Miami at Syracuse: Where to Watch, Betting Odds, Injury News, and More
The Miami basketball team finds itself in a difficult scenario.
Losing three of its last four games, the Canes now travel to one of the most difficult venues in college basketball, the JMA Wireless Dome, a.k.a. the Carrier Dome.
If Miami comes out on the wrong end of this game its going to be in a losing tailspin that it may not be able to get out of. It's as close to a must-win game as the Hurricanes will have for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Syracuse is also struggling with quality competition. Recently annihilated by North Carolina before getting a home win over Pittsburgh, the Orange will need to protect their home court to get back in the ACC race.
Miami Hurricanes (12-5, 3-3) at the Syracuse Orange (12-5, 3-3)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: Noon
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Venue: JMA Wireless Dome
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: fuboTV with a free trial
Radio: Miami (560 AM), West Palm Beach (106.3 FM), Fort Myers (97.3 FM), Kissimmee (1080 AM), Jacksonville (92.5 FM), St. Petersburg (1040 AM), and Pensacola area (1490 AM)
Injury News: The good news for the Canes would be a relatively healthy roster beyond the traditional bumps and bruises of a college basketball season. For Syracuse, it's been without one of its big men for a few weeks.
The Orange are without Naheem McCleod for the rest of the season as he recovers from foot surgery. Playing in 14 games before his injury, McCleod is at 3.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. McCleod has been out of the Syracuse rotation since the Duke game on Jan. 2.
Betting Odds: The SI Sports Book has Syracuse -1.5 over Miami. The over/under is 158.5. The money line is Syracuse -118 and Miami -105.
Key Matchups: How will Miami decide to defend all-around Syracuse guard Judah Mintz? He's averaging 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per contest. The 6-foot-4 and 185-pound offensive weapon is also adept on the defensive end, averaging 2.2 steals per ball game.
Miami's Bensley Joseph is a tremendous on-ball defender. He's certainly going to be a part of the game plan for Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga and his coaching staff. Ball screens, fast breaks, and when Mintz penetrates the lane are the bigger concerns.
When there's a switch, can Nijel Pack or Wooga Poplar consistently stay in front of Mintz? Regardless of which player it may be for Miami, what about Mintz taking the basketball to the rack during a fast break when it's an open-court situation?
How well Miami handles this future NBA player is going to be a prime factor in deciding the outcome. As a result of Mintz's ability to get into the paint and score or shoot from the perimeter, the Canes need to be mindful of the three-point line.
Syracuse shoots only 32.8% from behind the arc. That is a bit misleading as Mintz can get hot, as can forward Chris Bell, as he's knocking down 39% of his shots from deep.
When Miami has the ball, look for an approach to drive the basketball to the rim and also get Norchad Omier involved in the offense. Syracuse is not the biggest team in the ACC by any stretch of the imagination, especially with McCleod not playing. Omier should be effective against Syracuse forwards Maliq Brown and the aforementioned Bell.
2023-24 Miami Hurricanes Basketball Schedule
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