Tale of the Tape: Virginia vs. Miami

Three of Virginia’s next four games will be played at home, as Miami tips off the February schedule at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday at 2 p.m. on Raycom.

The third-ranked Cavaliers (19-1, 7-1 ACC) will be shooting for their eighth straight 20-win season, while the Hurricanes (9-11, 1-7) will be looking for just their second conference win of the season. The ‘Hoos have won six of the last nine against Miami, dating back to the 2011-12 season, including a nine-point win in Coral Gables last February.

UVA, who enters Saturday as a 20-point favorite, remains the top overall team in the country in both the KenPom ratings (2nd AdjD, 5th AdjO) and the NET rankings, while Miami is 99th overall according to KenPom (71st AdjO, 147th AdjD) and 113th in the NET.

The U has dropped seven of its last eight games (all of them against ACC opponents, five of which were ranked) after going 8-4 in the non-conference portion of the schedule. The subpar performances can be attributed to lack of depth, as the shorthanded ‘Canes have been plagued by injuries and a notable departure.

After testing the professional waters in the offseason and sitting out all of 2018-19, Miami 6-11 junior big man Dewan Hernandez announced this week that he will not be returning. The NCAA determined that he would not be eligible again until about midway through the 2019-20 season due to “entering into an agreement with and accepting benefits from an agent,” so he decided to prepare for the upcoming NBA Draft. Hernandez (who legally changed his last name from Huell in the fall) was Miami’s only player to start all 32 games last season, averaging 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

Redshirt freshman forward Deng Gak (6-10, 211 pounds) registered 2.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in his eight games, but suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 1, while 7-foot junior center Rodney Miller decided to redshirt prior to this season along with 6-5 Oklahoma transfer guard Kameron McGusty. Not to mention, Miami also lost Lonnie Walker and Bruce Brown to the NBA and Ja’Quan Newton to graduation after winning 22 games last year.

All of this has left head coach Jim Larranaga with seven scholarship players, with 5-7 sophomore point guard Chris Lykes leading the way. Lykes, who was also heavily recruited by Tony Bennett’s staff during his time at Gonzaga College HS in Maryland, ranks ninth on the ACC scoring list, pacing the Hurricanes with 16.8 points a game to go with his team-best 3.6 assists per outing. Quite simply, as Lykes goes, the Hurricanes go. He has led the team in scoring in five of the last eight games, with a season high of 28 against NC State in the conference opener, and put up a team-best 19 against the ‘Hoos last season.

Seniors Zach Johnson (13.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Anthony Lawrence Jr. (12.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Ebuka Izundu (11.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg), along with junior guard DJ Vasiljevic (11.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), round out the only Power Six group that features five players averaging at least 11 points a game.

Providing at least a little bit of depth are sophomore forward Sam Waardenburg (5.5 ppg), freshman guard Anthony Mack (3.3 ppg) and sophomore walk-on Willie Herenton, who has only appeared in eight games. The ‘Canes have lost 11 of their last 15 games overall.

After Saturday’s game, UVA will have a full week to prepare for next Saturday’s rematch against No. 2 Duke at JPJ (tipoff is set for 6 p.m).