The Arkansas Razorbacks (5-2, 0-0 SEC) will hit the road for the SEC/ACC Challenge against the Miami Hurricanes (3-4, 0-0 ACC) on Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks have had their struggles against high-major teams with losses to Baylor last month and Illinois last week, but the Hurricanes have had an even rougher go of it recently. Miami is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, with the most recent loss coming at the hands of Charleston Southern on Saturday.
This will be the second year in a row that Arkansas head coach John Calipari will face off against Miami, as Kentucky beat the Hurricanes 95-73 with Calipari at the helm in Lexington last year.
This is only the second meeting between Arkansas and Miami, as the two last squared off in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, with Miami taking home the win 75-71 despite a furious comeback effort by the Hogs, who were led by legendary head coach Nolan Richardson.
Miami has an almost-entirely new group of players in the 2024-25 season, with only two players returning from Jim Larrañaga's squad last season. The Canes rebuilt their roster with several key transfers that we'll talk about below.
Here's HawgBeat's preview of what you need to know about the Miami Hurricanes ahead of Friday night's contest, including analytics, potential starting lineups and more...
Pack's unavailability could lead the way for extended minutes from Jalil Bethea, who was the No. 7 player in the nation in the class of 2023 according to Rivals. He committed to the Hurricanes over offers from Kansas, Alabama, UCLA and others.
Bethea has seen an uptick in minutes in the last two games and has played in 18 each of the last two games. He scored seven points against Virginia Commonwealth and six against Charleston Southern. He averages just 6.3 points per game but he's only shooting 5.6 field goal attempts as well.
The other returner from last season is forward Matthew Cleveland, who transferred in from Florida State before last season. He's averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds so far this season, which is lower than they were a year ago, when he put up 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Out of the transfer portal, Larrañaga' grabbed center Lynn Kidd from Virginia Tech, forward Brandon Johnson from East Carolina, guard Jalen Blackmon from Stetson and guard A.J. Staton-McCray from Samford.
All of those transfer players have been utilized heavily, but Johnson has been the most relied upon. He averages the most minutes with 31.1 per game and is the third-leading scorer on the team with 11.4 points per game. He's also effective on the glass, and leads the team in rebounds with 8.7 per game.
In Miami's loss to Charleston Southern last Saturday, Johnson led the team with 23 points on 53% shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Kidd has started every game at center for Miami this season and is averaging 11 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He's shooting 71.7% from the field this season, but he's not a threat from deep and hasn't attempted a three at all this season.
The other two guards — Blackmon and McCray — have done their best to step up with Pack sidelined. Blackmon is averaging 11.6 points per game, which is second on the team behind Pack, and McCray scores 6.9 points per game. McCray had his best scoring game the last time out for the Canes with 13 points on 50% shooting, which included two threes.
One player who might see more playing time for Miami is Austin Swartz, a true freshman shooting guard out of Concord, North Carolina. He hadn't played much this season until the last two games, when he was on the floor for 17 minutes against VCU and 22 minutes against Charleston Southern. He had a season-high 15 points last Saturday and was 3-of-4 from deep.
Miam's KenPom standing is intriguing though, because while the Canes have the 276th-ranked offensive efficiency, their defense is No. 24. They're an extremely slow team as far as tempo goes, as they rank 275th in the nation in adjusted tempo.
That's a stark difference from what Arkansas is ranked. The Razorbacks' offensive efficiency is ranked 75th and their tempo is at No. 54 on the year, which means it would be best for the Hogs if they can speed up the pace of the game, get out in transition and keep the Miami defense on their heels.
On the defensive side of the ball, because Miami has struggled offensively (the Canes are averaging 73 points per game in their last four) it would behoove the Razorbacks to do what they've done best this season and force turnovers. Miami doesn't turn the ball over much, only 9.3 times per game, but that's an area the Hogs have been strong in, as they force 12.3 per game.
Looking closer at the advanced stats for the Hurricanes, Arkansas can exploit the Hurricanes game by bullying them on the boards. Miami ranks 287th in total rebounds, 259th in defensive rebounds and 253rd in offensive boards. They've lost the rebound battle in two of their last four games, and every one of those teams were able to have success on the offensive glass.
Johnson is the Hurricanes' best rebounder and boasts a 17.4% rebounding rate, which is higher than any Razorback. Trevon Brazile is first on the Razorbacks with a 15.5% rate and Jonas Aidoo is second at 13.3%, but given the lack of playing time due to injury for those two, the other guys like Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic will need to step up.
