The Miami basketball team began the game with an 11-2 lead then bottomed out in an 83-57 blowout loss at Syracuse on Tuesday night. The loss was the third in four road games this season for the Hurricanes and their second straight blowout loss on the road. Miami lost 84-62 at Boston College last Tuesday.
The slow start by leading scorer Isaiah Wong doomed the Miami basketball team. Wong scored one point and missed all of his field-goal attempts, each of them three-point attempts in the first half. Syracuse went on a 34-11 run to close the first half and was never seriously challenged over the final 20 minutes.
Miami lost despite getting senior guard Kameron McGusty and freshman wing Earl Timberlake back from injuries. The Hurricanes have had to rely too much on Wong to carry them this season. Wong scored 30 points as shorthanded Miami upset number 16 Louisville 78-72 at the Watsco Center on Saturday night.
The Miami performance against Syracuse was a similar story to what have been issues this season. Syracuse shot 40 percent on threes and Miami made just four of 25 three-point attempts. Chris Lykes missing the last 10 games has put a lot of pressure on Wong to carry Miami as they suffered another blowout loss.
Wong got hot in the second half but it was far too late. The sophomore led Miami with a team-high 16 points. Sophomore forward Anthony Walker scored 13. Walker scored nine of the first 11 points for Miami as the Hurricanes took the nine-point lead six and a half minutes into the game. After the strong start, Miami fell flat.
Following the early lead, Miami was outscored 81-46 by Syracuse. Walker and Wong were the only Hurricanes in double figures. Miami began the game making one of their first 20 three-point shots. Against the Syracuse zone, the inability for Miami to make three-point shots was a big factor in the defeat.
After the big win over Lousiville on Saturday night, Miami took another step back. The Hurricanes return home on Sunday at 6 PM to host Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have struggled this season starting 4-8, 1-5 in the ACC. Miami will enter the game against Notre Dame 12th in the ACC, Notre Dame 13th.