Miami @ George Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2016 ) George Washington 64, Miami-Florida 72

Miami gets back into action after extending its record to 8-0 with a 69-54 triumph over Boston University on Dec. 5. The eighth-ranked Hurricanes now gear up for a long stretch away from home, beginning with Saturday's visit to George Washington, which last hosted a top-10 opponent Nov. 16, 2015, when it defeated Virginia 73-68.

The Hurricanes' unblemished start - the second time Miami is 8-0 under seventh-year coach Jim Larranaga - isn't much of a surprise considering the defense is stifling opponents and is ranked second in the nation through Tuesday in points allowed (57.1) and field-goal percentage against (35.3). But Miami can also score and the quick maturity of highly regarded freshman Lonnie Walker IV figures to make the Hurricanes that much more dangerous, especially once he begins combining with last year's freshman sensation Bruce Brown Jr. With Brown sidelined with a left-hand injury against BU - he will sit out the GW game as well, Walker took over in his first start and recorded personal highs of 26 points (9-of-15) and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. The 2017 McDonald's All-American scored 10 of Miami's first 16 points in the second half to take control of a tie game and Walker went on to be named the ACC Rookie of the Week, the first Hurricane to be so honored since Brown in February 2017.

TV: Noon ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT MIAMI (8-0): The Hurricanes have gotten balanced scoring all year but against BU, the only other player beside Walker to reach double figures for the Canes was guard Dejan Vasiljevic, who went 6-for-10 for 15 points for his third straight game in double figures. Free throw shooting remained an issue and Miami dropped to second-to-last in the nation (57.3 percent) ahead of only BU after hitting 53.3 percent from the charity stripe against the Terriers. The Hurricanes, however, are outscoring opponents by 22.1 points per game - second-best nationally - and opposing teams are shooting only 25.7 percent from beyond the arc, third-best in the country.

ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON (5-5): GW's three-game winning streak came to a screeching halt its last time out as it fell to Penn State 74-54 in its lowest-scoring game of the season. The Colonials shot 36.5 percent from the floor, a far cry from the .500 they hit combined during their three prior wins over Morgan State, Temple and Princeton. Senior Yuta Watanabe, however, remained on top of his game with a team-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting for his eighth double-figure outing in 10 games and he continues to be the main man for GW, leading the team in scoring (15.1), rebounding (6.9), free throw percentage (84.2) and blocks (2.3).

TIP-INS

1. The Colonials own a 3-1 record against the Hurricanes but Miami earned its victory last season at home, defeating GW 72-64.

2. Watanabe scored 15 points off the bench against Miami last season in his first game back from an injury that had kept him out the previous seven games.

3. The Hurricanes committed a season-high 15 turnovers against BU.

PREDICTION: Miami 87, George Washington 55