Miami Basketball: 3 keys to beat Houston Cougars in Sweet 16 matchup

Push the pace

When figuring out how to pull an upset, underdogs generally want to slow the game down, limiting the number of possessions. As any good mathematician will tell you, a smaller sample size equals more variance. One hot shooting night from David can be the stone that slays Goliath.

This Houston team, though, thrives on slowing the game down. In a way that all college basketball fans will understand, Houston plays only fractionally faster than Virginia. That’s because their half-court defense is more stifling than summer in Coral Gables. The Cougars’ defense allows the second-lowest field goal percentage on two-pointers in the country. On threes, they rank third. In short, no matter where on the court you shoot the ball, Houston will make your life difficult.

Because of this, my advice to almost any team facing Houston would be to run, run, run. For Miami, though, this isn’t advice, it’s imperative. In Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller, Nijel Pack, and Wooga Poplar, Miami has a quartet of athletic guards to take care of the ball and get upcourt, and more importantly, finish at the rim. The Hurricanes rank 24th in the country in fast break points per game, and their willingness to run often dictates the quality of their play.

Against Drake in the tournament’s first round, the Canes got into a half-court battle, converting only three fast break points all game. Little wonder then that Miami was fortunate to pull out a victory that wasn’t decided until the final minute, shooting only 30.4% from the field against a Drake defense that, though very good, can’t match the stinginess of Houston’s.

Against Indiana, the team learned its lesson, running for 15 fast break points and winning comfortably. Miami’s final total, 85 points, is indicative of the kind of game it wants to play. If the score gets well into the 70’s and up, the Canes have a shot.