NC State vs. Miami: College basketball preview, prediction, TV schedule
The NC State Wolf Pack and Miami Hurricanes battle for the right to get off of the NCAA Tournament bubble on Sunday afternoon.
TV Schedule: Sunday, January 21, 12:00 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
In a loaded ACC, teams near the middle of the conference standings still have good NCAA Tournament cases.
That’s the case with both the North Carolina State Wolfpack and Miami Hurricanes; both appear to be on the right side of the bubble, despite non-winning records in conference play.
The Hurricanes have been doing it with defense, surrendering just 62 points per game. They’re currently ranked No. 25 and have one Top 25 win in ACC play against Florida State. Miami is coming off consecutive close losses to Clemson and Duke, though, and need some momentum.
Miami’s defense, ironically, is what let them down against Duke. They have the Blue Devils on the ropes before they gave up 18 consecutive points, watching a lead debilitate to a huge deficit. Jim Larranaga will look to set up his team to finish this game victorious.
He also needs to find a way to get sophomore Bruce Brown Jr. going. Outside of a 23-point outburst against Florida State, he has been held to single-digit point totals in three of the last four games.
The Wolfpack are one of the most challenging teams to nail down this season. They have losses to Northern Iowa and UNC Greensboro but have also taken down three ranked foes, including two ranked as the No. 2 team in the country at game time (Arizona, Duke).
In other words, North Carolina State gets up for the big games.
All eyes will be on point guard Markell Johnson, who has taken the court twice since felony assault charges were dropped against him. He didn’t score in his first game back but scored 13 points with six rebounds and four assists against Wake Forest.
Next: Another ACC bubble preview
This should be an extremely close game between two programs with a lot on the line. North Carolina State’s propensity to perform in high-pressure situations – plus home court advantage – prove to be the deciding factors.
Prediction: NC State 71, Miami 68