What you need to know as UM men’s basketball team faces big road test at Virginia Tech
The University of Miami men’s basketball team, which rose as high as No. 8 in the AP rankings in November, is in a bit of a funk after a pair of losses; and it does not get easier on the road Saturday against Virginia Tech.
The Hokies (10-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are coming off a 10-point win against No. 21 Clemson and are 8-0 at home. Sean Pedulla scored a career-high 32 points, with six three-pointers, against the Tigers. He also had seven assists and four steals.
Pedulla wasn’t the only one who came up big for Virginia Tech. North Carolina transfer Tyler Nickel went 8 of 11 for 24 points and made a career-high five three-pointers. Northwestern grad transfer Robbie Beran, who chose the Hokies over the Hurricanes after last season, added eight points and eight rebounds.
Senior Hunter Catoor, one of the Hokies’ go-to players, was kicked in the face during the Clemson game and left the court. His status for Saturday is unknown.
Miami, meanwhile, dropped to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in league play after an off night at home against Louisville on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes, who were leading the ACC with 85.2 points per game, managed just 71 against the Cardinals. Their field-goal shooting, which led the conference at 50.2 percent, dropped to 39 percent against Louisville (28 percent in the second half), and their ACC-leading free-throw shooting (80.5 percent) was an uncharacteristic 53 percent.
UM coach Jim Larranaga summed up the game by saying “We were awful from start to finish.”
He was disappointed in his team’s effort, saying players were “lethargic” and unfocused.
Norchad Omier had scored 20-plus points in five consecutive games and was averaging a double-double during that stretch with 22.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Against the Cardinals he finished with nine points and seven rebounds. Nomally a 92 percent free-throw shooter, Omier went 3 for 7 (42 percent) against Louisville.
“You’ve got to know the task at hand and play in the present, concentrate, make the free throw,” Larranaga said, when asked about the team’s poor night from the free-throw line. “When you don’t do that, it’s a downer, not just for that player, but for the whole team. We’ve got a lot of work to do before we play again on Saturday.”
Point guard Nijel Pack, who went 2 of 11 for six points on Wednesday, echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“I want to see a bunch of effort at practice, everyone owning up to their mistakes, and using that loss we just had and taking it to Virginia Tech,” Pack said. “We know how hard a place that is to play, especially guys returning, because we played there. We’re going to need every guy to play their best game and play well as a team.”
UM won last year’s game at Cassell Coliseum 76-70. The Hurricanes were ranked No. 13 at that time and had a 23-5 record. Omier had 17 points and 14 rebounds in that game.
This story was originally published January 12, 2024 at 3:19 PM.