Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

By Mike Waters

Coral Gables, Fla. — Syracuse forward Oshae Brissett converted this breakaway dunk against North Carolina State, but the Orange couldn't finish off the Wolfpack on Wednesday.

A 74-70 loss dropped Syracuse's record to 17-9 overall and 6-7 in the ACC. The setback also hurt SU's chances at an NCAA tournament bid.

A win over Miami on Saturday would make up for the loss to the Wolfpack and boost the Orange's NCAA resume.

Miami is 18-7 overall and 7-6 in the ACC. The Hurricanes are coming off a 59-50 loss to No. 1 ranked Virginia.

Game time is at noon on Saturday. The game will be televised on CBS.

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The starting lineups

Dejan Vasiljevic (1), Lonnie Walker IV (4) and Ja'Quan Newton (0) are three of Miami's regular starters. They are all perimeter players. Vasiljevic is a 6-3 sophomore. Walker is a 6-5 freshman and Newton is a 6-3 senior.

However, freshman Chris Lykes (5-7, Fr.) started Miami's game against Virginia last Tuesday instead of Newton.

And the two Miami players who have started every game for the Hurricanes this season are Dewan Huell (6-11, Soph.) and Anthony Lawrence (6-7, Jr.).

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim figures to go with the same starting lineup for the sixth straight game. Syracuse's starters are: guards Frank Howard and Tyus Battle, forwards Marek Dolezaj and Oshae Brissett and center Paschal Chukwu.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

A medical update

Chukwu became the latest entry on the Orange's injury report when he injured his back during Wednesday's game against North Carolina State.

Chukwu said he heard something pop in his back as he ran downcourt.

Even if Chukwu plays Saturday, Syracuse will have to hope that freshman Bourama Sidibe, who is Chukwu's primary backup, is feeling good in spite of a nagging case of tendinitis. Sidibe played just five minutes in the loss to N.C. State.

Matthew Moyer, a 6-8 forward who started the first 19 games of the season, is still recovering from a severely sprained ankle. He played 28 minutes off the bench on Wednesday after sitting out Sunday's win over Wake Forest.

Moyer becomes vitally important if Chukwu and Sidibe aren't able to play. Moyer is part of SU's small lineup with three forwards across the frontline.

Freshman guard Howard Washington is out for the season after injuring his right knee during practice two weeks ago. He is expected to undergo surgery soon.

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This McDonald's order took a year

Huell earned McDonald's All-American honors at Miami's Norland High School. But the 6-foot-11 center struggled in his freshman year with the Hurricanes.

By the end of the 2016-17 season, Huell wasn't getting off the bench in some games. Huell didn't play in Miami's 62-57 win over Syracuse in the ACC tournament.

Everything has changed for Huell this season. He's added strength to his 236-pound frame. He leads Miami in scoring at 11.8 points per game. He's also averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. He's making 58 percent of his field-goal attempts and converting 70 percent of his free throws.

Huell will be a low-post threat for Syracuse's centers.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

40-Minute Men

Five people never come off the court during Syracuse games. The three referees and Battle and Howard.

Battle is averaging 38.6 minutes per game, putting him ahead of Billy Owens' school record (38.0) for minutes played. Howard is at 38.0 minutes per game.

Through 13 ACC games, Battle is at 40.2 minutes per game, while Howard is at 39.3 minutes.

Battle has played the entire 40 minutes in each of the last seven games. Howard's complete game streak stands at five games.

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Miam's red-hot rookie

Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee last July. Walker recovered in time to play in Miami's season-opener, but it took a while before the 6-5 freshman returned to his former self.

Walker, a native of Reading, Pa., has been playing extremely well over the past month.

He's averaging 11.1 points per game this season, but in the last 10 games, he's scoring 15.6 points per game. He has been in double-digits in eight of those 10 games.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

SU's shaky perimeter defense

For most of the season, Syracuse has defended the perimeter fairly well. Syracuse ranks fourth in the ACC in 3-point field-goal defense.

But in each of the last two games, Syracuse's perimeter defense has suffered costly breakdowns. Specifically, it's been in the second half of games against Wake Forest and North Carolina State when the Orange allowed open 3-pointers.

Wake Forest went 9-for-13 from 3-point range in the second half, while N.C. State made 7 out of 13 shots from beyond the arc after halftime.

Syracuse has to spread its defense in order to stop Miami's perimeter threats like Vasiljevic, Lawrence and Walker.

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Miami's 3-breeze

It's not a sea-breeze. Miami guard Anthony Lawrence II is a 3-breeze.

Lawrence, a 6-7 junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., takes threes and wears the No. 3.

Lawrence is making 46.3 percent of his shots from 3-point range this season. That would lead the ACC except Lawrence doesn't meet the conference's minimum of two made 3-pointers per game. He's 31-for-67 on the season.

Other Miami players, including Vasiljevic and Walker, take more threes, but Lawrence should be considered a primary threat because of his accuracy.

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Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com

Free throws matter

Syracuse is a good free-throw shooting team. The Orange is making 76 percent of its foul shots in ACC play.

Howard, SU's junior point guard, has made 70 percent of his free throws this season.

But in the past two games, Syracuse and Howard in particular have struggled at the foul line. The Orange made just 66 percent of its free throws against Wake and 70 percent against N.C. State.

Howard's situation is more disturbing. As the point guard, Howard has the ball in his hands often, especially at the end of games.

Howard is 7-for-16 (43 percent) over the last two games. He's got to get back on the beam to help Syracuse close out its tight games.

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The Philly Special

Newton is a native of Philadelphia where he played at Neumann-Goretti High School, the same school that produced former Syracuse players Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson.

Newton is averaging 8.5 points per game. He has struggled with his 3-point shot (3-for-19 on the season), but he's a powerful penetrator.

When he's on the court, Newton will look to get past SU's guards, get into the lane and either look for his own shot or kick the ball to a perimeter shooter.

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University of Miami notable alumni

The University of Miami's alumni includes actors such as Ray Liotta and Dwayne "The Rock'' Johnson, musicians Pat Metheny and Bruce Hornsby, football stars like Warren Sapp, Michael Irvin and Jim Kelly, CNN political commentator Ana Navarro, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and many more.

But there's no one who says Miami more than UM graduate Glorida Estefan and her band The Miami Sound Machine.

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Syracuse Sports Podcast

The Syracuse basketball team is starting to lag behind in the NCAA Tournament bubble discussion. What's the big thing they need to fix to stay on course for March Madness?

Also, Ric Beardsley, a 4-time All-American defenseman at Syracuse, coach at CBA and outspoken analyst joins Brent Axe to preview Syracuse-Albany men's lacrosse and discuss the expectations for the 2018 season.

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