NCAA Basketball: Ranking the Sweet 16 teams in 2022 NCAA Tournament

15. Miami FL (#10 seed)

For much of this season, Duke has looked clearly like the class of the ACC. Much like what happened last season with the Pac-12, the conference has decided to surprise us in the NCAA Tournament, and there’s no surprise greater than these Hurricanes. Back in January, Miami got a big road win at Duke and followed that up by blowing out North Carolina, but what they’ve done this first week of the Big Dance is just as impressive.

The Hurricanes survived a fierce battle with 7-seed USC, an Elite Eight team last season, in a 68-66 victory, getting the game-winning free throws from Charlie Moore in the final seconds. Isaiah Wong had 22 points in that victory and was even more important in the Round of 32, scoring 21 points in a huge 79-61 upset over 2-seed Auburn. Kameron McGusty added 20 points in the unexpected win over the Tigers.

What has propelled the Hurricanes, who shot the ball poorly against USC, is that they’ve only committed 7 turnovers combined in these two Tournament victories. If the Hurricanes keep taking care of the basketball, they’re going to put themselves in great position to continue their season. Analytically, they’re a bit of an outlier, as their defense isn’t even in the top 100 statistically, but they were still able to contain those athletic bigs of Auburn. The Hurricanes have a fantastic opportunity against Iowa State; the program could be on the verge of their first-ever Elite Eight bid.