Hurricanes Take Unbeaten Record Into Thanksgiving Tournament
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KISSIMMEE (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – Early season games have been kind to the University of Miami in recent years.
Off to unbeaten starts, Stanford and Miami meet in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla, on Thanksgiving in what should be the toughest test to date for either team.
The Cardinal, under first-year coach Jerod Haase, overcame a brief second-half scare against Colorado State after winning their first three games by double digits while the Hurricanes have outscored their foes by an average of 33 points.
Haase pointed to his team's defense - and sophomore guard Robert Cartwright in particular - for helping Stanford hold Colorado State to its lowest point total (49) since the 2014-15 season.
"When we looked at our last game, against Weber State, I showed our guys how one of his deflections served as a catalyst for a big run," Haase told reporters after the seven-point win over the Rams. "His energy helps create big runs off of the defensive end. Our guys feed off his energy."
The Hurricanes had a sluggish first half offensively against Ivy League foe Pennsylvania in their last game before building a 22-point second half-lead and eventually winning 74-62, thanks in large part to their own aggressive defense.
"The defense in the second half really created the offense," Miami coach Jim Larranaga told reporters after the game. "We got a lot of fast-break layups. Bruce (Brown) and Ja'Quan (Newton) got out and front and were able to score in the open court."
TV: 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
ABOUT STANFORD (4-0): Haase inherited four players from fired coach Johnny Dawkins - Reid Travis, Dorian Pickens, Michael Humphrey and Marcus Allen - who averaged in double figures last season, although Travis only played in eight games as a result of an upper leg stress fracture.
Travis has already proved that he has fully recovered, averaging 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds to begin the season.
Travis, Pickens (13.3 points a game), Humphrey (9.0 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Allen (5.0 points) are all starting along with Cartwright (6.0 points, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals) while 7-foot sophomore center Josh Sharma (5.5 points, 1.5 blocks), forward Grant Verhoeven (4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, guard Marcus Sheffield (7.0 points) and senior guard Christian Sanders (3.8 points) are coming off the bench.
ABOUT MIAMI (3-0): Miami's mix of five returners and four freshmen have meshed well with the newcomers scoring 56.2 percent of the points while the veterans have provided 65.2 percent of the rebounds and 69.2 percent of the assists.
Five-star recruits Dewan Huell (13.0 points, 66.7 percent shooting, 6.7 rebounds), a 6-11 forward, and Brown (9.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists.) have lived up to expectations along with Australian guard DJ Vasiljevic (11.7 points, 9-of-18 on 3-pointers).
While the rookies are giving Miami punch off the bench, veteran guards Newton (15.7 points, 4.0 assists) and Davon Reed (11.0 points) as well as forwards Kamari Murphy (9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds) and Anthony Lawrence (6.0 points, 2.3 assists, 2.7 steals) are certainly holding up their end of the bargain thus far.
TIP-INS
- Stanford defeated Miami 66-64 in overtime in the championship game of the 2015 NIT in the last meeting between the teams.
- The Hurricanes have held their first three foes to a combined total of only 61 points in the first half on 27.8 percent shooting.
- The winner of this game will play the winner of the Indiana State-Iowa State game in the second round on Friday with the two losers also squaring off.
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