NCAA Basketball: 10 teams primed to lose early in 2023 NCAA Tournament
By Joey Loose
Miami
Last year’s Miami squad ran to the Elite Eight as a 10-seed as one of the stories of the Big Dance, but this year’s team is just as lethal. Jim Larranaga quietly remains one of the nation’s most underrated head coaches and the Hurricanes certainly look like one of the best teams in this year’s paltry ACC. Miami has wins over Providence, Rutgers, Duke, and Virginia, while also grabbing a nice road win over North Carolina less than two weeks ago.
The Hurricanes have one of the best starting rotations in the ACC, getting dynamic contributions from the backcourt pair of Nijel Pack, the transfer from Kansas State who’s at 41% from 3, and Isaiah Wong, their leading scorer at 16 points a game. Throw in a phenomenal senior season from Jordan Miller, then consider that Norchad Omier, who transferred this season from Arkansas State, is averaging a double-double and has been an important addition to Larranaga’s squad.
However potent that foursome has been, Miami quietly has some glaring issues. Their defense has had some abhorrent performances, including giving up 105 to Cornell in a win and 85 to Louisville just a few weeks ago. The interior scoring of their opponents has been worrisome in recent games, though they’ve gotten the job done against a weak ACC field, sitting 14-4 with just two games left in conference play. Can they survive against a potential double-digit seed that can shoot the ball well?