No. 21 Miami, Fla. at Connecticut

GAME TIME:	Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
LAST MEETING:	UConn 60, Miami 53 (Feb. 24, 2001)
SERIES:	UConn leads, 12-6

After doubting Miami's legitimacy as an undefeated team, and hedging on whether the Hurricanes have played anyone, I am now a believer that Miami is a very good basketball team that can win the Big East.

Perry Clark's team failed to win me over through its first 13 games (or was it my failure to be won over?) because the Hurricanes are not a good shooting team, hitting only a collective 43 percent from the field. However, Miami is athletic, rebounds on the offensive end, and plays good defense. Miami is holding its opponents to just 37 percent shooting, including only 26 percent from behind the arc. At first glance at the schedule, it appeared that Miami's defensive prowess could be due to the quality of opponent, or lack thereof. The Hurricanes were able to shut down such teams as Indiana, Clemson, Charlotte and LSU, none of which have been offensive juggernauts thus far this season.

However, after checking out the Hurricanes against LSU and Georgetown, I now believe that Miami can play.

Miami has five players averaging in double figures, and all five can carry an offensive load on a given night. Miami can throw a variety of aggressive, trapping presses at you, including a 2-2-1 press, a 1-3-1 press and a 2-1-2 look, and the Hurricanes force 18 turnovers per game. Last year, the book on Miami was to value the ball initially against pressure, make a few passes and teams could get any shot they wanted. Similarly, defend the Hurricanes hard for 15 seconds and they will likely take a challenged or bad shot.

That is not the case this year. Miami has grown into a much more mature team.

Don't get me wrong here. I am not saying that Miami is a Final Four team. Rather, I am saying that the Hurricanes are good, and they have the chance to get better, and the chance to rack up a lot of wins in the competitive Big East.

Saturday's game against UConn will serve as one of the tougher tests on the Miami slate. The Hurricanes play two games against each of Virginia Tech, St. John's, Providence, UConn, Villanova and Boston College, and have single game battles with Rutgers in New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. While this slate can beat a lot of people in America, it is hardly the murderers' row of college basketball.

Miami has some very talented starters in John Salmons, Darius Rice, James Jones, Elton Tyler and Marcus Barnes. Salmons has been fantastic all season. He is versatile, can really handle and pass the ball, and can hit open shots. He goes to the offensive glass and is averaging 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and is shooting over 52 percent from the floor. James Jones had 22 points against Georgetown and is a rangy athlete that can handle it and has a good feel. Like Salmons, Jones can run and really goes to the offensive glass. Rice, the McDonald's All-American, is a 6-9 shooter with decent ball skills. Rice is struggling with his shot, hitting only 37 percent of his attempts, but he remains a dangerous offensive threat.

Connecticut has been flirting with the top 25, but seems to be missing some key ingredients that are keeping the Huskies from turning the corner. What seems clear is that this team is not far away from being a true national contender.

Connecticut has lost just two games, to Maryland and to a very good and entertaining St. Bonaventure team. UConn was forced to chase St. Bonaventure out on the perimeter in a spread-court set, and struggled with the Bonnies' perimeter quickness and speed. In Miami, UConn will be facing a team it is more suited to play against.

Connecticut shoots 50 percent from the field, but is not a great perimeter shooting team. The primary perimeter shooters are Tony Robertson and Ben Gordon, who together have made all but seven of the Huskies' 3s. Miami has to stay with those two, and can help off of UConn's other shooters.

UConn is a good rebounding team that likes to play uptempo, but has not been able to generate as much offense off of its defense as Jim Calhoun would like. The Huskies like to get it down the court quickly and score in transition, but must learn to execute in its halfcourt sets. UConn runs some ballscreens, staggers and will look to screen and roll late in a clock when things break down. The Huskies routinely send three, and sometimes four guys to the offensive glass.

Caron Butler is among the best small forwards in college basketball, and lacks only a consistent perimeter jumpshot with range to be a truly complete player. He is versatile, and reminds me of a poor man's Paul Pierce (without the perimeter shot). Butler is a very good offensive rebounder, pushes it upcourt, passes well, and can put it down and go by his defender. He is very good on the baseline and has an incredible first step. Robertson and Gordon are capable scorers, with Robertson playing the kind of ball that so many expected of him. Robertson has quick feet, driving ability and gets out in transition. Gordon can shoot it and has excellent defensive potential. Johnnie Selvie, an aggressive rebounder, and Emeka Okafor, a freshman shot-blocker who can really get off of his feet, give Calhoun two athletes with size to combat Miami's athletic frontcourt.

Key Match-Up: Salmons vs. Taliek Brown.

While Butler is UConn's best player, Brown is a real key to this team. The sophomore point guard is a hard worker who is creative off the dribble and in transition, and he can break defenses down and deliver the ball. While he is not a good shooter, Brown can still be an excellent passing, slashing point and capible of taking UConn to the next level as a leader. Because his is so quick and strong, Brown can guard the bigger Salmons effectively. Salmons is having as good a season as any player in the Big East, and he makes Miami go. If Salmons has to move off of the ball, Michael Simmons, a capable and quick point guard, can step in and play some minutes.

Key Stats: Offensive Rebounds, Turnovers and Transition Points.

Miami is a good offensive rebounding team, and to limit the Hurricanes, teams have to limit them to one shot. If the Hurricanes don't get second shots, which are usually high-percentage looks, UConn can really defend them well. Miami forces 18 turnovers per game, and UConn has coughed the ball up almost 17 times per game. If the Huskies turn it over, they will have problems. Finally, the team that is able to score in transition will have a distinct advantage. Neither team is really proficient yet in the halfcourt, so getting easy scores without having to grind it out will be key.

What to Watch For: Watch how the teams defend and rotate in full-court situations, and how the presses of each are attacked. Both teams press often to speed the game up, and to make the other team make plays on the run. But a press is an opportunity: to turn it over, or to exploit the pressure and score easy baskets. When attacking a press, it is always important to recognize the defense, move to open areas to give the passer a receiver, catch and face the defense and attack it to score. The team that handles pressure the best will win this game.