The fifth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (22-4, 13-1 ACC) need to fend off visiting Virginia Tech (12-15, 3-11 ACC) if they hope to hold on to a projected number one seed in the upcoming NCAA March Madness Tournament.
Coming off a disappointing 80-65 defeat at the hands of Wake Forest, their first conference loss on the year, the Canes need to be mentally prepared for their clash with the Hokies.
For the Hokies, look no further than star guard Erick Green. The leading scorer in the nation at 25.2 points per game, Green scored 30 points, with five 3-pointers, in the last meeting between the two teams. He is also coming off a 26 point, 5-assist performance against Florida State in which the Hokies snapped a nine-game losing streak.
While it is certainly a favorable match-up for Miami, the Hurricanes have looked flat over the past several games and will need a strong performance out of senior Durand Scott and sophomore Shane Larkin.
The duo combine to score an average of 26 points per game and will be relying on Reggie Johnson to pull down enough rebounds to give them second and third chances. Johnson comes into the game averaging nearly 8 boards per game.
Larkin, Johnson and Kenny Kadji combined for 40 points in a 65-49 home win over Virginia Tech Feb. 9 and the Canes will need just as strong of a showing out of them to ensure another victory over the Hokies.
The Canes need this win to help them prepare for their Saturday match-up against No. 3 ranked Duke who sits two games behind them in the ACC standings. While a loss at Duke might not necessarily cause Miami to lose its number one seed in the NCAA Tournament, a loss against Virginia Tech would more than likely give the nod back to the hungry Michigan Wolverines.
The 7 p.m. match-up tonight is available on ESPN3 and on pay-per-view on ESPN Full Court.
Live Streaming:
Live stream of the game will be provided by ESPN here (service provider required).
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