No. 22 Miami, the most improved team in the nation at 24-6, plays host to Louisville on Saturday in an ACC matchup that serves as the teams’ regular-season finale.
The Hurricanes went 7-24 last season, including 3-17 in the ACC, then cleaned house, bringing in coach Jai Lucas and an entirely new roster. The plan has worked brilliantly as the Hurricanes are 13-4 in league play, clinching a double-bye in next week’s ACC tournament.
“I will reflect on all that after the season,” said Lucas, a strong candidate for ACC and National Coach of the Year honors. “I’m trying to keep everyone in the moment because there is so much basketball left and so much work to do to get better.”
Miami, which has won three straight, relies on veterans Tre Donaldson (16.6 points, 5.9 assists per game) and Tru Washington (11.8 points) in the backcourt and Malik Reneau (19.1 points, 6.7 rebounds per game) and Ernest Udeh Jr. (7.1 points, 9.5 rebounds) up front. Miami’s freshman class is also solid, led by starters Shelton Henderson (14.0 points) and Dante Allen (6.3).
Seldom-used Noam Dovrat, a 6-foot-5 guard from Israel who is listed as a junior but is in his first year in the U.S., was a huge surprise the past two games against Boston College and SMU. Dovrat put up identical numbers in both games, scoring 12 points on 4-for-5 3-point shooting.
For the season, Dovrat is averaging 3.6 points in just 9.3 minutes, yet his 3-point percentage (48.8%) leads the team. He has made 21 of 43 from beyond the arc.
“Noam has earned more minutes,” Lucas said.
The Cardinals lead the series 15-8, including two straight wins. The series is tied 6-6 in games hosted by Miami.
With the new Miami roster and coaching staff, this will be a different challenge for the Cardinals (21-9, 10-7), who lost three of their past five and fell out of the Top 25.
On Tuesday, though, Louisville defeated host Syracuse 77-62.
“Our guys played with a sense of desperation on defense and good spacing on offense,” Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey said.
Kelsey, 48-17 in two seasons at Louisville, does not expect to have five-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. ready to come off the injured list Saturday.
Brown (18.2 points per game) is second on Louisville in scoring, trailing only Ryan Conwell (18.5). Conwell and Isaac McKneely (10.7) are excellent perimeter shooters.
They are two of the eight seniors on Louisville, a list that also includes starting wing J’Vonne Hadley (11.6).
“We have one of the more experienced teams in college basketball,” Kelsey said. “We’re also a very talented offensive team. My eyes light up when people play us with a zone.”
However, Louisville is just 3-7 in true road games, while Miami is 15-2 at home.
“My sole focus is beating a really good Miami team,” Kelsey said. “We have a great group of guys who love Louisville. This would be a big road win for us.”
