Miami will have to play its best game thus far to beat Virginia, says Larrañaga

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Jim Larrañaga said his Miami team will probably have to play its best game of the early season if the Hurricanes want to beat No. 6 Virginia tonight (8:30 p.m., ACC Network).

“The first thing is, we’re going to have to figure out how to guard these guys because they’re a very potent offensive team right now,” Larrañaga said of the 8-1 Cavaliers. “The three perimeter players are outstanding moving without the ball, and then moving with the ball.

“They can score off the catch, off the bounce, and then their post guys, (Jayden) Gardner is a handful and can score and can produce a lot of points, while (Kadin) Shedrick is having a great year.”

The Miami coach said Virginia is bigger than his Hurricanes overall, and that presents a problem as well, especially with Shedrick, who towers over Miami’s tallest player.

“That size is a factor,” Larrañaga said. “Their size and scoring ability … we’re going to have to figure out how to defend them. And then, the ‘Pack-Line’ defense, you have to be very patient against it, but you’ve also got to be very aggressive, looking for your opportunities to score.”

Virginia is averaging 70.9 points per game and allowing only 59.1 (for a complete breakdown of tonight’s game, see our Wahoo Preview and other related articles on this site).

Gardner scored 23 points in the last meeting with Miami, while point guard Kihei Clark posted 17. Shedrick had a double-double with 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.

Larrañaga has great respect for Clark, UVA’s fifth-year guard.

“I think one word describes him — winner,” Larrañaga said. “He impacts the game offensively and defensively, and doing the things that it takes to win. Last year against us, he scored the ball at a very high rate.

“So we’re up at the half and we got up 10 and he went on a roll and just led his team to victory. On the other hand, he and his partner, Reece Beekman, are the two best on-ball defenders, not only in the ACC, but in the country. Kihei Clark is a handful for anybody.”