Miami vs Florida State: 2019-20 key storylines for Sunshine State clash

Defensive adjustments

Without any hot shooting, however, Miami could easily fall down a rabbit hole, as the Hurricanes continue to struggle on the glass this season, as they average the least amount of rebounds per game amongst ACC teams. Due to this, Miami remains a team consistently unable to attain adequate offensive possessions, clearly illustrating just how important it is for them to make their shots count and maintain a high field goal percentage.

Although not to the same extent, Florida State somewhat shares this rebounding weakness with Miami, as they too find themselves in the basement of the ACC in regards to rebounding. Neither team really holds a premier big man at their disposal, which stands as the factor responsible for this shortcoming.

These squads separate themselves though with their attempts to patch up this leak in their defensive approaches. Florida State excels at forcing their opponents to make mistakes, leading the ACC in steals and consequently offering the team some extra possessions coming in exchange for those which they might miss out on due to their poor rebounding tendencies.

Unlike the Seminoles, Miami wields a less aggressive defensive approach, as they (5.88 SPG)  fail to come anywhere close to their opponent’s steal total (9.53 SPG) which allows them to stay afloat. For this game, as well as others moving forward, Miami must figure their own way to make up for their flaws.