A stretch of five games against ranked teams in their last 11 contests ends for the Miami basketball team on Saturday at Florida State. The Hurricanes lost the previous four games to Duke twice, Louisville and the Seminoles.
Injuries to the junior backcourt of Chris Lykes and Kam McGusty have hindered the Miami basketball team as the Hurricanes have lost two straight games and six of their last seven. Two of those losses during that stretch have come against then number eight Duke and then number nine Florida State.
The Hurricanes had Lykes and McGusty against the Blue Devils and Seminoles. Lykes has not played since the 83-79 overtime loss to Florida State last month. McGusty has missed three of the past four games. Freshmen Isaiah Wong and Harlond Beverly have played well in the absence of Lykes and McGusty.
Florida State is in the middle of one of its best seasons in program history. The eighth ranked Seminoles enter the game Saturday against the Hurricanes 18-3 overall, 9-2 and tied for second with Duke in the ACC. Florida State enters Saturday with wins in 12 of their last 13 games and 18 of their last 20.
Lykes and McGusty did play against North Carolina State on Wednesday after being touted as game-time decisions. Their status for Saturday has not been released yet. Miami is going to have a shorter bench than Florida State has. The Hurricanes need Lykes and McGusty back to have a chance at the upset.
"GAME 23 | FEB. 8, 2020 • 12 P.M. ET • TALLAHASSEE, FLA.Miami Hurricanes (11-11, 3-9 ACC)Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)Record at UM: 186-108 (ninth season), Career Record: 6#8 Florida State Seminoles (19-3, 9-2 ACC)#8 Florida State Seminoles (19-3, 9-2 ACC)Head Coach: Leonard Hamilton (UT-Martin, 1971)Record at FS: 367-221 (18th season), Career Record: 567-431 (32nd season)Courtesy HurricaneSports.Com"
Florida State has one of the deepest teams in college basketball. Eleven players average 9.5 minutes per game or more. Contrast that to three Miami players averaging over 30 minutes per game and six over 20 MPG. Redshirt junior forward Sam Waardenburg is averaging 29.3 MPG.
Without Lykes and McGusty Miami will likely have a seven-man rotation against Florida State. If they are healthy a nine-man rotation would be able to compete with the Seminoles depth. Miami has proven it can win on the road with victories over Central Florida, Illinois and Clemson, plus a victory over Temple in Brooklyn.
"SERIES HISTORYAll-Time: 37-48 (15-25 since rebirth) | Home: 28-15 | Away: 8-31 | Neutral: 0-2 | Coach L: 8-10 (8-10 at Miami)Streak: Lost 4 | Last Meeting: 83-79 OT home loss (1/18/20) | First Meeting: 80-61 home win (12/19/50)BROADCAST INFORMATIONACC Network • Play-by-Play: Dave O’Brien • Color: Jordan Cornette • Reporter: Katie George | WatchESPNWQAM 560 AM • Joe Zagacki | WQAM.Radio.comWVUM 90.5 FM • Alex Bitchatchi • Danny La Rose | WVUM.org"
Florida State has won six of the last seven meetings against the Miami basketball team including four in a row. The Hurricanes’ only victory in that time span was 80-74 at the Watsco Center in 2018. Miami last won in Tallahassee 67-65 in 2016. This is the last game for Miami this season against a team currently ranked.