Miami Faces 78-68 Setback at Boston College

Trinton Breeze
2 min read
The University of Miami men’s basketball team faced its first loss of the new year on Wednesday, falling 78-68 to the Boston College Eagles (9-5, 1-2 ACC) at Conte Forum.

Senior Matthew Cleveland led the Hurricanes (4-9, 0-2 ACC) in scoring for the third straight game, totaling 21 points against Boston College for his third consecutive double-digit scoring contest. Graduate student Lynn Kidd and senior Brandon Johnson paced Miami on the glass, totaling eight rebounds apiece.

The Hurricanes started the game on a 10-2 run thanks in large part to Kidd who scored six of Miami’s first 10 points. Five Miami players scored five or more points in the first 20 minutes of action to put the Hurricanes up by 19, 32-13, at the 8:38 mark in the frame.

Chad Venning responded for the Eagles by pouring in 15 first-half points to cut the Hurricanes’ lead to 12 points, 41-29, at the halftime break.

Boston College opened the second half on a 10-2 run to pull to within four, 43-39, of the Hurricanes just four minutes into the half.

Cleveland put the Hurricanes on his back midway through the frame, ratting on 10 straight points to extend Miami’s lead back to seven, 53-46, at the 12:58 mark.

However, the Eagles continued to fight back and they took their first lead of the day, 56-55, on a 3-pointer by Roger McFarlane with 8:15 to play in the game. The threes continued to fall for the Eagles in the second half as they shot 57 percent from 3-point range.

Boston College stifled the Hurricanes’ offense in the second half, holding Miami to a 28.6 percent shooting effort in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles ultimately outscored the Hurricanes 49-27 in the second half to come away with the 78-68 victory.

The Hurricanes remain on the road for their next game against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for 2 p.m. and the game will air on ACC Network.

 
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Comments (9)

They way we've played in our last two seasons is almost surreal. This is PC or FH at their worst years bad
 
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Can the worst basketball team in the country who’s coach just resigned experience a “setback” lol
Yes!!! They're probably going to lose a 5 star McDonalds All-American, and highest recruit in program history. Why? They want to be loyal to upper classmen who aren't producing. Most of the upper classman aren't nearly as talented as the freshmen. I'm talking about Jalil Bethea!!!
 
Yes!!! They're probably going to lose a 5 star McDonalds All-American, and highest recruit in program history. Why? They want to be loyal to upper classmen who aren't producing. Most of the upper classman aren't nearly as talented as the freshmen. I'm talking about Jalil Bethea!!!
Has Bethea earned more PT? We don't see him practice, don't focus on his defense (hard to do on TV), or evaluate the other "intangibles" that go into Coaches' decisions.

Offensive production on the court might have a role in why his PT is what it is, 29% (10 for 36) on his three point attempts and 39% overall.

The unheralded Divine Ogochukwu (like Bethea a true freshman) is 26-38 (68%) from the floor in playing one less minute per game.

Bethea is 27-69, meaning he has one more FG in 31 more attempts. That is skewed by Divine not shooting threes but still ... we're talking a 5 star here, right?

All that aside, why not give Bethea 25 minutes, see what he can do, and adjust from there?
 
Has Bethea earned more PT? We don't see him practice, don't focus on his defense (hard to do on TV), or evaluate the other "intangibles" that go into Coaches' decisions.

Offensive production on the court might have a role in why his PT is what it is, 29% (10 for 36) on his three point attempts and 39% overall.

The unheralded Divine Ogochukwu (like Bethea a true freshman) is 26-38 (68%) from the floor in playing one less minute per game.

Bethea is 27-69, meaning he has one more FG in 31 more attempts. That is skewed by Divine not shooting threes but still ... we're talking a 5 star here, right?

All that aside, why not give Bethea 25 minutes, see what he can do, and adjust from there?
They're playing him about 12 min per game. Take a look at the Clemson and Mount St Marys game. This is what you get when you play him. Divine shoots layups, not 3s or jumpshots, so his percentage is going to be higher. Divine is a very good player and should be playing more as well. Loyalty to upper classmen has you 4-9, but they act like they're 9-4. Play the freshmen or you wont have them next year.
 
They're playing him about 12 min per game. Take a look at the Clemson and Mount St Marys game. This is what you get when you play him. Divine shoots layups, not 3s or jumpshots, so his percentage is going to be higher. Divine is a very good player and should be playing more as well. Loyalty to upper classmen has you 4-9, but they act like they're 9-4. Play the freshmen or you wont have them next year.
Given how things are going and how active the Portal is, we may not have them even if their PT is significantly increased. But ... I'm with you as to why not see a lot more of the young guys, especially Bethea.
 
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Given how things are going and how active the Portal is, we may not have them even if their PT is significantly increased. But ... I'm with you as to why not see a lot more of the young guys, especially Bethea.
Let's just get a win today.
 
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