11. Miami FL (20-5)
Miami basketball is in a pretty impressive stretch, and their work this season has continued that trend. Nijel Pack and Isaiah Wong have teamed up and produced some great results in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes are still a game out of the ACC race, but it’s hard to argue that they aren’t one of the conference’s best programs right now.
They emphasized their role near the top of the conference with a big win on Monday, defeating Duke 81-59 at home. Norchad Omier had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Jordan Miller had 16 points, and the Hurricanes had a fantastic performance all-around against the Blue Devils. Their performance was less impressive on Saturday but the result was the same, with Miami earning a 93-85 win against a putrid Louisville squad. Pack (22 points), Wong (21 points), and Omier (21 points, 7 rebounds) were all dynamic and the Hurricanes powered out the win despite the Cardinals shooting 58% from the field.
Those kinds of performances cannot happen against the stronger teams on their schedule, but the Hurricanes have done what they’ve needed to win when necessary. Miami has now won four straight games and sit at 11-4 in the ACC. Miami’s been far from perfect this season, but has shown that when they’re hot, they’re a pretty tough team to beat. A Monday road trip to North Carolina will be quite the matchup.