Izundu to have special guest at UM’s final home game against Pitt on Tuesday
Two days after being trounced by 30 points at Duke on national television, University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larranaga still struggled to explain what happened.
“We were like deer in headlights,” he said Monday. “We froze. It’s the first time, really, since I’ve been at Miami. We usually enjoy those environments. I don’t know if it was because of the reputations of Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, all projected to go so high in the NBA Draft, that kind of celebrity. It’s like we were playing in galoshes. We couldn’t move… Those three players from the same team could go 1-2-3 in the draft. We’ve never seen that before.”
The Canes’ 27-point halftime deficit was biggest in Larranaga’s eight seasons at UM. Duke scored 58 points in the paint, more than any other UM opponent this season. And Miami’s leading scorer Chris Lykes went 1 for 15 for four points.
The Hurricanes (12-16, 4-12 ACC) had no time to dwell on the loss as they prepare for Tuesday night’s final home game against Pittsburgh (12-17, 2-14). The Canes had a team meeting Sunday and were back at practice Monday, eager to give their fans a win on Senior Night.
Seniors Ebuka Izundu, Anthony Lawrence and Zach Johnson, and team manager Eric Rubenstein will be honored in a pregame ceremony. The night will be particularly emotional for Izundu, whose mother is flying in from Nigeria to see him play for the first time. Izundu, formerly a soccer player, moved to the United States on his own at 17 to pursue a basketball career.
Larranaga is looking forward to saluting his seniors.
“Ebuka has improved tremendously over his career here, Anthony Lawrence has been Mr. Versatility for us and is playing his best basketball as a senior. Zach, a graduate student, had a great career at Florida Gulf Coast, and I don’t know where we’d be without him, and our manager, Eric, has been a tremendous help with his statistical analysis.”
The Hurricanes and Panthers are similar in many ways, Larranaga said, and he expects a tough game.
“They have one big guy, four really good athletes around him, are heavy on guard-oriented play and ball screens,” Larranaga said. “Jeff Capel is an outstanding coach who came out of Duke, and he has a similar philosophy to Coach K [Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski].”
Miami closes the regular season on the road Friday at Virginia Tech, and plays its ACC tournament opener Tuesday March 12.