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Pitt hopes to reverse trend against Miami

Dave Mackall
| Saturday, January 11, 2020 8:33 p.m.
AP
Pitt coach Jeff Capel signals to his players during the second half Friday, Dec. 6, 2019.

The record for Pitt is not good when it comes to playing Jim Larranaga’s Miami Hurricanes.

Never mind the Panthers trail in the overall series, they are 1-6 when facing Miami under Larranaga, the veteran coach in his ninth season with the Hurricanes after long, successful runs at Bowling Green and George Mason, where he led the Patriots to a Final Four appearance in 2006.

Second-year Pitt coach Jeff Capel is 0-1 against Larranaga during his time with the Panthers, having lost to the Hurricanes a year ago, 76-63, at Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

Capel will get a chance to even the score Sunday night when Pitt meets Miami again at Watsco Center, looking for a second consecutive ACC road win after ending a 22-game skid with a 73-65 victory on Wednesday at North Carolina.

But the Panthers will have to get by a Miami team that owns close victories over Illinois (81-79) and Temple (78-77).

“When you play his teams, you know they’re going to be well-coached,” Capel said of Larranaga.

Capel holds the upper hand between the two in their all-time series, 6-4. Capel’s VCU teams went 6-3 against George Mason and Larranaga from 2002-06, when the schools were members of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Larranga, a coach for 34 years, carries a career record of 626-411 into the game against Pitt (11-4, 2-2 ACC).

The Panthers represent the first ACC team this season outside the top five of the Associated Press Top 25 to play at Miami (9-5, 1-3). Then-No. 5 Louisville defeated the Hurricanes, 87-74, on Nov. 5 and No. 2 Duke beat them, 95-62, on Jan. 4.

The Hurricanes’ six-game winning streak against Pitt is their longest against any ACC school.

In its most recent outing, Miami lost a second time to No. 13 Louisville, 74-58, on Tuesday. Junior guards Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty scored 18 points apiece for Miami.

It will be a reunion of sorts between Pitt sophomore guard Xavier Johnson and Lykes. Both players know each other from their high school days playing in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, Johnson at Arlington (Va.) Bishop O’Connell and Lykes at Gonzaga College (D.C.).

Johnson knows the 5-foot-7 Lykes poses a challenge. A second-team preseason all-ACC selection, Lykes is the conference’s second-leading returning scorer at 16.2 points per game as a freshman in 2018-19.

“Last year, we lost. In high school, we lost,” Johnson said with a groan.

That’s the biggest thing Johnson said he remembers about facing Lykes.

“He’s very fast, and he’s really small. We’ve got to stay locked in on him,” Johnson added.

Capel called Lykes “one of the most dynamic guards in the country. He’s very tough to get in front of.”

In fact, Capel reveres Miami’s trio of starting guards. Lykes (15.5 ppg) and McGusty (15.1) are joined by senior D.J. Vasiljevic (14.4).

“We have to contain dribble penetration. It’s tough against Miami,” Capel said.


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