NCAA Basketball: Duke, Arizona, Texas rise in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
17. Miami FL (25-7)
Jim Larranaga has been head coach at Miami for over a decade but there are no regrets that he’s running this program. Miami has had another fantastic season one year removed from a surprise run to the Elite Eight as a 10-seed. After tying for the regular season crown in the ACC, the Hurricanes won’t have to settle for a seed that low this time, and their impressive work on the court is proof.
The ACC Tournament didn’t quite go their way, but they did win their quarterfinals matchup over Wake Forest, hanging on for a 74-72 victory. Jordan Miller (18 points, 9 rebounds) and Isaiah Wong (17 points) were both stellar as the Hurricanes shot 52% from the field in the close win. A major showdown awaited in the semifinals and Miami fell 85-78 to Duke in the process. This time Wong had 22 points while Miller added 17 points and 7 rebounds in their second loss to the Blue Devils of the season.
Failing to reach the finals of their conference tournament as the top seed is slightly disappointing, but Duke is really playing great basketball right now and Miami still ends the season on a relative hot streak. Their only other loss in the last month came at the buzzer against Florida State. Their hopes next week may rest on Norchad Omier’s injury not being serious, especially if they get a 5-seed and face one of these feisty mid-major teams in the opening round.