The Miami basketball team will hope to win its first ACC game of the season when they host Clemson on Saturday afternoon.
The Miami basketball team will play its third ACC game of the season Saturday when they host Clemson. Miami lost 70-55 to Pittsburgh in their ACC season opener on December 16. The Hurricanes lost their first road game of 2020-21, 80-78, at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, as the Miami football team played in the Cheeze-it Bowl.
Starting senior guards have battled injuries for most of the early season. Chris Lykes has missed the last five games with an ankle injury and guard Kameron McGusty the last four with a hamstring. Sophomore guard Isaiah Wong is averaging 18.6 points per game, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals this season.
Clemson travels to Coral Gables with a 7-1 record. All but two of the Tigers wins and their lone loss to Virginia Tech came against teams from power five conferences. Clemson defeated 18th ranked Florida State on Tuesday. The Tigers defeated their other common opponent with Miami, Purdue, in the second game of the season.
Michelle Kaufman of the Miami Herald reported on Tuesday night that McGusty has “resumed limited practices.” The absences of Lykes and McGusty have been exasperated by the news that redshirt senior center Rodney Miller was lost for the season earlier this week with a knee injury.
"GAME 8 | JAN. 2, 2021 • 2 P.M. ET • CORAL GABLES, FLA.Clemson Tigers (7-1, 1-1 ACC)Head Coach: Brad Brownell (DePauw, 1991)Record at CU: 192-143 (11th season), Career Record: 359-228 (19th season)Miami Hurricanes (4-3, 0-2 ACC)Head Coach: Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)Record at UM: 194-116 (10th season), Career Record: 664-450 (37th season)SERIES HISTORYAll-Time: 13-15 (13-12 since rebirth) | Home: 8-3 | Away: 3-8 | Neutral: 2-4 | Coach L: 14-7 (7-4 at UM)Streak: Lost 1 | Last Meeting: 69-64 neutral-site loss (March 11, 2020) | First Meeting: 98-96 neutral-site loss (Jan. 5, 1956)Courtesy MiamiHurricanes.Com"
Miami head coach Jim Larranaga and Clemson head coach Brad Brownell have coached against each other since the Tigers coach was at North Carolina-Wilmington from 2002-06 and the Hurricanes boss at George Mason. Clemson and Miami played one of the last college basketball games of the 2019-20 season.
The Tigers defeated the Hurricanes in the ACC Tournament one day before college basketball shutdown and canceled dozens of conference tournaments ahead of the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament. Miami won the two prior meetings to last March. On New Years Eve 2019 and during the 2018-19 regular season.
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With the Miami football season over, the Hurricanes basketball team will be able to attack the full focus of the fanbase. The Miami basketball staff likes their roster when healthy. Miami will need to get Lykes and McGusty back or it could be too late to make a late-season rally for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2018.
Miami will be playing its seventh home game out of nine this season. The Hurricanes host North Carolina on Tuesday before playing five of its next seven on the road. Miami will host Louisville on January 16 and Notre Dame on January 24. The game against UNC is one of five for Miami on ESPN this season.