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Louisville at Miami basketball to open the season: Game Info

By Alan Rubenstein

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 24: Chris Lykes #2 of the Miami Hurricanes drives to the basket while being defended by Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals during the second half of the game at The Watsco Center on January 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 24: Chris Lykes #2 of the Miami Hurricanes drives to the basket while being defended by Dwayne Sutton #24 of the Louisville Cardinals during the second half of the game at The Watsco Center on January 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images) /
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The Miami basketball team will play its toughest season opener in recent memory when they host fifth-ranked Louisville at the Watsco Center Tuesday night.

The Louisville Miami basketball game will be the first televised by the ACC Network. The ACC Network made its debut in August. The Hurricanes have arguably the toughest season opener in college basketball. The top teams in the nation, Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke are convened in Chicago at the Champions Classic.

Louisville is next on that list at number five. It gives the Miami basketball program a very early season opportunity to gauge where they are. The Hurricanes are not 100 percent. Graduate transfer forward Keith Stone is out until next month. Junior forward Deng Gak will be playing his first game in nearly a year.

Stone tore his ACL with Florida in January and Gak suffered a season-ending knee injury with the Hurricanes in December 2018. Miami will have a perimeter-oriented lineup through most of the season and far more depth than they had it 2018-19. Senior Dejan Vasiljevic and juniors Chris Lykes and Kam McGusty will lead Miami.

Lykes is coming off an outstanding season for Miami. The Washington D.C. area native led the Hurricanes in scoring and assists. Lykes only played 12 minutes in the exhibition victory over Flagler because of a knee contusion. He is expected to be healthy and ready for Louisville. McGusty will be making his Miami debut.

McGusty is a redshirt junior who sat out the 2018-19 season after sitting out following his transfer from Oklahoma. In two seasons McGusty averaged 8.4 points per game and shot 34.3 percent on three-point attempts. McGusty showed off his scoring ability against Flagler leading Miami with 20 points.

"Game Information:GAME 1 | NOV. 5, 2019 • 6:30 P.M. ET • CORAL GABLES, FLA.Louisville Cardinals (0-0)Head Coach: Chris Mack (Xavier, 1992)Record at UL: 20-14 (second season), Career Record: 235-111 (11th season)Miami Hurricanes (0-0)Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)Record at UM: 175-97 (ninth season), Career Record: 645-431 (36th season)Information Courtesy Hurricane Sports"

Redshirt junior center Rodney Miller is almost unrecognizable for Miami. Miller lost 50 pounds in the offseason and will give the Hurricanes a presence in the low post. He had 16 points, five rebounds, three blocks and shot 8-12 from the floor against Flagler. Miller will be supported by Gak and Sam Waardenburg down low.

Louisville is led by the ACC Preseason Player of the Year Jordan Nwora. Nwora averaged 17.6 PPG and 7.6 RPG in 2018-19. Shutting down the 6’7 225 pound forward will be a difficult task for Miami who is thin on the wing. McGusty seems to be the most likely Miami player to match up with Nwora.

McGusty will give up two inches and over 30 pounds. Against talented wings, Miami will miss Stone. The Miami basketball program will also debut three talented freshmen. Guards Isaiah Wong and Harlond Beverly and forward Anthony Walker will make their debuts against Louisville.

"SERIES HISTORYAll-Time: 4-11 | Home: 4-5 | Away: 0-5 | Neutral: 0-1 | Coach L: 2-4 (2-4 at Miami)Last Meeting: 90-73 road loss (Jan. 6, 2019) | First Meeting: 73-60 home loss (Jan. 5, 1951)BROADCAST INFORMATIONACC Network • Play-by-Play: Steve Schlanger • Color: Cory Alexander | https://es.pn/2JrKZ7SWQAM 560 AM • Joe Zagacki | Danny Rabinowitz | WQAM.Radio.comWVUM 90.5 FM • Brendan Reilly | Josh White | WVUM.org"

Louisville has owned the overall series with Miami. The series has not been as onesided in ACC play. The Cardinals have won four out of the six meetings with Miami since Louisville joined the ACC. Miami had a 30-15 lead in the first half last season at Louisville before wearing down in a 90-73 loss.

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With the addition of the three freshmen, plus McGusty and the return of Miller and Gak the Miami basketball roster will have a lot more depth in 2019-20. The key will be limiting Nwora. Nwora scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half to rally the Cardinals to a 41-40 deficit by halftime. Vasiljevic scored 19 and Lykes 18.

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