#7 R.P.I. Miami vs. #88 R.P.I. Virginia Tech:

#11 Nationally ranked Miami has called: “next” and hopes to secure at least one A.c.c. Tourney win in this one!

24 up and 6 down sure reads like a daisy to me. And so does in the 13-5 in Atlantic Coast intra-league  maker. As does 4-2 since we last saw the U; as The U was mightily upset by the stunning Cassell Colosseum 77-62 O&M throat-punch that Buzz and company landed last time out…

Miami  ain’t half bad men, not at all. And all the more so when the pre-season mag’s had you tabbed A.c.c. mid-range at 7th through 9th, and yet as of this writing, the actual and factual A.c.c. standings have you tabbed as standing in at 3rd-place.

That does not suck.
And neither does this 2015-2016 Miami men’s hoops club which has come up -and smartly- by any and all pre-season metrics thus far.

As coach Jim Larrañaga has won a buncha games the last few seasons down on So.Beach, by being pretty good at most things, and yet not quite dominate at anything. That’s coaching folks. And this one is gonna be one tough A.c.c. Tournament game#2, as you just gotta know that the ‘Canes want some payback in this one!

The U at a glance:

• 1oth fewest fouls whistled against (486, total)
• 16th fewest Turnovers  (315, total)
• 2oth in FT percentage (75.3%)
• 35th in shooting overall (47.4%)
• 41st in scoring D allowed (65.7 ppg)
• 42nd in Scoring Margin (+9.2 ppg)
• NO injuries listed (thank God!)
• 1 SUSPENSION listed: Ja’Quan Newton, a 3 game sit for “a violation of team rules” which is typically code for a testing violation… eligible to return for the A.c.c. Tourney! ESPN’s Dick Vitale has called Newton: “the best sixth-man in the country” this season for his ability to add that spark off the bench!

‘cane Returning Starters=3

Miami Strengths:

• I’d have to say that 6’5” 2o5 lb. r-senior year lead-G’s #10,  Sheldon McClellan, and his team leading 15.6 ppg on a splashy looking 5o.4% overall, counts. So does 86.1% from the charity-stripe (on 151 FTA’s); as does a cool looking 40.2% from beyond the arc. That’s no shallow marksmanship –if you can get it, from the Texas transfer by way of H-town (Houston). Shelly has been said to be a bit of a self-first gunner, who can score, though who never won anything real special in high school despite being a showcase outburst scorer who was ranked 47th in the nation. A pure Wing player, who has a decent passing element to his game, when he plays a more plural game. Also has very sharp handles for such a heavy volume shooter. Can score equally inside-and-out, and does court a pretty decent defensive rep’ when he wants too. A second best 1 spg and 3.2 rpg help fill out his stat sheet and although he may be prone to indeed playing some me-ball at times, Sheldon is a pretty damn efficacious me-ball player. You gotta give him is efficiency love, as Sheldon may take a lotta shots, though he (generally) takes and/or creates marketable shots for himself. Has an overseas career waiting for him as I type. Says his favorite food is a homemade sloppy Joe’s and I’ve never ever read that one before now. (OVERALL play since we last saw him: ↓ or chilled out a bit as his metrics are down across the board, does get to the FT-line, though only has one game north of 13 points in the meantime as well)
• after Sheldon, scoring drops off to 11.8 ppg or less and takes on a committee stylized approach; however, there are things worth observing here… among them…
• 6’2” 180 lb. sophomoric Philly native, Ja’Quan Newton -same as Sheldon McClellan, lives at the FT-line and as he has banked 121 FTA’s of his own (on 72.7%) thus far this campaign. Something of a surprise or breakout baller this year, as he only started 3 games last season, after being the #1 recruit in my home state of Pennsylvania the year before that. Accordingly, I’d have to say that an unexpected and second-best on the team 1o.9 ppg on 35% from range counts. As does the potential 2018 ceiling to this Newton kid; who has the look-n-feel of a guy who finishes his scoring career somewhere in the high-teens. (OVERALL play since we last saw him: ↓ or down had been Newton’s play of late, not badly, just enough to notice.  And this suspension after an “undisclosed illness” for our previous game.)
• 5’10” 181 lb. r-senior Point man and K-State transfer Angel Rodriguezhas fallen back to Earth -so to speak- a bit this season, or at least he has not come up hardly any at all from where he has been in the last 40-60 games or so. That is indeed steady enough of him, though you’d like to see a bit more production from a guy who has a rep’ as a pure born leader and winner, when you need it the most. Angel is one of the more menacing individual backcourt defenders in the whole entire A.c.c. The team lead at 1.4 spg, the second at 11.8 ppg and the team lead again at 4.4 dimes per game is solid enough. In particular for a guy who came in with a very impoverished shooting scholastic dossier down in Puerto Rico; and has unfortunately regressed to a career low from range (at 31.1%). Angel is great at what he does (defense); and good at what his position (Pt.G) asks him to be, the Qb of the ‘cane offense. Beyond that? I’d say he’s down about all he can do with his Gift’s. I find that fair of him, even if there is still some he should do more, noise. (OVERALL play since we last saw him: ↔ or level, though a bit better from distance)

