Kentucky Basketball: Three Things to Note About the Miami Hurricanes

Here are three things to know about the No. 8 Hurricanes.

Lance Dawe | Nov 27, 2023

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Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky basketball has a tough opponent this Tuesday.

The Wildcats (5-1) are hosting No. 8 Miami during the first ever SEC/ACC Challenge. The Hurricanes, despite their extremely short bench, are one of the most experienced teams in the nation and boast an extremely potent offense.

It's going to be a big test for UK, who has lost their only game they've played against a legitimate opponent (Kansas).

Here are three things to know about the Miami Hurricanes before they take on the Wildcats.

Lethal company

The Kentucky Wildcats' offense has been deadly this season, sitting at No. 4 in scoring, No. 22 in field goal percentage, and No. 4 in three-point percentage. Those are some insane numbers for a young team to have (albeit against pretty bad competition minus Kansas).

Miami, one of the more experienced teams in the nation, is right there with the Wildcats as one of the fastest, most efficient offenses in the nation.

No. 13 in points per game, No. 9 in field goal percentage, and No. 1 in three-point percentage.

Both of these teams play fast, rely on the outside shot, and forget about getting to the foul line.

They're just very different when it comes to the experience they put out on the court.

Extremely experienced, extremely limited

Here are six facts, three about the Hurricanes and three about the Wildcats.

Fact No. 1: Miami is 62nd nationally in Division I experience per player at 2.44 years. That's solid.

Fact No. 2: The U is 346th nationally in bench minutes (20.6%). Looking at their game logs, it's clear that coach Jim Larranaga plays only about seven players a game. That's a short bench.

Fact No. 3: Simultaneously, the Hurricanes are tied for last country in 2-foul participation percentage. What is 2-foul participation?

KenPom gives an explanation:

“2-Foul Participation is simply the percentage of time that a starter with two fouls in the first half has been allowed to play. If a starter picks up a foul with ten minutes left in the first half and plays one of those remaining minutes, then he’s participated in 10% of the minutes he could have. Add up the possible minutes for all starters and the minutes on the floor and you get the team’s number for the whole season.”

Miami doesn't play kids in the first half with two fouls. They pull them immediately. Keep in mind that they also run one of the tightest rotations in the country.

Larranaga has done this the majority of his career at the U. He's controlled his rotations very tightly. Those are the first two facts.

Fact No. 4: UK is 154th nationally in Division 1 experience per player at 1.95 years. That is going to tank once Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso and (maybe) Zvonimir Ivisic get onto the court.

Fact No. 5: Kentucky is 246th nationally in bench minutes (28.3%). Dillingham and Sheppard are incredible off of the bench, so they get serious playing time. The rotation pretty much stops there, however, if you ignore Jordan Burks' limited amount of minutes.

Fact No. 6: The Wildcats are first in the country in 2-foul participation at a whopping 100%. No other team is close. The second-highest 2-foul participation percentage in the nation belongs to Grand Canyon at 77.1%.

Auburn is third at 76.3% but the Tigers are also top 10 in bench minutes. They're the only team in the Power Six that is inside both the top 70 and top 100 in both of those two categories.

Shortened rotations lead to more two-foul participation. Miami has been bucking that trend under Larranaga.

The art of second-chance points

If grabbing offensive rebounds were akin to painting, then neither Kentucky nor Miami know how to hold a brush.

At least, currently they don't. That may change for the Wildcats once they get some size in their rotation.

Both the Hurricanes and the Wildcats rank in the mid-200 range nationally in offensive rebound percentage. The problem for Miami is that not only do they not grab offensive rebounds, they also give them up. Kentucky does not.

It's honestly impressive that both of these offenses are so efficient despite not collecting a ton of second-chance points.

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