{"id":372937,"date":"2026-08-16T11:24:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T11:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/372937\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T11:24:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T11:24:27","slug":"five-on-five-virginia-and-miami-an-acc-heavyweight-battle-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/372937\/","title":{"rendered":"Five on five: Virginia and Miami an ACC heavyweight battle in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

PREVIOUS: Duke<\/a>, Louisville<\/a> and North Carolina<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami has seldom been included in the ACC’s highest echelon. That club has usually been limited to Duke and North Carolina, with an occasional residency from Virginia<\/a> or another program or two. This year, though, the Hurricanes are poised to earn a seat at the winners’ table. <\/p>\n

The Cavaliers did sweep the Hurricanes last year, but since then, Miami has made a few major additions to its roster. This should be an even more competitive matchup than the classics from last season. <\/p>\n

PG: Chance Mallory (So.) versus Acaden Lewis (So.)<\/p>\n

Mallory\u2019s 2025-26: 0 GS, 36 GP, 24.1 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 3.4 APG, 3.7 RPG, 42.2% FG, 34.5% 3PT<\/p>\n

Lewis\u2019 2025-26 (Villanova): 33 GS, 33 GP, 30.5 MPG, 12.2 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.0 RPG, 45.6% FG, 27.0% 3PT<\/p>\n

Miami earned a major win in the portal when it secured a commitment from Lewis, a highly talented guard from the DMV. Lewis may not be remarkably consistent, but he comes with a solid floor and a tantalizing ceiling. He could end up being one of the ACC\u2019s top point guards by the end of the 2026-27 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advantage: Miami<\/p>\n

SG: Jurian Dixon (R-Jr.) versus Dante Allen (So.)<\/p>\n

Dixon\u2019s 2025-26 (UC Irvine): 35 GS, 35 GP, 30.4 MPG, 15.9 PPG, 2.5 APG, 3.6 RPG, 43.0% FG, 38.5% 3PT<\/p>\n

Allen\u2019s 2025-26: 18 GS, 30 GP, 23.9 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 2.2 APG, 2.8 RPG, 43.1% FG, 32.1% 3PT<\/p>\n

Virginia could roll with Nolan Adekunle in this spot instead of Dixon, but regardless of who starts, the Cavaliers should have a notable advantage over Allen.<\/p>\n

Advantage: Virginia<\/p>\n

SF: Sam Lewis<\/a> (Sr.) versus Shelton Henderson (So.)<\/p>\n

Lewis\u2019 2025-26: 35 GS, 36 GP, 25.4 MPG, 10.6 PPG, 1.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 45.5% FG, 40.3% 3PT<\/p>\n

Henderson\u2019s 2025-26: 35 GS, 35 GP, 31.2 MPG, 13.8 PPG, 2.1 APG, 4.9 RPG, 56.7% FG, 25.5% 3PT<\/p>\n

At first glance, Henderson should have a slight edge. However, with more shot opportunities up for grabs, Lewis is primed for a major breakout season \u2014 and his defense is slightly better than Henderson\u2019s. The battleground of three-point shooting greatly favors Lewis in this matchup.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advantage: Even<\/p>\n

PF: Thijs De Ridder (So.) versus Caleb Gaskins (Fr.)<\/p>\n

De Ridder\u2019s 2025-26: 36 GS, 36 GP, 27.7 MPG, 15.6 PPG, 1.6 APG, 6.2 RPG, 50.8% FG, 35.7% 3PT<\/p>\n

Gaskins was a prized recruit, ranked No. 11 in the country. He should become a star. However, it is nearly impossible to expect him to handle De Ridder, a 2025-26 All-ACC First Team member. There may not be another power forward in the ACC who can be favored over De Ridder at this juncture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advantage: Virginia<\/p>\n

C: Johann Grunloh (So.) versus Somto Cyril (Jr.)<\/p>\n

Grunloh\u2019s 2025-26: 36 GS, 36 GP, 21.0 MPG, 7.1 PPG, 0.6 APG, 5.2 RPG, 53.3% FG, 35.0% 3PT<\/p>\n

Cyril\u2019s 2025-26 (Georgia): 32 GS, 33 GP, 21.1 MPG, 9.3 PPG, 0.6 APG, 5.4 RPG, 75.9% FG, 0.0% 3PT<\/p>\n

Cyril is a defensive demon, one of the most intimidating centers in the paint. He is an excellent rebounder and has the ability to score when needed. Cyril is also one of the most efficient scorers in all of college basketball. Grunloh earns points for his ability to shoot from deep, but Cyril led the nation in dunks and is incredibly intimidating down low.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advantage: Miami<\/p>\n

Verdict: Even, Virginia a slight favorite<\/p>\n

On paper, this is an extremely tight matchup in which both teams look poised for deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Cavaliers have a major advantage in terms of bench contributions and overall experience. Ryan Odom\u2019s Virginia squad went 2-0 against the Hurricanes last year \u2014 but this next matchup will be the first in Coral Gables, Fla. against Coach Jai Lucas. <\/p>\n

\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PREVIOUS: Duke, Louisville and North Carolina Miami has seldom been included in the ACC’s highest echelon. That club…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-372937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}