Miami @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2020 ) Pittsburgh 58, Miami-Florida 66

Miami (Fla.) seeks a sweep of the season series and aims to put back-to-back wins together for the first time in ACC play this season when the Hurricanes visit Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. Miami snapped a four-game losing streak by closing the first half with a 27-8 run and going on to beat visiting Virginia Tech 71-61 on Tuesday after dropping its previous two games by a combined 53 points.

“I thought we played the best half of basketball we have played thus far in the ACC, in the first 20 minutes,” Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga told reporters after Tuesday’s win in which they led 44-25 at intermission. “We scored the ball extremely well, we shot the ball extremely well and we shared the ball extremely well. But what made that possible was that we played terrific defense.” Miami has won seven straight meetings after shooting 52.9 percent from the field in a 66-58 triumph Jan. 12, but could be without leading scorer Chris Lykes (15.7) for the third straight game Sunday because of a groin injury. Pittsburgh looks to take advantage of that to snap a two-game slide and win for the fourth time in six ACC home games after falling 79-67 at eighth-ranked Duke on Tuesday. Sophomore Au’Diese Toney has emerged as a strong scoring threat of late for the Panthers as the 6-6 guard had 16 points in the team’s last win over Boston College on Jan. 22 and poured in a career-best 27 at Duke on 11-of-19 from the field (3-of-4 from 3-point range).

TIME: Noon ET. TV: ACC Network

ABOUT MIAMI (11-9, 3-7 ACC): Senior guard Dejan Vasiljevic had 18 points in the win over Virginia Tech and is second on the team in scoring (14.4) while connecting on 40.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Freshman guards Harlond Beverly (13 points versus Virginia Tech) and Isaiah Wong (29 total the past two games) have prospered with the extra playing time due to Lykes’ injury, and Larranaga told reporters: “Harlond and Isaiah are growing into ACC guards.” Junior guard Kameron McGusty is averaging 13.9 points (19 against Pitt), but managed three last time out, and 6-10 junior forward Sam Waardenburg tops the team in rebounding (6.5).

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (13-8, 4-6): Toney’s emergence has helped the Panthers with sophomore guard and leading scorer Trey McGowens (12.5) going through a shooting slump, connecting on 8-of-39 from the field the past four games after averaging 22 points the previous three (18 versus Miami). Sophomore guard Xavier Johnson runs the show for Pitt, averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 5.2 assists, while freshman guard Justin Champagnie (team-best 7.0 rebounds) contributed 14.7 points per game the past three to boost his season mark to 11.6. Junior guard Ryan Murphy also averages in double figures scoring (10.1), but was scoreless in 14 minutes Tuesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pittsburgh junior F Terrell Brown is 20-for-26 from the field over the last eight games, averaging 5.5 points in that span.

2. Miami 7-0 junior C Rodney Miller Jr. is averaging 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in the last three contests.

3. The Panthers entered Saturday second in the ACC and 26th nationally in turnover margin (plus-3.33).

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh 70, Miami 68