This Week in Miami Hurricanes Basketball: 1/16 Edition

Hey everybody. The weather is chilly, but the people are fired up here in North Florida. The Jacksonville Jaguars came back from a 27-0 hole against the Los Angeles Chargers to advance in the NFL Playoffs. The small amount of actual Chargers fans shouldn’t be too upset. Hopefully this all-time choke job leads to ownership firing Brandon Staley and bringing in Sean Payton. Anyway, on to college basketball.

We’re back for another week of Miami Hurricanes Men’s and Women’s Basketball. The guys beat Boston College at home on Wednesday, then lost at NC State in overtime on Saturday. The Lady Canes did what their male counterparts couldn’t, topping Georgia Tech on the road on Thursday. They then beat Wake Forest at home on Sunday.

Last week:

I recapped Miami’s 88-72 home win over Boston College. The guys looked great in their first game after their awful road loss to Georgia Tech seven days earlier. Miami shot 60% from the field (32-53), 66% from three-point range (12-18), and 80% from the free throw line (12-15). Harlond Beverly was great off the bench with 15 points and 5 assists. The starters looked pumped to be back in front of their home fans. Simply put, the Canes did what they were supposed to do against an inferior conference opponent.

I also recapped Miami’s 83-81 OT loss at NC State. The Canes lost the battle in several significant statistical categories: -13 in turnovers, -11 in offensive rebounds, -9 in assists, and -5 in steals. Despite ALL THAT, Miami had the ball with a chance to tie or win the game in overtime. To say this loss was frustrating would be an understatement. The Canes dug themselves a hole with all their unforced errors, going down by 10 points at halftime. They rallied in the second half, seemingly taking control of the game midway through the final twenty minutes. However, poor out-of-timeout and late-game execution was Miami’s downfall, as they couldn’t put the game away late in regulation or overtime.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Canes fall out of the AP Top 25 Poll after their Saturday loss. We’ll see what happens later today.

The Lady Canes got off to a hot start in Atlanta, leading Georgia Tech by 17 points at halftime. Leading scorer Destiny Harden returned for Miami, playing 18 minutes off the bench and putting up 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Haley Cavinder led the way in scoring with 14 points. Miami took control of the game early, taking away GT’s confidence in the process. Similarly to the guys’ victory over BC, this is what the Canes should be doing against inferior conference opponents.

The ladies are on fire! They ended the week by beating Wake Forest at home on Sunday, 55-43. Destiny Harden returned to the starting lineup to lead the Canes in scoring and assists, with 13 and 6, respectively. Elise Williams led the Demon Decons with 10 points. Coach Meier has Miami humming right now. They got off to yet another hot start yesterday, leading by 10 points at halftime, then 16 points after three quarters. The Lady Canes are playing their best ball of the season BY FAR right now. We love to see it.

This week:

The guys play twice this week. Miami hosts Syracuse on Monday, 1/16 at 7:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network. The Orangemen are also 5-2 in conference play. The Canes then travel to Durham, NC to take on the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, 1/21 at 12:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPN. It will be Duke’s first game after their loss to Clemson last Saturday. Getting these two wins would be huge for Miami and Coach L moving forward in ACC play.

The ladies only play once this week. Miami travels to Raleigh, NC to take on #11 NC State on Thursday, 1/19 at 6:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network. The Wolfpack have been struggling of late, losing four of their last six games after starting the season 11-1.

GO CANES!