Miami Basketball: 2023-24 season preview and outlook for Hurricanes
Season outlook
Miami’s offense figures to once again be in the top 20 in the country, even with the departures of Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller. The additions of Matthew Cleveland and freshman Michael Nwoko should bolster the Hurricanes’ defense, but depth is going to be a concern all season.
Wong and Miller were two of the best players in the country, and it will be difficult to replace them, even if Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar make the leap. Still, Jim Larranaga is one of the absolute best coaches in the country, and his presence alone should ensure another top-four finish in the ACC.
Can the Hurricanes win the ACC again and make another Final Four run? In the end, losing their two best players will likely prove too much to overcome, but they’re still going to be a problem for every team they face. The game at Kentucky will give a good indication of how tough this team is early in the season, and the combination of upperclassmen in the starting lineup and Larranaga on the sideline will be enough to win plenty of games in conference.
Miami is ranked 13th in the country to start the season, but that feels more like an acknowledgement of last year’s run than an objective evaluation of the current roster. A Sweet 16 appearance is possible, but anything beyond that would be a pleasant surprise.
Next. Preseason ACC power rankings for 2023-24. dark
The Hurricanes tied for the ACC regular season title last year, but that was only good for a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The ACC is going to be better as a whole this year, so our projections have the Hurricanes finishing third in the ACC behind Duke and North Carolina to nab a 7-seed in the tournament, then beating a 10-seed before getting knocked out by a 2-seed in the Round of 32.