On Wednesday at 8:00 PM PT on ESPNU, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome the Miami Hurricanes to The Farm. Stanford comes in at 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the ACC while Miami comes in at 4-14 overall and 0-7 in the ACC.
Last time out: On Saturday, Stanford defeated North Carolina on the road by a final score of 72-71. Jaylen Blakes hit the game winning shot for the Cardinal.
RECAP: Stanford MBB stuns UNC at the Dean Dome
On Miami: The Hurricanes are really struggling as is evident by their abysmal record. In their most recent game, they got rocked like a hurricane against SMU, losing by a final score of 117-74. They even lost to Boston College (on the road), who on paper is by far and away the worst team in the ACC. That all said, they’ve had some close losses, losing by six points to Oklahoma State and three points to Arkansas. Those aren’t great teams, but Miami has shown they have a power four level roster. Bad power four, but still power four.
What has really hurt Miami is long-time head coach Jim Larrañaga stepping aside before the season began. That threw a real monkey-wrench into their season, though perhaps Larrañaga felt it was better to retire than to coach a lousy team for his final season.
Prior to going down with an injury, graduate student guard Nijel Pack was the top player for the Hurricanes, averaging 13.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. His absence has also really hurt the Hurricanes and been a major reason for their struggles. With Pack out indefinitely, the top scorer for the Hurricanes is senior guard Matthew Cleveland, who is averaging 13.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 52.4% shooting from the field, 38.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.3% shooting from the foul line. The only other player scoring in double figures is senior center Lynn Kidd, who is averaging 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. There just isn’t much firepower on this team.
As a team, the Hurricanes average 76.0 points per game on 46.7% shooting from the field, 31.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 78.0% shooting from the foul line. They average 32.3 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.3 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 10.9 turnovers per game. They also average a -0.6 rebound margin and a -0.6 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 79.2 points per game on 49.5% shooting from the field, 39.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.3% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is dominate the boards. That’s an area that Stanford should do well at in this game. If they control the glass and make the most of their superior rebounding, Stanford should win with little trouble.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is win the turnover battle. This isn’t just about taking care of the ball but also forcing turnovers. If Stanford is able to speed up Miami and get them to turn the ball over, Stanford should be able to make plays in transition.
Finally, Stanford needs to keep feeding Maxime Raynaud, who is averaging 20.8 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. Miami doesn’t have an answer for him. If he has a big night, it’ll be lights out for the Hurricanes.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning this one pretty handily. I don’t think it’ll be a ridiculous blowout, but it will be a comfortable victory. Stanford 80 Miami 63 is how I see this one playing out.
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