Virginia at Miami Basketball Preview
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ACC teams led by interim coaches meet Wednesday night when the Miami Hurricanes host the Virginia Cavaliers. Both programs are in the midst of disappointing campaigns while reeling from the sudden retirement of legendary coaches. Miami is winless in ACC play at 0-9, while the Cavs enter with a 2-7 conference record.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM Eastern in Coral Gables, televised on ESPN U.
About Miami
Miami’s season was already off to a rough start when head coach Jim Larranaga announced his retirement just after Christmas. Assistant Bill Courtney, with past head coaching experience at Cornell, took over in an interim role. The Hurricanes have since lost eight straight, including several by embarrassing margins. Virginia fans may remember Courtney. He spent three seasons in Charlottesville as an assistant under Dave Leitao.
The Hurricanes are 4-16 overall. 0-9 in ACC play. They did show more fight last time out, in Saturday’s overtime loss at California. Courtney made significant lineup changes in that game, as we’ll get into. Defense is where they’ve really struggled, ranking near the bottom nationally in adjusted efficiency.
Miami’s Personnel
It’s hard to tell what lineup Miami will send out for the opening tip. Star guard Nijel Pack has been sidelined since early December. Usual starting center Lynn Kidd didn’t play in the last game, reported to be by coach’s decision. And leading scorer Matthew Cleveland was taken out of the starting lineup. They opened with the following group on Saturday.
G - Jalil Bethea (6’5” Freshman, 6.9 points per game)
G - AJ Staton-McCray (6’4” Senior, Samford transfer, 6.4 points per game)
G - Paul Djobet (6’7” Sophomore, 5.3 points per game)
F - Brandon Johnson (6’8” Senior, East Carolina transfer, 7.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game)
F - Kiree Huie (6’9” Senior, Idaho State transfer, 2.8 points per game)
The availability of former VA Tech center Lynn Kidd (11.1 PPG) is unknown. Senior wing Matthew Cleveland (15.1 PPG) will play starter minutes whether officially one or not. The Hurricanes usually go nine deep, with three other guards getting consistent time off the bench.
Gotta Make Hay
It’s important for Virginia to make the most of the upcoming stretch of their schedule. Four of the next five games are against opponents near the bottom of the league standings. As unpleasant as it is to consider, the Wahoos are at risk of being one of the three teams left out of the ACC Tournament. If they can take care of the business over the next few weeks, it would at least ease those concerns.
Up Next
The Hoos will be back home on Saturday for a showdown with Virginia Tech. Records aside, always intense games when those rivals meet.
Be sure to tune in for the pregame show, starting 30 minutes before tipoff as always. Available on the Locker Room Access Facebook page and YouTube channel.
(Featured Image Credit: UVA Athletics)