The Miami basketball team returns home after blowout losses at North Carolina and Duke last week. The Hurricanes have dropped six of their last seven games.
After an impressive 9-3 start to the 2019-20 season, the Miami basketball team has dropped six of their last seven. The Hurricanes have been decimated by injuries. Playing without starting guards Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty and key backup forward Keith Stone, Miami was pummeled 94-71 on Saturday at North Carolina.
The loss to the Tar Heels was not as close the decisive margin would indicate. Miami trailed 51-27 at halftime and North Carolina cruised in the final 20 minutes. North Carolina dominated the first half. The Tar Heels shot 55 percent, made 6-14 three-point attempts. outrebounded Miami 21-12 and had a 17-3 advantage in assists.
The Hurricanes can put Saturday’s game behind them and hope that playing at home will allow them to break a four-game losing streak. Virginia Tech enters Tuesday night’s game under first-year head coach Mike Young 14-6 overall, 5-4 in the ACC. Young came moved to Blacksburg after winning 299 games in 17 years with Wofford.
Virginia Tech has been a good defensive team in 2019-20. The Hokies allow 60.3 points per game. That ranks 40th nationally. The Hokies defense has ticked up to 66.9 PPG in ACC games to rank seventh in the conference. A slower-paced game will benefit Miami. Lykes, McGusty and Stone are all game-time decisions.
Miami coach Jim Larranaga says Chris Lykes and Kam McGusty will be game-time decisions against #Hokies on Tuesday :"We really won't know that til tomorrow night."
— Mike Barber (@RTD_MikeBarber) January 27, 2020
"GAME 20 | JAN. 28, 2020 • 8 P.M. ET • CORAL GABLES, FLA.Virginia Tech Hokies (14-6, 5-4 ACC)Head Coach: Mike Young (Emory & Henry, 1986)Record at VT: 14-6 (first season), Career Record: 313-250 (18th season)Miami Hurricanes (10-9, 2-7 ACC)Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)Record at UM: 185-106 (ninth season), Career Record: 655-440 (36th season)Courtesy HurricaneSports.Com"
Freshmen Harlond Beverly and Isaiah Wong starting in place of Lykes and McGusty needed the opening 20 minutes to get adjusted against North Carolina. Wong scored a career-high 19 points against the Tar Heels. Seventeen of those came in the second half. That was more than double his previous career-high.
If the Hurricanes get scoring from Wong and Beverly off the bench in the final 11 games of the regular season once Lykes, McGusty and Stone get healthy the Miami basketball team should finish the season strong. The back half of the ACC schedule for the Miami basketball team is not as challenging as it has been.
"SERIES HISTORYAll-Time: 22-17 (22-17 since rebirth) | Home: 11-5 | Away: 7-9 | Neutral: 4-3 | Coach L: 12-7 (12-7 at Miami)Streak: Lost 3 | Last Meeting: 71-56 neutral-site loss (March 13, 2019) | First Meeting: 85-74 road loss (Jan. 10, 2001)BROADCAST INFORMATIONACC Network • Play-by-Play: Rich Hollenberg • Color: Cory Alexander • Reporter: Katie George | WatchESPNWQAM 560 AM • Joe Zagacki • Danny Rabinowitz | WQAM.Radio.comWMYM 990 AM • Broderick Zerpa • Jose Martinez • Lorenzo Berry • Daniel Ramirez | Spanish RadioWVUM 90.5 FM • Philip Capuzzi • Cal Friedman | WVUM.org"
Miami has home and homes with the ACC’s two best teams, Duke and Louisville behind them. The Hurricanes play at Florida State early next month. After playing their second game this season against the Seminoles Miami does not face a team ranked in the top 25 in their final seven games of the regular season.
Miami’s next game following Tuesday night is a Superbowl Sunday matinee at Pittsburgh. The game against the Panthers begins a stretch of five of their next eight games on the road. If the Hurricanes cannot get healthy they will likely miss the postseason for the second straight season.