When you look up the word inconsistent in the college basketball dictionary, you’ll see a photo of the Miami Hurricanes. After beating Boston College back in early January, the Canes rolled off impressive wins at Duke, against NC State and then at Syracuse. They were 14-5 and ranked. Yet, they suddenly dropped four of their next five. Three of those defeats were to teams sitting below them in the standings, including a last Wednesday loss to Wake Forest.
Of course, with the player turnover that Jim Larrañaga’s squad went through this season, inconsistent should have been expected. Nine new players were brought in this year and because of injury and suspensions, players like Deandre Burnett, Davon Reed and Ivan Cruz Uceda have come in later in the season, not allowing this squad to develop it’s roles.
This is a team that likes to push, likes to shoot and shoot from deep. When they’re hitting, they can win anywhere against anyone. When they are missing, they can get owned at home by Georgia Tech.
For me, if the Hurricanes want to turn things around, Texas Transfer Sheldon McClellen needs to become an alpha dog. He’s Miami’s best scoring threat, capable of hitting from far or attacking the rim. Yet, he can be too passive at times, unwilling to take control. In that loss to Louisville, he took just five shots. He took just seven against Georgia Tech. He needs to have more opportunities with the ball.
Right now Angel Rodriguez is the alpha dog, but he’s been in a terrible shooting slump. The Hurricanes’ point guard is shooting just 21% from the floor since beating Duke. After making eight baskets in Cameron, Rodriguez has made just 16 buckets since, on 76 shots, hitting just 17% from three.
For Boston College, they have little to play for but pride. Half their scoring continues to come from their two starting guards, Olivier Hanlan and Aaron Brown. Both are flexible in the scoring. They can attack the paint, hitting over .500 from inside the arc, but will launch from three, nailing around 33% from deep.
However, that’s about all Jim Christian has. The Eagles have no third scoring option, they have no meat inside and Dennis Clifford has the worst hands in basketball. They can’t stop penetration, they can’t stop the post and they can’t rebound at an effective rate. This helps to explain why they are 0-5 at home in the ACC, losing every game by at least nine points.
WORTHLESS PREDICTION: Miami, 84-70
