No. 20 UM Hurricanes face Pitt’s ‘lights out’ three-point shooters on the road Saturday
The Miami Hurricanes said it felt great to beat Florida State by 23 points on the road Tuesday, finally putting an end to a nine-game losing streak to the Seminoles. But the 20th-ranked Canes did not have much time to celebrate because a difficult game at Pitt awaits them Saturday afternoon.
Miami (16-4) has a better overall record than Pitt (14-7), but the two teams are tied for third place in the ACC, along with North Carolina, with a 7-3 league record. Clemson is in first place at 9-1 and Virginia is second at 7-2.
Pitt is coming off a two-point win over Wake Forest on Wednesday during which the Panthers set a program record with 18 three-pointers. Forward Blake Hinson made eight of Pitt’s threes, tying a school record for three-pointers in one game.
Miami coach Jim Larranaga called Pitt a “lights out” three-point-shooting team that poses many challenges for the UM defense.
“[Jamarius] Burton is a two-way guard — strong and tough,” Larranaga said. “Hinson and [Greg] Elliott are outstanding three-point shooters.”
Hinson leads Pitt in scoring (16.2) and rebounds (6.4). Burton averages 15.9 points and 4.5 assists. The Panthers’ defense also concerns Larranaga.
“One of the things Coach [Jeff] Capel has done is he’s gotten a group of hard-nosed kids who really play defense,” Larranaga said.
Larranaga said he expects the game to come down to two categories: who scores better in transition and who scores better out of their pick-and-roll offense.
Isaiah Wong leads Miami in scoring (16.3), assists (3.6) and steals (1.5). Two of Miami’s three losses this season came on Wong off-nights. He had a poor shooting night on the road at Georgia Tech and was “sick as a dog” with a sinus infection during a two-point loss at Duke.
“We need Isaiah,” Larranaga said. “He’s one of the best players in the league and when he’s 100 percent, he’s a handful for the opponent.”
Two players who have stepped up for UM of late are guards Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar. Over the past three games, Pack, who transferred from Kansas State, is shooting 50 percent on three-pointers while averaging 17 points.
“Nijel went from being a predominantly a shooting guard to a point guard, that’s a huge difference in responsibility, you’re handling the ball more and I think he’s just getting more confident and comfortable,” Larranaga said.
The coach had a chat with Poplar last week and challenged him to play more like Kam McGusty, who graduated after UM’s Elite Eight run last spring. He responded with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals against FSU.
“I told him, ‘You’re in the starting lineup for a reason and you need to have the kind of balance in your game like Kam had’,” Larranaga said. “He did it all against FSU. That was a Kam McGusty-type game.”
