By Harry Barsan

Louisville returns back home as they challenge the woeful Miami Hurricanes.

HurriCAN

It’s been no secret this season that Miami has been the bottom feeder of the ACC this year. With a 5-17 overall record and an ACC worst 1-10 in conference play, Miami is quite clearly not a team foes are scared to play.

However, there are some surprising silver linings to their awful experience this season.

Miami ranks top-40 in both two-point (55.8%) and free throw (77.2%) percentage. Those numbers really fall off a cliff as you reach the arc, falling down to 31.7% on three-pointers.

All things considered, Miami’s decently efficient offensive scheme has yielded an okay to solid offensive front this year, ranking 60th on Kenpom.

Matthew Cleveland is the cream of their crop, averaging 15.9 points per game. He’s been as hot as anyone in the past five games with five straight 20-burgers, averaging 26.4 PPG in that stretch. He’s taken the most volume on the team, averaging a modest 52.8% on field goals and a solid 78.6% from the charity stripe.

Lynn Kidd and Brandon Johnson carry much of the remaining slack.

The slightly taller Kidd plays at the five and makes around 65% of his buckets inside the arc, much of which comes in the paint. He sure can swat away ill-advised shots, but his presence is mostly demanded on offense, as 11.0 PPG is the second among active starters.

Johnson plays a similar role, but at a far less efficient rate. His 8.3 PPG comes on the same shots per game as Kidd. He tries to shoot from deep but hasn’t found much success there, shooting around 28% from three-point range and making just about one per game.

The pair tally around seven boards a piece each game too, accounting for nearly half of Miami’s total count.

HurriCAN’T

There’s a reason they say offense wins games and defense wins championships. Despite an above average offense, the 79.6 points allowed per game is ranked 335th in the nation with their defensive efficiency falling at 345th.

Three-point-land is where the Cards will be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner this game, as opponents are shooting 39.5% here, ahead of only Columbia and Bellarmine.

Expect Reyne Smith to find his spark here again, something he’s seemingly only had at home in the past few games.

The interior isn’t much better. Despite shooting twos very well, opponents shoot them even better against the Hurricane defense to the tune of 56.3%, the 342nd mark nationally.

The Hurricanes are also really bad at scooping up rebounds, holding offensive and defensive rebounding percentages in the 200s. Miami’s opponents come away with eight offensive boards per game, often easily converting them to immediate second-chance points.

While Miami can’t stop anyone from scoring, they can’t really prevent them from shooting either. They have the 321st ranked turnover rate and their non-steal turnover rate is even worse at 351st. This Hurricanes defense gets little to no pressure on opponents, failing to make anyone uncomfortable.

This will be a big factor for Louisville, as Chucky Hepburn is listed as day-to-day with a groin injury. If Hepburn can play, this discussion is moot, but if he can’t the Cards will need to take full advantage of Miami’s swiss cheese of a defense.

If Hepburn sits out Saturday, expect Terrence Edwards Jr. to run the point with Aboubacar Traore playing spot duty to get him some rest.

With or without their star, Louisville should come away victorious and improve to 18-6 on the year and 11-2 in the ACC.

Both teams will meet their fate on Saturday at 2 p.m., and the home crowd will be hungry for some great basketball this fine weekend.

Photo Courtesy // Mallory Peak, Louisville Athletics