Yahoo Sports Hurricanes aim to end seven-game losing skid vs. Presbyterian College on Sunday
The University of Miami men’s basketball team, mired in a seven-game losing streak, should finally get back to winning on Sunday with a home game against the Presbyterian College Blue Hose.
Although Presbyterian has a better record (6-5) than the Hurricanes (3-7), the Blue Hose, who play in the Big South Conference, are ranked 236 in the Ken Pom national ratings while Miami is No. 97. UM’s offense is ranked 33rd in the nation and the Blue Hose offense is ranked No. 229.
The Canes are coming off a trio of difficult games against Arkansas, Clemson and, most recently, top-ranked Tennessee, which beat Miami 75-62 on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic.
UM held its own against the Vols, and even led briefly in the first half, but struggled in the closing minutes. Center Lynn Kidd led Miami with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Nijel Pack had 12 points and A.J. Staton-McCray added 11.
Freshmen Divine Ugochukwu and Isaiah Johnson-Arigu provided a second-half spark against Tennessee, which could lead to increased minutes in upcoming games.
Ugochukwu, the guard from Houston, was a late addition to Miami’s freshman class. He was a high school teammate of the sons of former NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon, who reached out to UM coach Jim Larranaga and suggested that Ugochukwu might be a good fit for the Miami program.
The initial plan was to redshirt him, but that changed after a few weeks of practice.
“During the summer, after about three weeks of watching him in practice, I said, ‘Oh, we’re not redshirting this kid,’ Larranaga said. “But he still has a lot to learn. [Against Tennessee], he played very, very well. And he’s had games like this already. But we’re trying to bring him along. He’s kind of understudying Nijel Pack. At the end, I should’ve gotten Nijel back in earlier so they could have played together more. And moving forward, that’s in the back of my mind.”
Johnson-Arigu, a Minneapolis native, had played only four games for UM before Tuesday, and never for more than five minutes, but he stayed in 11 minutes against Tennessee. He had a rebound and an assist.
“Isaiah is one of those laid-back kids, very quiet, very unassuming, and so, he was a little bit behind some of the other guys in July, August, September, October,” Larranaga explained. “In the last few weeks of practice, he has started to pick it up. He’s been more aggressive. He’s defending better, rebounding better. So, in the second half, we needed to give Brandon Johnson a little bit of rest. I never intended to just let Isaiah stay in the whole time, but he went in and he helped us. If he can continue to improve, he’ll earn playing time.”
Defense and rebounding have been Miami’s weaknesses so far this season, and players have been challenged to improve in those areas. Larranaga said he is still trying to find a reliable rotation.
“We haven’t determined a set rotation yet because there’s too many inconsistencies on the players’ part,” he said. “If you’re inconsistent on defense, if you’re inconsistent on rebounding, if you’re inconsistent on offense, you’re not going to earn consistent playing time.”
