[2:55 PM] Stanford v. Miami (FL)

Who will WIN this matchup?

Stanford Cardinal (4-0)

Miami (FL) Hurricanes (3-0)

 

• The Cardinal, under first-year coach Jerod Haase, overcame a brief second-half scare against Colorado State after winning their first three games by double digits while the Hurricanes have outscored their foes by an average of 33 points.

• Haase pointed to his team’s defense – and sophomore guard Robert Cartwright in particular – for helping Stanford hold Colorado State to its lowest point total (49) since the 2014-15 season.

• The Hurricanes had a sluggish first half offensively against Ivy League foe Pennsylvania in their last game before building a 22-point second half-lead and eventually winning 74-62, thanks in large part to their own aggressive defense.

• Haase inherited four players from fired coach Johnny Dawkins – Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey and Marcus Allen – who averaged in double figures last season, although Travis only played in eight games as a result of an upper leg stress fracture. Travis has already proved that he has fully recovered, averaging 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds to begin the season. Travis, Pickens (13.3 points a game), Humphrey (9.0 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Allen (5.0 points) are all starting along with Cartwright (6.0 points, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals) while 7-foot sophomore center Josh Sharma (5.5 points, 1.5 blocks), forward Grant Verhoeven (4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, guard Marcus Sheffield (7.0 points) and senior guard Christian Sanders (3.8 points) are coming off the bench.

• Miami’s mix of five returners and four freshmen have meshed well with the newcomers scoring 56.2 percent of the points while the veterans have provided 65.2 percent of the rebounds and 69.2 percent of the assists. Five-star recruits Dewan Huell (13.0 points, 66.7 percent shooting, 6.7 rebounds), a 6-11 forward, and Brown (9.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists.) have lived up to expectations along with Australian guard DJ Vasiljevic (11.7 points, 9-of-18 on 3-pointers). While the rookies are giving Miami punch off the bench, veteran guards Newton (15.7 points, 4.0 assists) and Davon Reed (11.0 points) as well as forwards Kamari Murphy (9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds) and Anthony Lawrence (6.0 points, 2.3 assists, 2.7 steals) are certainly holding up their end of the bargain thus far.

 

StreakSmarts Pick: Miami (FL) Hurricanes

Confidence: 5/10

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