Miami Travels to No. 9 North Carolina Tuesday
Miami (20-8, 9-7 ACC) at North Carolina (22-7, 11-5 ACC)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
Feb. 27, 2018 | 9 p.m.
Dean E. Smith Center | Chapel Hill, N.C.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Winners of back-to-back games, the Miami men’s basketball team travels to No. 9 North Carolina Tuesday evening at the Dean Smith Center. Game time is 9 p.m., with ESPN televising the contest. WZAB 880-AM has the local radio broadcast. The game also streams online through the WatchESPN app.
The Hurricanes (20-8, 9-7 ACC) rallied from a 14-point deficit late in the second half on Saturday to pull out a 79-78 win over Boston College. Freshman Lonnie Walker IV’s 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left capped the comeback. Fellow rookie Chris Lykes scored 11 of his 15 points in the final four minutes, while Walker added 14 points in the game. Dewan Huell scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards while Anthony Lawrence II added 13 points.
Since Bruce Brown Jr. went down with an injury eight games ago, Walker and Lykes have stepped up as Miami’s leading scorers. Walker has averaged 13.3 points per game in the last eight contests, while Lykes has totaled 13.1 points per game in that span.
Miami earned its 20th victory of the season Saturday, marking the sixth time in seven seasons under Jim Larrañaga the Hurricanes reached the 20-win plateau. Miami joins Duke, North Carolina and Virginia as ACC teams to earn at least six 20-win seasons in the last seven years.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Miami sits in a three-way tie for sixth place in the ACC at 9-7 with Louisville and Virginia Tech. North Carolina is in third place with a 10-6 conference mark.
Overall this season Miami is averaging 74.1 points per game and allowing 66.8 per game. Dewan Huell leads the Hurricanes in scoring at 11.6 points per game, while Walker is scoring 11.5 per game. Walker leads the Canes in scoring in ACC play with 13.8 points per game, while fellow Lykes is averaging 11.4 points per game in conference action.
North Carolina (22-7, 11-5 ACC) last played on Wednesday, winning at Syracuse, 78-74, the Tar Heels’ sixth straight victory. Luke Maye leads UNC in scoring (18.0) and rebounding (10.2), while Joel Berry II is averaging 17.7 points per game.
North Carolina leads the all-time series with Miami, 21-7, although the Hurricanes have won five of the last eight meetings. Since Jim Larrañaga arrived at UM, the Canes are 5-5 against UNC, including a pair of wins in Chapel Hill. The teams split a pair of games last year, with Miami prevailing, 77-62, in Coral Gables, and UNC winning 78-53 in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
Miami returns home Saturday (March 3) to battle Virginia Tech in a noon contest that serves as the regular-season finale. Prior to the game, Miami will conduct Senior Day ceremonies. Fans wishing to attend home Miami basketball games this season are encouraged to use StubHub, the official secondary ticket market for Miami Athletics, to purchase single-game tickets, as season tickets are sold out.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