  

• Final year, #23, 7′ 249 lb. springy true-Center Tonye Jekiri, may not be epic, though he is a Nigerian double-double just looking for a place to happen and a lane to anchor on defense. As this is a hard cut, physically strong, sweaty workhorse Five down low. Might even be an fringe overseas guy for his team leading Windex work (9.2 rpg) and team leading swats (1.1 bpg). 53.4% shows you how close he plays to the basket where Jekiri makes his offensive living on put-backs and dunks (8.3ppg). Does all the dirty work, and he does real fine dirt-work at that. Not a fun guy down low; has slowly developed some measure of ~10′ range, and runs the floor like a gazelle for being such an impressive physical specimen. Almost signed with Virginia Tech, and has one of the higher revving motors in the post in the A.c.c. Every team needs lead-pipe worker-bee such as Mister Jekiri. (OVERALL play since we last saw him: ↓ or just a bit lower, not bad, though not up, either)
• 6’6” 2o8 lb. third year Swing, Davon Reed, I grafted into this preview because he now must do (even) more, in lieu of the suspended Mister Newton. And Mr. Reed gives good work. He has brought his scoring up to a near second-best 11.1 ppg, he is very versatile inside-out type baller on offense and can score from anywhere on the court. Lindy’s says he has a good shooting eye (36% from downtown) and he can pitch-in and help-out on the glass (4.5 rpg). Has had a history of dings and dents at Coral Gables which have retarded his overall progress/development a bit. Is a member of the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, proppers on miami.edu that! (OVERALL play since we last saw him: ↑ a bit and has done some smart outburst scoring efforting for the U)
• MOTIVE: how could the Top-10 ‘canes not wan some Atlantic Coast payback for their recent debacle, I mean visit, to the 24060 (Blacksburg, Va. zip-code)?

Miami Weaknesses:

• pretty much all of my pre-season magazines publish the very same ‘cane nag, i.e. depth; or the lament thereof. Top-4 scorers and defenders all returned and not a whole lot else behind that. And yet sans foul-trouble, with judicious use of timeouts? You may never know the difference. You will however know a difference in the second-game of the A.c.c. Tourney if/when Miami wins game one on zero days rest.
• and BTW: the backcourt has more higher end 1-2 talent, although no depth vis-à-vis the more uniformly talented albeit at a noticeably lower level and therefore somewhat deeper frontcourt does. A very solid and backcourt heavy squad, that is frontcourt materially somewhere in between middleocore to just barely low-post good enough.

Hurricane Bench: (depth= 1.5 to 2 ballers) lead primarily by Mr. Ja’Quan Newton up above and with some love from fr. 6’7” 185 lb. S/F, Anthony Lawrence Jr.and 6’10” rookie year string-bean 2o5 lb. true-Center Ebuka Izundu. Lawrence nets you 4.3 ppg and is said to be mister versatile, whereas mister Izundu brings you internal substitute rebounding and defense, and not much O (2.5 ppg).

