The Miami basketball team has started 0-3 in the ACC for the first time following their 68-62 loss at Florida State on Wednesday night.
The last time a Miami basketball team began conference play 0-3 was in the Big East during the 2002-03 season. The Hurricanes finished that season 11-17 overall and 4-12 in the conference. It’s tough to imagine this year’s team doing as poorly.
The Hurricanes continued to struggle to play with a seven-man rotation against teams with a much deeper bench. Miami played seven players 14 or more minutes against Florida State. The Seminoles had nine players play 17 minutes or more.
Florida State’s 38-31 rebounding advantage and their ability to shut Miami’s three-point shooting were the difference in the game. The Hurricanes made just four of their 18 three-point attempts. Junior Dejan Vasiljevic made half of those by connecting on two of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
That was far below Vasiljevic’s 43.4 three-point percentage this season. Zach Johnson and Anthony Mack each missed all three of their three-point attempts. Chris Lykes and Anthony Lawrence Jr were 1-3 from long range.
Miami was able to stay in the game in the first half from the free throw line. The Hurricanes made just seven of their 24 field goal attempts in the first half and were 2-10 on three-point attempts. Their 13-15 shooting from the foul line allowed them to trail 33-29 heading to the break.
Florida State seemed to have the game won with a 64-54 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game. An 8-0 Hurricanes run cut the lead to two with 54 seconds remaining. Florida State ran the clock down to 29 seconds. New Williams missed a layup, but a putback by Johnny McWilliams pushed the FSU lead back to four.
The Seminoles closed the game out from there with two free throws by MJ Walker. The loss was Miami’s fifth this season by single digits. Other than the losses to Penn and Louisville, five of the Hurricanes seven losses have been by a total of 20 points. Miami could easily be 14-2, 2-1.
The short bench is hurting the Miami basketball team late in games. The Hurricanes keep fighting though. There has been no sign of quitting at all. Lykes played 35 minutes, Johnson 34 and Lawrence 32 on Wednesday. No one on Florida State played more than 29 minutes. Vasiljevic matched that number.
Opponents ability to keep their players fresh has hindered the Hurricanes down the stretch this season. Lykes continues to shine. He scored 17 points against Florida State and made all six of his free throws. Lawrence with 14 and Ebuka Izundu with 13 points and nine rebounds were the other Miami players in double figures.
Christian Gray with 13 and PJ Savoy with 10 were the only players in double figures for Florida State. Eight Seminoles had at least six points in the victory.
Miami returns home on Saturday to face Wake Forest after a two-game road trip. The Demon Deacons are 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the ACC. Wake lost their first two ACC Games to Georgia Tech and Duke by an average of 17.5 points per game. The Hurricanes should be able to get their first ACC victory of 2019 at home.