There will be an interesting battle between Johnson and Thiero. Johnson is strong inside with a 3.2% block rate, but he also turns the ball over at a high clip with a 16.5% turnover rate. Thiero leads the Razorbacks with a 2.9% steal rate, so if he can cause some problems in that area, it bodes well for Arkansas.
Arkansas has rolled out the same starting five for every game this season and there's no indication things will look any different. However, there could be a slight change depending on the availability of center Jonas Aidoo.
Aidoo missed the last three games headed into the Illinois matchup but made his return on Thanksgiving Day. He only logged 11 minutes in the game, though, so for now we'll stick with predicting Zvonimir Ivisic to get the start.
Possible Miami Starting Lineup
Miami has run a three-guard lineup with Pack, Blackmon and Cleveland until its most recent game, when the Canes started Bethea, Blackmon and Staton-McCray. Larranaga said Monday Pack's status is still unknown because of injury, and Cleveland "needs to play better" to get more minutes.
Arkansas has been strong defensively throughout the season and the Hogs will need to keep that up Tuesday. Miami's offense is struggling and the last thing fans want to see at this point is defensive lapses that the Hurricanes capitalize on.
Arkansas and Miami will tip off at 6 p.m. from Watsco Center in Miami, Florida on Tuesday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
The Razorbacks have had their struggles against high-major teams with losses to Baylor last month and Illinois last week, but the Hurricanes have had an even rougher go of it recently. Miami is in the midst of a four-game losing streak, with the most recent loss coming at the hands of Charleston Southern on Saturday.
This will be the second year in a row that Arkansas head coach John Calipari will face off against Miami, as Kentucky beat the Hurricanes 95-73 with Calipari at the helm in Lexington last year.
This is only the second meeting between Arkansas and Miami, as the two last squared off in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, with Miami taking home the win 75-71 despite a furious comeback effort by the Hogs, who were led by legendary head coach Nolan Richardson.
Miami has an almost-entirely new group of players in the 2024-25 season, with only two players returning from Jim Larrañaga's squad last season. The Canes rebuilt their roster with several key transfers that we'll talk about below.
Here's HawgBeat's preview of what you need to know about the Miami Hurricanes ahead of Friday night's contest, including analytics, potential starting lineups and more...
Miami personnel preview
Fifth-year guard Nijel Pack is a main cog for the Hurricanes, but it's worth noting his status for Tuesday's game is up in the air because of a lower-body injury. He missed the Canes' game against Charleston Southern and could miss the tilt with the Razorbacks as well.Pack's unavailability could lead the way for extended minutes from Jalil Bethea, who was the No. 7 player in the nation in the class of 2023 according to Rivals. He committed to the Hurricanes over offers from Kansas, Alabama, UCLA and others.
Bethea has seen an uptick in minutes in the last two games and has played in 18 each of the last two games. He scored seven points against Virginia Commonwealth and six against Charleston Southern. He averages just 6.3 points per game but he's only shooting 5.6 field goal attempts as well.
The other returner from last season is forward Matthew Cleveland, who transferred in from Florida State before last season. He's averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds so far this season, which is lower than they were a year ago, when he put up 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Out of the transfer portal, Larrañaga' grabbed center Lynn Kidd from Virginia Tech, forward Brandon Johnson from East Carolina, guard Jalen Blackmon from Stetson and guard A.J. Staton-McCray from Samford.
All of those transfer players have been utilized heavily, but Johnson has been the most relied upon. He averages the most minutes with 31.1 per game and is the third-leading scorer on the team with 11.4 points per game. He's also effective on the glass, and leads the team in rebounds with 8.7 per game.
In Miami's loss to Charleston Southern last Saturday, Johnson led the team with 23 points on 53% shooting to go along with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Kidd has started every game at center for Miami this season and is averaging 11 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He's shooting 71.7% from the field this season, but he's not a threat from deep and hasn't attempted a three at all this season.
The other two guards — Blackmon and McCray — have done their best to step up with Pack sidelined. Blackmon is averaging 11.6 points per game, which is second on the team behind Pack, and McCray scores 6.9 points per game. McCray had his best scoring game the last time out for the Canes with 13 points on 50% shooting, which included two threes.
