No. 13 Miami Hurricanes are perfect 15-0 at home heading into Saturday game vs FSU
The atmosphere at the Watsco Center is always spirited when Florida State comes to town to play the Miami Hurricanes, and it is expected to be even more electric than usual on Saturday because Miami has so much at stake.
The 13th-ranked Hurricanes are in first place in the ACC standings with two home games remaining and the league championship on the line. They are 23-5, on a seven-game win streak, longest among Power Five teams, and are 15-0 at home.
With one more home victory, Miami would set a single-season program record, surpassing a 15-0 mark in 1960-61 and a 15-1 home record in 2015-16.
The last time the teams played, on Jan. 24 in Tallahassee, Miami rolled to an 86-63 victory. That was FSU’s worst home loss in 10 years. The Hurricanes pulled ahead by 15 points in the first five minutes and stretched the lead to as many as 28 points.
Miami had five players in double figures in that game, led by 18 apiece by guards Isaiah Wong and Nijel Pack. Heading into Saturday’s game (4 p.m., ESPN2), four UM players are averaging double figures – Wong, Pack, Jordan Miller and Norchad Omier.
Wong is scoring 16.3 points per game, Miller 14.9, Pack 13.6 and Omier 14 points and 10 rebounds. The UM offense is the highest scoring in the league.
The Seminoles are 8-20 overall, 6-11 in the ACC. But they have won their past four games against UM at the Watsco Center.
Miami coach Jim Larranaga is taking nothing for granted, despite the Hurricanes’ rout in January.
“Every time you play an opponent, things change,” Larranaga said, pointing out that the two games against Louisville this season were completely different. “The first time we played Florida State we played terrific from start to finish, but Florida State has had the whole week off to prepare for us. I’m sure they’ll be as focused as we are, and it should be a great game.”
Larranaga said the team’s win streak and first-place standing in the conference have no bearing on their mindset heading into the game against FSU.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked,” he said. “It matters how well you play on that day when you play that opponent. We’ve got to play our best basketball on Saturday at 4 p.m. Nothing else matters.”
Guard Harlond Beverly said the Hurricanes are not taking the game lightly.
“They have really good guards, and are really big, per usual,” he said. “We have to rebound, defend and limit their transition points.”
The Hurricanes’ final regular season game is Sat. Mar. 4 at home against Pitt, which is also in the mix for the ACC title and beat Miami when they played earlier this season.