MIAMI OF OHIO REDHAWKS (3-2)

Conference: Mid-American

Probable Starting Lineup

G Kenny Hayes 7.8 ppg
G Alex Moosman 5.2 ppg
F Michael Bramos 24.2 ppg
F Tim Pollitz 17.0 ppg
C Tyler Dierkers 3.6 ppg

Standout: Michael Bramos

Most people expected Tim Pollitz to be the star of this team (and he may very well end up fulfilling that role), but it's been Bramos who has gotten off to the sensational start for Miami. In his last two games, the 6-5 junior has scored 30 and 36 points against Mississippi State and Dayton, respectively. Bramos does most of his damage from behind the three-point line, where he's connected on 20-of-44 attempts, including a 9-of-15 performance against Dayton on Wednesday. The Cards will have to locate No. 24 early and often if they want to avoid another Jonathan Tavernari-esque performance.

What You Should Know

Miami is coming off of one of the most painful losses of the lengthy Charlie Coles era, a 63-62 last second defeat at the hands of in-state rival Dayton in a game they led by 21. A loss that excruciating would bode well for Louisville...if the Redhawks weren't so experienced and so well-coached.

Regardless of what happened on Wednesday, Miami will undoubtedly come into Freedom Hall and play the same efficient brand of basketball that has helped them pick up two impressive early wins and hold their last 39 opponents under 70 points. No Redhawk will be playing with more of a chip on his shoulder than leading scorer Michael Bramos (24.2 ppg), who dropped 36 on Dayton but missed a late free-throw that would have made UD's Brian Roberts' last second three-pointer tie the game instead of win it.

Miami won the MAC Championship last March in dramatic fashion, and then took eventual regional finalist Oregon down to the wire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before ultimately falling 58-56. The returning players from that team have carried that momentum into this season, which has seem the Hawks knock off Mississippi State and No. 23 Xavier, and hold O.J. Mayo and high-scoring No. 22 USC to just 57 points in a nail-biting 57-53 loss.

Senior forward Tim Pollitz is the team's most decorated player and leading returning scorer. He's only 6-6, but his large frame and fundamentally sound post moves make him difficult to defend. Pollitz has scored in double figures in all five of Miami's games, and pulled down a team-best 16 rebounds in the Hawks' 64-59 win over South Alabama. His brother Eric Pollitz is a good-shooting reserve guard who will likely see his fair share of floor time.

Junior center Tyler Dierkers is another skilled post player who fits perfectly into Coles' style of play. He nearly posted a triple-double in the win over Mississippi State, grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out 10 assists, and scoring seven points. He's not a threat to put up a large number of points, but he and Pollitz are both skilled and intelligent enough to get U of L's thin frontcourt into foul trouble early.

Kenny Hayes and Alex Moosman are the team's primary ball handlers, but it's pretty telling that Dierkers and Tim Pollitz lead the team in assists at 5.4 and 4.0 a game as opposed to just 1.6 and 1.0 per game by Hayes and Moosman. The vast, vast majority of Miami's points come out of its halfcourt offense. They're the quintessential dangerous mid-major team in that they'll seemingly do nothing with the ball for 25 seconds and then get a wide open shot with two or three ticks left on the shot clock. The Redhawks seem to understand just how valuable each and every possession is, a lesson the Cards are still struggling to comprehend.

Final Assessment

If Louisville is going to win this game, they have to do two things well: They have to block out effecitvely and keep the Redhawks from shortening the game with multi-minute possessions, and they have to use their superior athleticism to get points in transition. Miami shoots the ball too well and defends too well in the halfcourt for this game to be anywhere near a blowout.  

Saturday will be a good look into how much the team took away from the Vegas trip, given that they will basically be battling BYU junior. Miami will play in the NCAA Tournament, and fans should come into this game knowing that our guys are probably going to look frustrated and do silly things with the basketball more than once. This is a home game against a team from the MAC that could absolutely be lost, and I'll be thrilled to come away with a win...any win.

Notable

--Louisville leads the all-time series with Miami 2-0. The two last squared off in the 1985 preseason Big Apple NIT, with the Cards coming away victorious by the score of 81-65.

--Earl Clark comes into Saturday's game ranked 12th in the country in rebounding. He's averaging 12 boards a contest.

--Miami has played only two of its first five games at home, but Saturday's game inside Freedom Hall will be the first true road game for the Redhawks. They played three games at a neutral site in the Anaheim Classic.

--Miami's Michael Bramos ranks 11th in the nation in scoring at 24.2 ppg.

--Saturday's game will be the fifth in ten days for Miami. Louisville has been off for one week since playing five games in eight days to start the season.  

CC Prediction: Louisville 67, Miami 60

Let's take this win and get the hell out of there.