ACC Roundup - Miami Trips Up Syracuse
And SMU trashes Pitt
Has Miami turned a bit of a corner?
It’s been a disastrous season for the ‘Canes, no doubt. It was so bad that long-time coach Jim Larranaga bailed out in December, the day after Christmas actually, baffled, frustrated and exhausted by the changes of the game and his team’s reactions to same.
He was also frustrated by his team’s defense and how hard it was to get them to play better.
Against Syracuse Tuesday, Miami limited the Orange to 45.5 percent overall and 38.1 percent from behind the line.
More importantly, Syracuse’s defense was dreadful.
Matthew Cleveland has been on a roll lately and had 32 here. Freshman Jalil Bethea, seen as a 5-star recruit, has struggled but he had 21 against Syracuse.
Significantly, while JJ Starling scored 22, he shot just 8-21 and 1-6 from deep.
And now Miami has won two of its last three games and been competitive lately in general. They came close to beating Cal on the road and were respectable against Virginia and Notre Dame.
Look, when you’re having a nightmare season, you look for positives. And on Tuesday, Miami had some. We think that’s great.
Pitt’s season probably sort of found its end point in Dallas, losing to SMU 83-63.
The Panthers lost Damian Dunn to a fractured elbow at UNC and late in the game Tuesday, Jaland Lowe took a nasty shot to the mouth from Boopie Miller.
It wasn’t intentional at all but he was checking his teeth afterwards. Just one of those things.
Not one of those things: a dust-up between Cam Corhen and SMU’s Jerrell Colbert started pushing and shoving near the end of the second half and both got technicals.
Most of the game though was SMU slicing Pitt up relentlessly. Note to anyone playing the Mustangs: guard the corners. Seriously.
The Ponies put four players in double figures led by Samet Yigitoglu and Kario Oquendo with 17 each. They shot very well too, hitting 10-20 for threes and 55.8 percent overall. Andy Enfield, widely regarded as an excellent offensive coach, got it done here.
As for Pitt, the Panthers shot just 31.8 percent overall and 25.7 percent from behind the line. lshmael Leggett hit 5-17 and missed all eight of his threes. Zack Austin was just 2-10. No offense to the twins, but when Guillermo Diaz Graham is your leading scorer, you’ve got issues. He had 15 and shot 5-9/3-6. Corhen finished with just six points and four boards.
At 14-10 and on a four game losing streak, Pitt’s hopes are pretty dim. SMU, by contrast, has won five straight.
On Wednesday, we have four games, with Louisville at NC State, FSU at Wake Forest, Stanford visiting Hotlanta to play the Ramblin’ Wreck, and Notre Dame at Boston College.
We’d like to pick Louisville without hesitation because the Cards have been a wonderful surprise. However, Chucky “the Straw” Hepburn has a groin injury and may or may not be ready to go.
Why the straw? Because he’s the straw that stirs Louisville’s drink.
James Scott took a big shot in the mouth Saturday but he’s expected to go.
State is on a tough losing streak, having lost eight straight and now behind everybody except Miami.
We like Wake to keep rolling. The Yellow Jackets have some toughness but Maxime Raynaud is a load. That’s a tough matchup.
They’ll be a lot tougher if Jaylen Blakes is back from his possible concussion.
Notre Dame at this point is a disappointment. They’re not hugely talented but they have some legit players. Markus Burton is really good and his backcourt mate Braeden Shrewsberry, while erratic, is very dangerous. Matt Allocco seems to have worked well with this group and Tae Davis is quite athletic.
So what gives?
Not sure. We still think Micah Shrewsberry will get it done though.
Boston College has built an identity around toughness and hard work and right now, the Irish are susceptible to that kind of effort. So it’s a hard choice here: talent vs. mental toughness. We’ll go with BC, but might regret it.
Wednesday’s ACC Action
- Louisville @ NC State || 7:00 || ESPN2
- Florida State @ Wake Forest || 7:00 || ESPNU
- Stanford @ Georgia Tech || 7:00 || ACCN
- Cal @ Duke || 9:00 || ACCN
- Notre Dame @ Boston College || 9:00 || ESPNU
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- Syracuse falls 91-84 to last place Miami
- SMU rolls past Pitt as Mustangs win fifth straight
- Oquendo scores 17, Yigitoglu adds 17 points and 10 rebounds as SMU cruises past Pitt, 83-63
- Pitt bullied by SMU in fourth straight loss
- Pitt drops fourth straight game, loses 83-63 to SMU
- Pitt Continues to Falter with Fourth-Straight Loss at SMU
- Pitt Panthers Suffer Blowout Defeat to SMU