Miami drops to 1-7 ACC, worst conference start in 25 years, but Larranaga optimistic
It has been a rough four days for the University of Miami men’s basketball team.
First, a home loss to rival Florida State on Sunday. Then, a day later, Dewan Hernandez announced he will not be returning to the team and will turn pro after the NCAA ruled he would not be eligible until midway through next season.
On Wednesday night, more bad news. The Hurricanes lost at home 82-70 to 12th-ranked Virginia Tech. They slipped to 9-11 overall and 1-7 in the ACC with a road game against third-ranked Virginia looming on Saturday.
It is the worst conference start for Miami since 1993-94, when the Canes went 0-18 in the Big East.
And yet, UM coach Jim Larranaga was optimistic after the game.
“You may be surprised about what I’m going to say, but there was a time in the second half that I thought we played our best basketball for about a six- to seven-minute period,” he said. “Things we want to do every day, every game -- play hard at the defensive end, get stops, share the ball, find the open man, penetrate and pitch, get touches, get everyone involved. Quite frankly, we haven’t been doing that. And it’s been very frustrating for players and the coaching staff.
“I told the team at a time out, `Hey, this is the way we need to play all the time.’ I told them the same after the game. Hopefully, it’s a lesson that will prove to be helpful for the remainder of the season.”
UM point guard Chris Lykes, who went 0-for-12 in the previous game against FSU, made his first three shots against the Hokies and regained his confidence. He headed into halftime with seven points, and finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with four assists and five turnovers.
During a timeout with about eight minutes to go, Larranaga let Associate Head Coach Chris Caputo talk to the team in the huddle while he pulled Lykes aside and had an animated private conversation with the guard.
The pep talk worked. In the final five minutes, Lykes hit a pair of three-pointers and made four free throws to close a 21-point gap to a more respectable 10-point deficit.
“With 6:06 left in the second half, Coach L got pretty fired up, told us what he’s been telling us all season, and for some reason, we started doing it,” Lykes said. “We need to find a way to do that for 40 minutes. Sometimes out of losses, good things happen.”
Guard Anthony Lawrence had 15 points and nine rebounds, but he injured his hip and Larranaga called that “a major concern”. Zach Johnson, playing on a tender ankle, went 3-for-13 for 10 points.
UM had no answer for the Hokies’ sophomore guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, whom Larranaga called “an NBA player, a first-round pick”. The Canadian native led all scorers with 25 points, tying a career-high against an ACC opponent. Alexander-Walker dished out a game-high five assists and was also a pest on defense, snagging a game-high six steals.
Ahmed Hill added 19 for the Hokies and Justin Robinson, coming off a 35-point game against Syracuse, had 17 before leaving the game with an ankle injury.
The Hokies (17-3, 6-2 ACC) shot a blistering 68 percent in the second half and 59 percent for the game. UM shot 47 percent in the second half and 41 percent for the night. Miami’s lone big man, Ebuka Izundu, was held to four points and two rebounds.
All season, the Hurricanes could point to their depleted roster as a reason for losses. Not on Wednesday. Both teams employed a seven-man rotation.