Syracuse Basketball vs. Miami: Game Preview

Today at 2:30 pm, Syracuse basketball travels to Florida to take on #13 Miami at the BankUnited Center.

After a tough opening to the conference schedule on the road at Pittsburgh, things don’t get any easier for Mike Hopkins and Syracuse basketball as they travel to Miami to take on the 13th ranked Hurricanes.

This is an extremely tough matchup for the Orange for a number of reasons. For one thing, Miami is one of the top shooting teams in the country, boasting top 10 in overall field goal percentage and top 15 in 3-point percentage. That is a recipe that could spell disaster for a Syracuse team who’s defense has been hit or miss this season.

Another big area of concern for SU will be rebounding. Currently, Syracuse holds a dreadful -2 rebounding differential to Miami’s +8. A big reason for that is Tonye Jekiri, the 7-foot starting center for the Hurricanes who is averaging over 9 points and 10 rebounds per game in just 27 minutes.

Syracuse has been dominated by big men in the games against Wisconsin, Georgetown, St. John’s and Pittsburgh, so it is scary to think the kind of havoc a true 7-footer with 4 years of experience might be able to unleash. It is going to be essential for Coleman to stay out of foul trouble and get a body on him if Syracuse is going to have even a chance at winning today.

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The rest of Miami boasts an incredibly deep and talented roster with 9 players all averaging at least 10 minutes and 5 points per game. Depth, as is the case almost every year, will again be an issue for the Orange as they have gone just 7 deep for most of the season. Right now there are only 9 players on scholarship, and several of those (Obokoh, Howard, Joseph) see so little playing time that you might as well just call it 6.

Miami has a very potent back court to go with their size up front. Sheldon McClellan and Angel Rodriguez lead the way here, averaging 15.4 and 12.5 points respectively. McClellan is also shooting 47.5% from 3, and at 6’5, has the length to elevate over the Syracuse zone to get shots off.

Ja’Quan Newton is another guard for Miami who can score the ball well. He’s scoring 11.8 points per game and hitting over 51% of his shots. He is an excellent slasher who is getting to the line over 5 times per game. Look for him to try and slice through the 2-3 zone and find open gaps all day.

Junior guard Davon Reed and senior forward Ivan Cruz Uceda are two more players to watch for Miami. Reed averages over 10 points a game and Uceda is hitting an incredible 57% of his 3’s. He’s also 6’10 and is a similar “stretch 4” to Tyler Lydon, which could make it much harder for Lydon to get open looks when matched up with someone with such a similar playing style.

This game is going to be incredibly tough for Syracuse basketball. The size, speed, and excellent shooting of Miami could give the Orange fits. Miami is one of the top teams in the nation in scoring, averaging over 85 points per contest and they know how to play a fast-paced, up-tempo game.

That’s actually one thing that might benefit the Orange, as Syracuse has been much better this season when they can get out and run and play at a quick pace. The other thing SU has going for it is that while Miami is an excellent shooting and scoring team, they aren’t all that great at passing. They are just 129th in the nation in assists, meaning a lot of their looks are coming off fast breaks, one-on-one plays, and put-backs.

This could play to our advantage because the zone works best against teams that like to dribble a lot and aren’t great at quick passing. If Syracuse can play similar to how they did against Pittsburgh, they will at least have a chance to keep it close.

They are also going to need to shoot the 3-pointer better. Over the past several weeks, Syracuse has gone cold from the outside. Other than Cooney, who is actually shooting great lately (13-26 over his last 4 games), no one has shot well from the outside. Michael Gbinije is just 8-29 in his last 4 (27%). Malachi Richardson is even worse at 3-27 over his last 5 (11%). Those kind of numbers just won’t cut it.

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For a team that shoots as many shots from the outside as Syracuse, they have been dying by the 3 far more than living by it lately. After such a hot start to the season in the Battle 4 Atlantis they have gone ice cold as a team and it’s a big reason why they’ve lost 4 of their last 8 games.

Hopefully they can buck that trend and get back on track today. This is another opportunity for a big win for Syracuse and a chance for them to pad their resume for the NCAA tourney. Look for them to get back on track and pull off the upset behind some improved shooting and defense today. Miami is a great team, but I think Syracuse just needs this game more and will pull out the hard fought 79-76 victory and give Mike Hopkins his first win over a ranked opponent.

Check back after the game for a full recap and analysis.

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