UM rises to No. 8, faces No. 12 Kentucky at Rupp Arena on Tuesday in ACC-SEC Challenge
It is only November, too early to get too excited about a college basketball team’s record or ranking, but the eighth-ranked Miami Hurricanes are certainly in the national conversation heading into their biggest game of the season thus far against 12th-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena in the ACC-SEC Challenge on Tuesday night.
A sellout crowd is expected for the 7:30 p.m. matchup, and an ESPN audience will be able to judge for itself just how good the Hurricanes are coming off their first Final Four in school history. UM is 5-0, but none of its opponents have had Kentucky’s pedigree. The Wildcats’ only loss through six games was 89-84 to top-ranked Kansas.
Jim Larranaga has been coaching for five decades and is well aware of the Wildcats’ basketball history and of the atmosphere the Canes can expect at UK’s iconic 20,545-seat venue.
“They have rabid fans, and the Kentucky Wildcats have been winning college basketball games and national championships forever, since long before I was born,” said Larranaga, 74. “You know you’re going to have your hands full, not just with their players, but with their fans and their energy and enthusiasm.”
Kentucky has won eight NCAA championships, boasts the nation’s best all-time winning percentage and the most all-time victories. The Wildcats have won national titles under legendary coaches Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith and John Calipari, who took over in 2009. No other Division I school has won basketball championships with five different coaches.
Its eight titles rank second to UCLA. Kentucky has played in 12 championship games, 17 Final Fours, 38 Elite Eights and 45 Sweet 16s.
This year’s team looks capable of making a deep run.
“Their fans will be cheering wildly, and they have a great team to cheer for because they’re so exciting,” Larranaga said. “They play very fast, very much like us. They’re an up-tempo, high-scoring team. Neither team will be looking to slow the game down, so, I’m guessing whoever gets to 80 first wins.”
The Hurricanes average 89 points per game. The Wildcats average 94.3 and are coming off a 118-82 victory over Marshall, the most points scored by Kentucky since Calipari became coach.
Six Wildcats are scoring in double figures, led by senior Antonio Reeves with 19 points per game, followed by freshman Rob Dillingham with 16, senior Tre Mitchell (15) and freshmen D.J. Wagner (14.5), Reed Sheppard (10.8) and Justin Edwards (10).
Wagner, the point guard, went 10 for 14 against Marshall for 28 points. Mitchell, who transferred from West Virginia, previously played for UMass and Texas and has emerged as a team leader.
“Every one of their players are NBA-type guys,” Larranaga said. “It starts with D.J. Wagner because he has the ball in his hands the most, but then you have Reed Sheppard coming off the bench and Tre Mitchell, who is 6-9 and can shoot, rebound, post you up. They just have so much talent. It’s going to take a total team effort.”
All five of Miami’s starters are averaging double figures. Wooga Poplar leads with 18 points per game, FSU transfer Matt Cleveland is next at 16.8, Nijel Pack averages 16, Norchad Omier 15.8 points and 9.2 rebounds, and Bensley Joseph chips in 11.6 per game.
Poplar is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 59.4 percent from three-point range (19 for 32). Cleveland is shooting 62.7 percent (31 for 52) from the field and 50 percent (7 for 14) on threes.
Both teams share the ball. UM averages 16 assists per game, Kentucky 20.
Miami enters the game after an eight-day layoff. The Hurricanes beat Georgia Nov. 17 and Kansas State Nov. 19 to win the Baha Mar Bahamas Hoops Championship. The team is looking forward to its first true road game.
“I think it’s going to be a great game,” Omier said. “I think we match up pretty good… We love playing on the road. We get rolling really good on the road and [the younger players] are getting juiced off that. We’ve already played neutral spots, but not like a real road game, so we’re excited.”
Asked about playing at the storied Rupp Arena, Omier, who grew up in Nicaragua, smiled and replied: “I didn’t know that was an iconic place. No disrespect, I’m just not from the U.S.”
If Miami wins at Rupp on Tuesday, it won’t be a first for the Hurricanes or Larranaga. On Dec. 6, 2008, under former UM coach Frank Haith, Jack McClinton scored 23 points to lead the No. 23 Hurricanes to a 73-67 win against Kentucky.
On Dec. 16, 1988, as coach of Bowling Green University, Larranaga recorded a 56-54 upset win over Eddie Sutton’s Wildcats in the semifinals of the UK Invitational Tournament.
“I think we can compete every game, no matter where I’ve been,” Larranaga said. “With my Bowling Green team, went to Rupp Arena and won 56-54 in front of a sellout crowd. You never can underestimate your own team or your own players.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 3:52 PM.