Miami vs La Salle: Preview, TV, Radio, Game Time, and Betting Odds
The #24 Miami Hurricanes are looking to build their rebounding and defensive efforts before ACC play begins. The next chance to accomplish those tasks will be today against LaSalle.
La Salle Explorers (8-2) at the Miami Hurricanes (7-2)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 16
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Location: Coral Gables, Fla.
Venue: Watsco Center
TV: CW Network
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)
Trends and Projections: After La Salle's triple-overtime loss to Philadelphia crosstown rival Temple by the score of 106-99, the Explorers won three in a row. Offense is their game.
The leading scorer would be Khalil Brantley at 16.1 points per contest. Combined, four of the five starters for La Salle score between 10.2 and the 16.1 points that Brantley accounts for. La Salle is not the deepest team, and it's not the biggest either.
Post player Rokas Jocius is 6-foot-10 and 260 pounds, but he's the one pure interior player who gets a lot of minutes. Look for the Canes to drive the basketball quite often today. If Jocius gets into foul trouble that could be trouble for the Explorers. Now it's time to discuss Miami's issues.
Miami's rebounding and interior defense need to be improved. This is something that Allhurricanes own Liam Willerup wrote about after the 90-63 loss to Colorado in New York:
What's Wrong With Miami Basketball And How Does It Get Fixed?
There's good news as well. The Hurricanes are still scoring the basketball. Junior guard Wooga Poplar is a tremendous shooter and leads the Hurricanes with 15.9 points per game. He's one of three Miami players averaging just under 16 points, with Norchad Omier at 15.7 and Matthew Cleveland scoring 15.0 per contest.
Defeating La Salle could still be about the basketball being in the hands of point guard Nijel Pack. Scoring is one thing, but more importantly, it's pushing the pace and getting other playmakers the basketball in a position to score. Again, that could help the Canes get Jocius in foul trouble.
Look for a higher-scoring contest today, and for the Canes to be focused after their poor play against Colorado. Miami should win this game by double digits.
SI Sportsbook Betting Odds: Miami is -16.5 against La Salle. The money line would be Miami -2,000 and La Salle +900. The over/under is 153.5.
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