'Canes tame Tigers 68-51

Offense has been at a premium for the 'Canes this season, especially early in games. Tonight's game against Savannah State was no different: the 'Canes struggled mightily to put the ball in the hoop early.

After a lob-layup conversion to Tonye Jekiri, Donnavan Kirk drilled a trifecta. Manu Lecomte stole the resulting possession and nailed a 3-ball off a smart, extra pass by Rion Brown. The 'Canes had a 12-8 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half. Jekiri extended the lead to 14-8 with a solid move in the middle of the lane. Davon Reed pushed it to 16-9 with a nice layup on the break. With 1 second left in the half, Rion Brown converted an and-1. Once the offensive seal was broken, the 'Canes had no difficulty filling it up, swiftly turning an early deficit into a 37-20 halftime lead. Savannah State nailed two deep post-McClinton 3's to keep it somewhat close.

Miami let a 20-point lead in the second half slip a bit, but did enough to secure a double-digit win, 68-51; Donnavan Kirk led the way on what was a mostly balanced attack by the visiting 'Canes.

The Bottom Line:

While watching this year's 'Canes squad play, it's terribly difficult to not think about next year's team. I'm guessing this type of boilerplate post-game stuff is going to be commonplace this year.  Sadly, without the injury to Deandre Burnett before the start of the season, the 'Canes would likely be well-above .500 on the year, instead of fighting to stay afloat. It is encouraging that Miami has been competitive in just about all their games this year. Hopefully, that trend will continue into ACC play.

The Good: Savannah State isn't a basketball powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination, but this was a quality win. No overtime or late-game heroics by the opposition. Just a good 'ole fashioned clobbering.

The Bad: Crappy FT shooting by Miami in the 2nd half.

The Ugly: Nothing ugly about a big win!