Key Conference games
Jan 3 – at Georgia Tech
Jan 13 – at Clemson
Jan 24 – Louisville
Feb 19 – at Notre Dame
There’s good news and bad news for the ACC schedule. The good news is not only do they play both UNC and Duke once but also Boston College and Pittsburgh twice. Overall, the schedule plays out for Miami to get some more wins than they had previously. That’s of course if they get through the first eight games.
The first eight games on Miami’s schedule will either be on the road or against Louisville, Florida State, and Duke. While the road games are against the middle to lower tier teams, all eight are games they could lose. Let’s say they start out 5-3 or even 4-4, the back half of the schedule sets them up nicely for a run down the stretch.
Expectations for the season
Assuming the FBI doesn’t play a role with the team this season (big assumption), the Hurricanes are likely to stay in and around the top 25 all season. The combination of Newton, Brown, and Walker could make up one of the top perimeters in the country. If they could get some decent production from the bigs, then they may just be a dark horse candidate for the final four.
Next: 2017-18 Predictions for the ACC
If they play and beat the Trojans in non-conference, it could be huge for seeding implications. Outside of that and Minnesota, there’s not much to hang their hats on, making a top-four ACC finish crucial. At the end of the day Miami has a Sweet 16 caliber team right now and could very well go further if all goes right with Huell.