Miami Hurricanes
ACC (22-9, 11-7)
Miami has had an up and down 2017-2018 season. Most of their downs have come due to a foot injury to Bruce Brown suffered in late January. The 6-5 sophomore is the facilitator of the offense. He attacks the basket and creates so much offense for his teammates. Without him, everybody else struggled on offense and it showed in the loss column. Brown not did return for the ACC Tournament game, but could be back for the NCAA Tournament, making this is a much, much more dangerous team.
Big Wins: 12/25 vs Middle Tennessee (84-81), 1/7 Florida State (80-74), 2/27 at North Carolina (91-88)
Bad Losses: 12/23 vs New Mexico State (54-63), 1/3 at Georgia Tech (54-64), 2/10 at Boston College (70-72)
Coach: Jim Larranaga
Why They Can Surprise:
The Hurricanes have a very balanced group of scorers. Counting Brown, there are seven players who average between 11.5 and 8.7 points per game. That makes it extremely difficult for the opposition since any of them could have a big game on any given day. Dewan Huell is the scorer in the frontcourt, averaging 11.4 points per game. Lonnie Walker, Chris Lykes, Dejan Vasiljevic and Anthony Lawrence are all capable three-point shooters. The team as a whole is not particularly prolific or efficient from beyond the arc, but Coach Jim Larranaga at least has some options.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Hurricanes rely heavily on their big wings to help out on the glass. Both Brown and Lawrence do a ton of work in the rebounding department. It is nice that they are able to help, but this team is light in the frontcourt after Huell. Ebuka Izundu and Sam Waardenburg can eat up some minutes, but they usually do not play enough to help in the rebounding department. If Miami is going to lose the rebounding battle, they need to have Brown back in full force in order to boost the offense and continue to keep the turnovers down.
Probable Starters:
Ja’Quan Newton, Senior, Guard, 8.7 ppg, 2.7 apg
Dejan Vasiljevic, Sophomore, Guard, 9.0 ppg
Anthony Lawrence, Junior, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 2.4 apg, 6.6 rpg
Bruce Brown, Sophomore, Guard, 11.4 ppg, 4.0 apg, 7.1 rpg
Dewan Huell, Sophomore, Forward, 11.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Key Role Players:
Chris Lykes, Freshman, Guard, 9.6 ppg, 2.4 apg
Lonnie Walker, Freshman, Guard, 11.5 ppg, 2.0 apg
Ebuka Izundu, Junior, Center, 5.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg
Sam Waardenburg, Freshman, Forward, 3.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.4 (163rd in nation, 9th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.5 (54, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.8 (74, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.1 (126, 11)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (150, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.5 (103, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.6 (315, 15)
Rebound Margin: 1.0 (166, 10)
Assists Per Game: 13.4 (195, 11)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 (46, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Michigan State
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over Buffalo
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Wichita State
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Villanova
2015 NIT First Round win over North Carolina Central
2015 NIT Second Round win over Alabama
2015 NIT Quarterfinal win over Richmond
2015 NIT Semifinal win over Temple
2015 NIT Final loss to Stanford
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Pacific
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Illinois
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Marquette
2012 NIT First Round win over Valparaiso
2012 NIT Second Round loss to Minnesota
2011 NIT First Round win over Florida Atlantic
2011 NIT Second Round win over Missouri State
2011 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Alabama
2009 NIT First Round win over Providence
2009 NIT Second Round loss to Florida
*all team stats through 3/4
