The Cheat Sheet: Miami

Do you want to know more about BC's opponent besides its won-loss record? No problem. BCI brings you the "cheat sheet" for a quick rundown of BC's next opponent, Miami.

Recent Results

Miami comes in having lost two straight and four of its last five games. One important note to point out is that four of those last five games were on the road where the ‘Canes are 2-3 this season. At home, Miami is 8-1 which includes wins over ACC foes Pitt and NC State.

Personnel

Davon Reed is the leading scorer averaging 15.4 points per game. Reed is an excellent shooter with deep range and a quick release. Miami’s guards try to penetrate to the hoop in the half court while Reed stays on the perimeter. If Reed’s defender has to help the other Miami guards will try and find Reed deep for an open three. The shooting guard has good size at 6’5" and has some good length but he isn’t a threat to score off of the dribble. Reed does have a good first step but doesn’t have much wiggle in his game to penetrate to the hoop.

One of the aforementioned guards that sets up Reed is point guard, Ja’Quan Newton (14.6 ppg, 4 apg). The junior point guard is an explosive score first point guard that is particularly dangerous in transition. Newton isn’t a threat to shoot from the outside so the BC defenders have to be more worried about his driving ability than his threat to hit a jumper.

Former BC recruit Bruce Brown is another key piece in the Miami offense. Brown is a little bit more of a threat to shoot from the outside than Newton, and like the point guard he is exceptional at getting to the rim.

Behind The Numbers

Jim Larranaga’s team has put up exceptional numbers on defense this year. The most impressive of the bunch is Miami’s 44.6% effective field goal % defense which is 16^th nationally. The Canes are allowing the 36^th lowest three point percentage in the country at 31.2% and 29^th best two point shooting nationally at 43.6%.

On offense, Miami has struggled a bit since ACC play started. The Canes are averaging a hair under 68 ppg in league play which is 2^nd lowest in the conference. In that soan the Canes are shooting a woeful 56.7% from the free throw line and only 46.7% on two point field goals. The only positive offensive stat that Miami has produced since the start of ACC play is its three point shooting of 38.7%, 3^rd highest in the ACC.

What to Expect

Miami is kind of Virginia-lite. What I mean by that is the ‘Canes aren’t as deliberate or sophosicated as Virginia on offense and defense but they do pose some of the same issues. On defense, they lock you in defensively in half court and really try and turn it into a war. As we saw against Virginia last week, BC doesn’t always respond well to that kind of style of play. On offense, the Canes big men set screen and slip ball screens. Unlike some other teams that run this kind of offense, the Miami big men aren’t really a threat to receive the pass off of the ball screen unless they are right under the hoop. It will be important for the BC defenders to corral the Miami guards that are handling the ball as they are the real threat in Miami’s slip and screen. At the same time,if BC leaves the Miami big men wide open it could lead to some easy buckets for the bigs who otherwise aren’t much of a threat to score.

At the end of the day it’s going to be all about how BC reacts to Miami’s physical style of play. If Miami punches BC in the mouth and frustrates the Eagles, which leads to careless live ball turnovers on offense, this is going to end up like the Virginia game from last week. If BC decides to engage in Miami’s physical style of play then the Eagles have enough talent to play with the Canes.

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