Rebounding, getting back in transition will be keys for Kentucky against Miami

Don’t expect the Miami Hurricanes to beat themselves when they step onto the Rupp Arena hardwood Tuesday night. Jim Larrañaga-coached teams don’t operate that way, something new Kentucky assistant coach Chuck Martin knows all too well. When Martin was an assistant at Drexel from 2001-2004, he went up against Larrañaga and his impressive George Mason squads on a regular basis.

Even 20 years later, not much has changed with Larrañaga’s approach to the game. Back-to-back appearances for Miami in the Elite Eight including a Final Four berth in 2022-23 back that up.

“Years ago I was at the University of Drexel and he was at George Mason if I’m not mistaken. We were in the Colonial (Athletic Association). Coach Larrañaga is a New Yorker, I’m a New Yorker, so I’m familiar with his background,” Martin said during Monday morning’s press conference. “He’s always had disciplined teams, really good offensive teams, everywhere he’s been he’s been successful.

“They’re not going to beat themselves. George Mason they did not beat themselves, obviously had an incredible run to the Final Four (in 2006). He goes to Miami they’re not beating themselves, they’ve been one of the better teams if not the best team in the ACC in recent years. And dating back to Bowling Green, his teams are super disciplined, unselfish, and really good on offense.”

Discipline and a high-powered offense would be the perfect way to describe Larrañaga’s current group of Miami Hurricanes (5-0), which were bumped up to No. 8 in the country on Monday afternoon. Kentucky has, uncharacteristically during John Calipari’s tenure in Lexington, played like one of the speedier teams in the country with an insanely fast-paced offense, but Miami might be even better in those areas through the first few weeks of the season.

The Hurricanes rank 11th in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency per KenPom (117.7), fourth in effective field goal percentage (61.5), and first in three-point percentage (45.8). Miami’s average length of possession is just 15.2 seconds, a top 25 mark in the nation. But at the same time, Kentucky has posted similar numbers in all of those categories. Tuesday night’s matchup at Rupp Arena might as well be the Spider-Man meme.

So what does Kentucky need to do in order to pull off the win when the two teams clash on ESPN in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge? We know that Miami is going to push the pace and fire up shots. According to Martin, long rebounds and defending shooters in transition will be among the top keys to victory for the Wildcats.

“We’ve got to continue to become a better rebounding team, especially when we’re playing against teams that shoot the three, which we will tomorrow night against Miami,” Martin said. “They’re shooting close to 46 percent from the three-point line, they’ve got four guys — if I’m not mistaken — (shooting) 50 percent or greater. So long shots, long rebounds, we’ve got to make sure we rebound the ball tomorrow night. We’ve been working on that quite a bit…

“They’re a dangerous team,” Martin continued. “They’re averaging 89 points a night and as I mentioned 46 percent from three-point line, four guys at 50 percent or greater, they’ve got four guards on the floor at any given time and their five-man (Norchad Omier) essentially is a hybrid modern big man, a guy that can beat you off the dribble. If he rebounds the ball, he can push the ball in transition, which makes it dangerous because there’s no post presence, so our bigs have to be conscious of running back in transition and guarding the three-point line as opposed to running to the blocks.”

Don’t be surprised if this game ends with both teams in the 90s or higher. As Martin said, Miami has several shooters making 3s at a clip of 50 percent or better — Wooga Poplar (19-32; 59.4 percent), Bensley Joseph (10-18; 55.6 percent), and Matthew Cleveland (7-14; 50 percent) are the ones to monitor. That doesn’t even include point guard Nigel Pack, who’s at 39.3 percent on 11-28 outside shooting. Omier, Miami’s 6-foot-7 big man, is only 3-10 from deep this season, but he’s versatile enough to run the floor and make plays.

As Calipari would say, the Hurricanes have basketball players.

Another thing those five (all starters for Miami) have in common? They’re all college juniors. Pack and Omier are considered “fourth-year” juniors by the Hurricanes’ team website. Of those five starters, only Cleveland was not with the team last season. There is plenty of continuity on the Miami sideline.

“They play free. They play confident. They’ve got older guys on the team, experienced guys who’ve done this before,” Martin added. “They play like a team that’s connected. I think that’s the biggest thing as we watch those guys.”

Kentucky has a pair of older guys on their roster as well in fifth-year veterans Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell, but the rest of the Wildcats’ production comes from freshmen and one sophomore. This isn’t going to be unfamiliar territory for those youngsters though. Playing No. 1 Kansas in Chicago just three games into the season, even with the loss, was a perfect tune-up for what the pressure will be like on Tuesday night.

“Our spirit is in a good place,” Martin said. “Our enthusiasm for learning, our enthusiasm in practice has been tremendous. We’re excited to toss it up tomorrow night and see what happens.”

The Big Blue Nation is certainly excited too. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday night at Rupp Arena.

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