One player who might see more playing time for Miami is Austin Swartz, a true freshman shooting guard out of Concord, North Carolina. He hadn't played much this season until the last two games, when he was on the floor for 17 minutes against VCU and 22 minutes against Charleston Southern. He had a season-high 15 points last Saturday and was 3-of-4 from deep.
Analytics preview
Arkansas' KenPom ranking has steadily dropped since the start of the season and now ranks No. 43, an 18-spot drop from where the Hogs started at No. 25. Miami's ranking is over twice as low, though, and the Canes rank No. 93 headed into the game.Miam's KenPom standing is intriguing though, because while the Canes have the 276th-ranked offensive efficiency, their defense is No. 24. They're an extremely slow team as far as tempo goes, as they rank 275th in the nation in adjusted tempo.
That's a stark difference from what Arkansas is ranked. The Razorbacks' offensive efficiency is ranked 75th and their tempo is at No. 54 on the year, which means it would be best for the Hogs if they can speed up the pace of the game, get out in transition and keep the Miami defense on their heels.
On the defensive side of the ball, because Miami has struggled offensively (the Canes are averaging 73 points per game in their last four) it would behoove the Razorbacks to do what they've done best this season and force turnovers. Miami doesn't turn the ball over much, only 9.3 times per game, but that's an area the Hogs have been strong in, as they force 12.3 per game.
Looking closer at the advanced stats for the Hurricanes, Arkansas can exploit the Hurricanes game by bullying them on the boards. Miami ranks 287th in total rebounds, 259th in defensive rebounds and 253rd in offensive boards. They've lost the rebound battle in two of their last four games, and every one of those teams were able to have success on the offensive glass.
Johnson is the Hurricanes' best rebounder and boasts a 17.4% rebounding rate, which is higher than any Razorback. Trevon Brazile is first on the Razorbacks with a 15.5% rate and Jonas Aidoo is second at 13.3%, but given the lack of playing time due to injury for those two, the other guys like Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic will need to step up.
There will be an interesting battle between Johnson and Thiero. Johnson is strong inside with a 3.2% block rate, but he also turns the ball over at a high clip with a 16.5% turnover rate. Thiero leads the Razorbacks with a 2.9% steal rate, so if he can cause some problems in that area, it bodes well for Arkansas.
Potential starting lineups
Possible Arkansas Starting Lineup| Pos. | Name | Measurables | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Boogie Fland | 6-2, 175 lbs. | 15.9 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 4.9 Ast |
| SG | D.J. Wagner | 6-4, 195 lbs. | 8.7 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 2.9 Ast |
| SF | Johnell Davis | 6-4, 210 lbs. | 8.4 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 2.1 Ast |
| PF | Adou Thiero | 6-8. 220 lbs. | 19.1 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.7 Ast |
| C | Zvonimir Ivisic | 7-2, 245 lbs. | 12.1 Pts, 4.3 Reb, 0.7 Ast |
Arkansas has rolled out the same starting five for every game this season and there's no indication things will look any different. However, there could be a slight change depending on the availability of center Jonas Aidoo.
Aidoo missed the last three games headed into the Illinois matchup but made his return on Thanksgiving Day. He only logged 11 minutes in the game, though, so for now we'll stick with predicting Zvonimir Ivisic to get the start.
Possible Miami Starting Lineup
| Pos. | Name | Measurables | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| PG | Jalen Blackmon | 6-2, 180 lbs. | 11.6 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 2.0 Ast |
| SG | A.J. Staton-McCray | 6-4, 196 lbs. | 6.9 Pts, 2.4 Reb, 0.7 Ast |
| SF | Jalil Bathea | 6-5, 190 lbs. | 6.3 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.7 Ast |
| PF | Brandon Johnson | 6-8, 223 lbs. | 11.4 Pts, 8.7 Reb, 1.4 Ast |
| C | Lynn Kidd | 6-10, 241 lbs. | 11.0 Pts, 5.9 Reb, 1.3 Ast |
Wrapping it up
Miami has been down on its luck recently, but Arkansas hasn't looked unbeatable either. The Hogs are in need of getting back on track with a win after they got shot to death by the Illini, who hit 15 threes in the game and shot 52.6% from the field.Arkansas has been strong defensively throughout the season and the Hogs will need to keep that up Tuesday. Miami's offense is struggling and the last thing fans want to see at this point is defensive lapses that the Hurricanes capitalize on.
Arkansas and Miami will tip off at 6 p.m. from Watsco Center in Miami, Florida on Tuesday. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
