The Miami Hurricanes are in a bad place right now. Miami is under .500 and the school looks set to finish with a losing record for the first time ever under Jim Larranaga. Larranaga had led the Hurricanes to a 20-win season in six of his seven years on campus, but this year’s team has struggled mightily even though it is a mostly veteran unit with no true freshman on the roster. They will be home underdogs this Wednesday when the ranked Virginia Tech Hokies come to south Florida.
This ACC showdown will take place on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. ET from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
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Odds Analysis
Virginia Tech picked up a big win over Syracuse on Saturday. After getting hammered by Virginia and North Carolina in two if its last three ACC games, the Hokies needed to bounce back and get a victory on their home court and they did just that. They routed Syracuse by 22 points and moved to 16-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play with the victory. Virginia Tech is well on its way to earning a spot in March Madness, and the school could secure a top-four seed for the first time in its history.
The season started well for Miami. The Canes won their first five games to begin the year, but a four-game losing streak right after Thanksgiving highlighted the weaknesses on this team. They have not been able to defend well, and they have yet to pick up a quality win this season largely because of that. Miami is just 1-6 in ACC play and lost by 12 to rival Florida State at home on Sunday.
Key Injuries
Freshman Landers Nolley II and senior Chris Clarke will not take the court for Virginia Tech this year. Clarke was suspended by Buzz Williams for a violation of team rules, while Nolley has been sidelined due to eligibility concerns. Reserve forward PJ Horne continues to be sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
Dewan Hernandez has yet to take the court this season, and his absence has really hurt Miami. At 6’11, the junior was a true low-post scoring threat, and he was poised to challenge for an all-conference spot this year. Hernandez was tied to Christian Dawkins and Andy Miller back in October, and like a handful of others, he has been declared ineligible this year. The loss of fellow 6’11 center Deng Gak for the season with a knee injury further hurt this team’s depth in the frontcourt.
Matchup to Watch
It could be a long night for Miami and its fans, as the Hurricanes defense might get lit up in this one. Virginia Tech boasts the sixth-best offense in the country according to Ken Pomeroy. All of the Hokies scoring in double-digits are shooting at least 47 percent from the field and the three leading scorers have been lights-out from range. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Justin Robinson, and Ahmed Hill are all sinking at least 42 percent of their threes. Their effective field goal percentage is tops in the nation at 59.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Miami has one of the worst defenses of any major conference team. Pomeroy’s numbers have Miami listed as the 150th-best defense in the nation, and their opponent’s effective field goal percentage is 50.6 percent. The lack of size on the interior has caused this defense to break down numerous times this year.
Prediction
Virginia Tech should cruise to a win here provided the Hokies don’t get distracted while in south Florida. They should be a moderate road favorite of five to seven points, and I see them covering that with ease. This is a really bad match-up for Miami.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Virginia Tech 83, Miami 70
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