Cheatham Jr. As for Robotham, he’s a 6’1” freshman point guard and Angel Rodriguez should be on him. Robotham is a pretty good three point shooter, so the Canes, who have struggled against the three-point shot, will have to defend that efficiently.

Keys for Miami

Akron is a pretty good defensive team and they like to bang down low, which are two things that Miami may struggle against. I think Miami will be able to score on the Zips, but the rebounding worries me a little bit. Miami rebounded well against Drexel, but they really weren’t a threat on the boards. The Zips have guys like Forsythe and Cheatham Jr. that attack the boards and Miami needs to be ready to bang down low.

Also, the Canes have done a great job defending in the second half, but they’ve been a little sloppy at the start of games. The Zips are a good team and the Canes need to pounce on them early and set the tone early on.

Prediction

The Canes are playing really good ball right now on both ends of the floor. The rebounding (which was my biggest concern coming in this season) has not been a problem three games in, and that’s a good thing. I think Miami will come out strong today and put in another good performance that will propel them to a 4-0 start.

I have the Canes winning this one, 65-58.

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