(Editor’s note: Special thanks to “Country Roads” of www.smokingmusket.com for assisting on this preview and an advanced scouting report on West Virginia)

 

The Miami Hurricanes return to action Saturday night with a trip to

Morgantown to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (7pm EST ESPN2). While UM will have plenty of chances to build an NCAA Tournament resume when ACC play begins, this may be their last and best chance to beat a “name” program out of conference. Coming off a dissapointing loss at home to Memphis, the ‘Canes face a Mountaineer team under the tutilage of Bob Huggins, that features a good mix of talented youth and experienced veterans. WVU looks to hold serve at home, having lost last year to the ‘Canes 79-76 in a thriller at Bank United Center. In that game Malcolm Grant lit it up with 26 points and several key hoops. This year Miami will need the same kind of strong performance from Grant, and for their bigs to contain 6’8 Kevin Jones (19.8 PPG 11.7 RPG 55% FGs), to come out victorious.

 

Projected Starting Lineups:

 

Miami

 

C Raphael Akpejori           6’10 230 SO
G Trey McKinney-Jones   6’5  216   JR

G Durand Scott                 6’4  198   JR
G Malcolm Grant               6’1  188   SN

G Shane Larkin                 5’11 160   FR

 

West Virginia

 

F Keaton Miles                   6’6 205    FR

F Kevin Jones                    6’8 260    SN

F Derniz Kilicli                   6’9 260    JN

G Darryl Bryant                 6’2 195    SN

G Jabarie Hinds                5’11 175  FR

 

 

Keys to the Game: Force West Virginia to settle for long range jumpers. WVU shoots 47% from the field, yet just 22% in threes and 60% from the line. They are at their best when they push the pace and get good inside looks for Jones and 6’9 Derniz Kilicli, who can hit jump hooks with either hand. Freshmen Aaron Brown & Jabarie Hinds shoot a high percentage of their limited looks from downtown (9-20 combined on the season through six games). But the combination of Jones and Darryl “Truck” Bryant probably shoot and miss enough trifectas to earn the infamous scowl of Huggins more then they’d like.

 

Get more shots in rhythm. Miami’s shooters are far better then they have

shown so far this year. 39% from the floor as a team just isn’t going to cut it over the long haul. The biggest reason the ‘Canes have struggled shooting is their lack of consistent inside presence. Too often they have forced up shots with the shot clock about to expire. Kenny Kadji has shown some flashes in the low post of late. Miami needs to force the ball inside and get better looks using an inside-out game. Additionally they need to control the defensive glass and try to get opportunities in transition. This will be no easy task against a physical West Virginia front line.

 

Best Match-up: Daryl “Truck” Bryant vs Malcolm Grant/Durand Scott. NYC will be well represented in this one. The Brooklyn native Bryant has struggled shooting so far this season but so have fellow New York City natives Grant and Scott. Which of these NY guards can channel the playground ghosts of Kenny Anderson, Kemba Walker, and Mark Jackson?

 

Prediction: West Virginia will feed off the crowd and build an early lead. But UM will regain its poise behind the strong play of Grant, Scott, and Shane Larkin. WVU looked a bit vulnerable facing on the ball pressure against Kansas State, plus they had to endure 2 grueling overtimes in its win, so they may be fatigued. Larkin and Scott will give freshman guard Jabarie Hinds fits, The game turns on a late 3 pointer by Malcolm Grant. Miami 70 WVU 68.

 

Here is our full Q&A with ”Country Roads” of Smoking Musket. See our answers here.

 

C6:  What is the early vibe about West Virginia hoops? Who are thier key performers?
 
SM:WVU is definitely a young team this year, returning 2 seniors in Truck

Bryant and Kevin Jones, junior center Deniz Kilicli, and Kevin Noreen, who played limited minutes early last year as a freshman before getting hurt.  As the veterans, Bryant, Jones, and Kilicli are definitely the keys.  For WVU to win, at least two of them have to play well, with Jones being the most consistent.  Bryant has not shot the ball well so far this year, and that has definitely hurt the Mountaineers.  As far as freshmen go, point guards Jabarie Hinds and Gary Browne have both shown flashes of ability, with Hinds exploding for something like 17 points against Akron last week.
 
C6:  Last game Miami struggled to contain Memphis’ Will Barton.  Do the Mountaineers have any one player who can take over a game?
 
SM: The short answer is no.  Kilicli has the ability to be dominant inside, but only for short stretches.  Jones is great, but relies too much on his teammates to say he can “take over a game.”  The closest would honestly be Hinds.  Against Akron, he scored 9 points and had a couple steals to fuel a first half surge for WVU.  He’s quick, plays quality defense, distribtues well, and can create his own shot better than any Mountaineer in recent memory.  But he’s still a freshman, so the likelihood of him doing that on a game-by-game basis is slim.
 
C6: What is the atmosphere like for a home game in Morgantown? Does the basketball team recieve the same support as football?
 
SM: It depends on the game.  WVU is definitely a football school and doesn’t really get into basketball until the bowl game is over and conference play starts.  Mountaineer fans can definitely be rowdy for big games, but can also be finicky and not get up (or even show up) for lesser matchups.  If you came for a matchup of a ranked WVU playing a ranked Syracuse, Pitt, or even Marquette, you would likely come away impressed.  If you come for the Miami game Saturday, you wouldn’t.  And that’s more a slight to the WVU fans than it is to Miami.  
 
C6:  If you pitted Jerry West from his days at WVU against Rick Barry from his days at UM, one on one,  who wins?
 
SM: I’m not betting against The Logo.  Ever.  Under any circumstances.  Especially one-on-one.  
 

C6: What are the expectations for West Virginia this yeat?  Are they an NCAA team?  What is your prediction for this game?
 
SM: I’m usually pretty optimsitc.  I feel like this is a team that will be on the NCAA bubble but will win a few key games late to sneak in.  WVU is young, but there is talent there, and I think come March, the talent will have developed to the point where we could be dangerous, especially at home.  At this point, I’ve barely watched WVU play (catching 2 full games and part of 1 other) let alone Miami.  Looking at the Hurricanes’ record, I see the OT loss to Ole Miss and I feel like WVU is probably comparable to the Rebels.  If this was on the road, I’d feel less confident but I think being at the Coliseum will give the Mountaineers the edge in a close one, 65-61.

 

Thanks again to ”Country Roads” of www.smokingmusket.com for assisting in this preview.

 

GO CANES!!