Illation, conclusion (s) and OPT digits:

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is… this is still a pretty damn good Miami hoops team –suspension not withstanding; and therefore a pretty damn salty basketball game to win, even for a surging Virginia Tech.

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Miami is of course +4 in rest here as Virginia Tech will be tipping this one off on approximately 20 hours rest give/take.

That could be an issue, in particular late, and in very particular if this one is the all out dogfight that I expect it to be.

As Buzz was unable to parse his minutes of P.T. (playing-time) vs. F.s.u., check it…

1. z.Leday, 34 mins.
2. j.Bibbs, 34 mins.
3. j.Robinson, 33 mins.
4. s.Allen, 3o mins. (modest foul trouble)

On top of that, there are conflicting reports as of 1am Wednesday night on the itnerwebs whether or not Ja’Quan Newton, will actually play; …although he has indeed been declared officially eligible.

That right there could be your one-man X-factor for The U vs. VT’s laggard legs, and if my Aunt Kim had nutz and a bolt she’d be my Uncle, …Tim.

Or in other words, I’ma gonna wait and Google search engine see before I type this preview out any further.

 ***

Alrighty, so according to ESPN.com’s power rankings, Ja’Quan Newton will go tonight for the U. Then I found this little nugget, a little A.c.c. Tourney birdie says that… last time vs. Miami? Coach Buzz hit the right match-up (pressure Zone) defense at just the right time (sans Ja’Quan Newton). As Ja’Quan Newton is the one ‘Cane who can really bust Buzz’s zone, on penetration. As the other three rather talented Miami G’s are more lateral to the hoop or less perpendicular oriented than the lane willing Newton is.

^that^ could be a game changer right there folks; as there is no way to deny that we/Virginia Tech took less than Miami’s A-game punch what with the U at less than full strength last weekend on our homecourt.

Miami however is another Clemson, Pitt, Syracuse or Florida State –at least to me they are. Albeit it a much more exhaled version of those four. As Virginia Tech beat all of them, less Syracuse, as all of them struck me as Gestalt Theory^-1 or  raised to the negative one power. As all five of them seemed like less than the sum of their respective parts upon breaking tape.

Nevertheless, Miami is shooting 47.2% overall this campaign, the program’s highest shooting percentage since my rookie spring at Virginia Tech or in 28 years; for a reason.

And the reason is that this is a pretty dang solid Miami hoops crew. It is one other thing to boot, an extremely efficacious Miami hoops crew. Notice the above Hurricane turnover and fouling metrics. There is no wasted motion here when Miami is playing an inherited George Mason style hyper efficient version of basketball. Takes a lot to beat a team like that at full strength. Takes even more on <24 hours rest. Take a whole lot to beat a three senior and one r-senior or effectively 80%+ final year Miami mega experienced starting line-up in the big game. In particular when they want some pushback here…

That (rightfully) being said, the last 5-game metrics offer more than a glimmer of hope, they offer an O&M beacon of light… check it…

• overall FG percentage margin: +9.9% in favor of VT!
• 3-point percentage margin: 20.4% in favor of VT!!!
• FT percentage margin: +11.2 in favor of VT!

Or in other words Miami is catching Virginia Tech at just the ‘rong time. That makes this one a real pickle of a game to pick. Ergo, methinks Virginia Tech is gonna give Miami a fit for just as long as the Hokie legs, can. A fecund or judicious use of timeouts, buying some television wrap-around rest, and so forth are a must in upsetting Top-10 Miami two outta three.

However, I have us just about one shot short, as it is gonna take a lot from Miami to put Buzz and company down on what is basically an O&M late night had a few drinks homecourt advantage. As ESPN is about to get their monies worth in this Atlantic Coast seesaw affair…

(62% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech=65, Miami=7o

“LETS GO!”

“Hokies!”

 bourbonstreet**