Kentucky vs Miami....A Preview

Lwcat
Administrator

Kentucky vs Miami Hurricanes
TV: ESPN
Time: 5:30PM
Series: UK leads 3-0

Miami
Enrollment-15,449
Arena-7,200
Coach-Frank Haith
Career Record-69-60 (53.5%) All 4 seasons at Miami
2007-08 Record-23-11
2007-08 ACC Record-8-8 (5th)
2007-08 Postseason-1-1 in NCAA

2008-09 Record

Miami 96 Florida Southern 60
Miami 70 Southern Miss 60
U Conn 76 Miami 63
Miami 80 San Diego 45
Miami 79 Stetson 65
Ohio St. 73 Miami 68

Stats

PPG-76 Opp.-63.2
FG%-42.7% Opp.-37.1%
3 Point %-34.5% Opp.-27.2%
3 Point FG Per Game-6.5
FT%-70.9%
Rebounds-44.2 PG Opp.-35.3PG
Assists PG-12.5
TO’s PG-13.2 Opp.-13.2 PG
Steals PG-6.0
Blocks PG-3.7

Probable Starting Lineup

Jack McClinton-G-6’1” Sr…..PPG-15.2
Dwayne Collins-F-6’8” Jr…..PPG-12.7
Lance Hurdle-G- 6’2” Sr…..PPG-9.4
Cyrus McCowan-F-6’9” Jr…..PPG-8.8
James Dews-G-6’3” Jr……PPG-6.0

Other Key Players

Brian Ashbury-F-6’6” Sr…..PPG-8.3
Eddie Rios-G-6’0” So…..PPG-6.0
Jimmy Graham-F-6’8” Sr…..6.0

Miami returns four starters from last year’s NCAA team that finished with a 23-11 record. The Hurricanes two loses this season have come to #2 U Conn and Ohio St. In the Ohio St. game, McClinton was ejected early in the first half and IMO, that ejection cost Miami the game. McClinton is a first team all ACC and is almost certain to be a solid NBA player. He has virtually unlimited range and is shooting an incredible 46% from the 3 point line. Dwayne Collins, 6’8” F, is shooting 61% from the field while averaging 12.7 point per game and leads Miami in rebounds with ten per game. Importantly, Miami brings a lot of experience into Rupp arena and play four seniors, three juniors and one sophomore among their frequent eight man rotation. Last season, McClinton and Dews combined for over 150-3 point shots and shot 90% on their FT’s. These two guards will present a big challenge when guarded man to man. This Hurricane team is experienced and talented…..and will be a tough opponent for any team on their schedule this season.

Importantly, UK is coming off their best performance of the season with a very impressive win over Lamar. Although Lamar was outmanned, the Cats showed significant improvement in running their offense, minimizing TO’s and playing tough defense. Liggins, a terrific talent, continues to improve and played a very solid game. Josh Harrellson’s high energy play is a welcome sight and he is revealing his ability to play the 4 or 5 position and be very effective….including shooting the 3 point shot. It was great for Cat fans to see Galloway, almost a mystery player, finally get some minutes and see him play reasonably well. Galloway’s improvement should bode well for the Cats as the season progresses. Patterson…well Patterson was Patterson….a great talent who was very solid offensively, but needs to improve his rebounding. Meeks continues to be a huge offensive presence for the Cats….game after game….Meeks finds ways to score from the field and free throw line. Darius Miller, after a couple of subpar performances, showed flashes of his coming greatness. The only downside of the Lamar game was the very unfortunate collision injury to Porter and Harris…..but, thankfully, both appear to be recovering nicely and should be back on the floor in the near future.

UK will need to continue it’s improvement offensively and defensively while cutting back on TO’s if they are to defeat a tough Miami team. This game will be a real challenge for the Cats and a good measuring stick as to where this UK team is at this point in the season. It is very doubtful that Porter or Harris will play Saturday and the loss of Harris defense could be a problem. Other Cats will need to step up and someone, or by committee, will need to be in McClinton’s grill all game long and try to minimize his scoring opportunities. This will be a difficult challenge and it will be interesting as to who draws that tough assignment. I look for UK to rise to the challenge and defeat this tough Miami team. GO CATS!