The Miami Hurricanes, who have struggled to stay healthy lately, are set to host the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday afternoon in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup.
Miami (13-6, 4-4 ACC) has played several games in which at least one starter has been either limping or out. Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack have missed two games each. Norchad Omier has missed one and Matthew Cleveland could not finish Miami’s 73-61 win at Notre Dame on Wednesday.
Cleveland, who is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, has yet to miss a game this season. But he is questionable for Saturday due to a lower-body injury.
Miami is 9-2 at home, but the Hurricanes have lost two straight at its arena (against Louisville and Florida State). Miami hasn’t won a home game since beating Clemson on Jan. 3.
Pittsburgh (12-7, 3-5) has won three straight ACC road games, beating Louisville, Duke — which was ranked seventh in the nation at the time — and Georgia Tech.
The Panthers are led in scoring by Blake Hinson, who averages 17.9 points and leads the ACC in 3-pointers (64).
Pitt is also getting unexpected contributions from freshman guards Carlton Carrington and Jaland Lowe. Carrington has started every game and is second in scoring (13.5) and first in assists (4.4). Lowe, who has made five starts, has played every game and is averaging 7.1 points.
Carrington has won four ACC Rookie of the Week awards, and Lowe has earned one.
“They are both super talented,” Pitt assistant coach Tim O’Toole said of the freshmen. “They can do different things, which makes it hard for teams to guard them.”
Miami coach Jim Larranaga said his team is good at guarding the perimeter.
“I’m more comfortable with teams shooting 3-pointers than when they try to bludgeon us inside,” Larranaga said.
Indeed, the Hurricanes are undersized with the 6-foot-7 Omier as their only true post player. He is coming off a 33-point, 10-rebound performance against Notre Dame.
For the season, Omier leads Miami in scoring (18.1) and rebounding (9.7). Poplar is averaging 14.7 points while shooting 46.2 percent from deep. Pack is averaging 14.1 points and a team-high 3.8 assists.
–Field Level Media