Miami basketball vs. UConn, Charleston Classic 3rd Place game: Game Info

The Miami basketball team hopes to bounce back in the Charleston Classic third-place game against Connecticut after a 78-58 loss in the semifinals on Friday to Florida.

After a 74-70 victory over Missouri State on Thursday, the Miami basketball team was blown out 78-58 against Florida in the Charleston Classic Semifinals on Friday. The Hurricanes attempt to finish third in Charleston when they play Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies lost 75-74 to Xavier in their semifinal Friday.

The matchup with UConn gives Miami a third chance this season to earn a quality victory. The win over Missouri State should hold up for the Hurricanes in March. The Bears are favored win the title in the always tough Missouri Valley Conference. UConn is 3-2 this season. That includes a Huskies victory over then number 15 Florida.

UConn has a talented roster with four former top 100 signees led by head coach Dan Hurley. The Huskies are picked to finish sixth in its last season in the American before returning to the Big East for the 2020-21 basketball season. UConn is an incredibly balanced team with five players averaging in double figures.

A sixth Huskies player is averaging nine points per game. UConn is 97th in the nation in scoring averaging 78.2 PPG. The Huskies are 260th allowing 72 PPG. Senior guard Christian Vital and junior forward Josh Carlton are the UConn players to watch. Vital is an atypical guard who averages 16.4 PPG, 9.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Carlton is putting up12.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG. UConn is an extremely poor shooting team making just 38.9 percent of their field goal attempts to rank 315th in the nation. Like Florida, the Huskies are good defensively. Opponents are shooting 38 percent against UConn to rank 76th nationally.

"GAME 7 | NOV. 24, 2019 • 1 P.M. ET • CHARLESTON, S.C.Miami Hurricanes (4-2, 0-1 ACC)Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)Record at UM: 179-99 (ninth season), Career Record: 649-433 (36th season)UConn Huskies (3-2, 0-0 AAC)Head Coach: Dan Hurley (Seton Hall, 1996)Record at CT: 19-19 (second season), Career Record: 170-124 (10th season)SERIES HISTORYAll-Time: 8-16 (8-15 since rebirth) | Home: 6-5 | Away: 2-10 | Neutral: 0-1 | Coach L: 1-0 (0-0 at Miami)Last Meeting: 76-63 neutral-site loss (Nov. 23, 2008) | First Meeting: 74-70 home loss (Dec. 27, 1956)BROADCAST INFORMATIONESPN2 • Play-by-Play: Richard Cross • Color: Dameyon Fishback | https://es.pn/2qI4imWWAXY 790 AM • Joe Zagacki | Radio.net/s/WAXYCourtesy HurricaneSports.Com"

Sunday’s game will have an interesting subplot. Miami and UConn have faced each other 24 times as prior Big East rivals. Sunday will be only Jim Larranaga’s second game against the Huskies. Larranaga previously coached against UConn when he was at George Mason during the Patriots memorable 2006 Final Four run.

Miami is receiving excellent play from the perimeter this season. The quartet of junior point guard Chris Lykes, senior Dejan Vasiljevic, redshirt junior Kameron McGusty and freshman Harlond Beverly have been key contributors throughout the season. Beverly is averaging 9.3 PPG off the bench as a freshman.

McGusty leads the Miami basketball team with 14.7 PPG, Vasiljevic is averaging 14.3 and Lykes 13.8. The Hurricanes will try to look for the open man on the perimeter. Miami is 66th nationally making 37.2 percent of their three-point attempts. Vasiljevic leads the Hurricanes making 42.6 percent of his three-point attempts.

Sunday will give the Hurricanes a good chance against a good UConn team on national television for those not watching the NFL on Sunday afternoon. After the Miami football team lost to FIU on Saturday night the Hurricanes basketball team could be the perfect cure for football hangover from an embarrassing loss.