NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Marquette rise in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
9. Miami FL (5-0)
Coming off the first Final Four in program history, Miami entered the season with plenty of excitement and expectations for the future. The progress that this program has made in recent years have been almost otherworldly and Jim Larranaga’s squad certainly has legitimate challenge yet again this season.
We didn’t see much from the Hurricanes this week, though they did secure the Bahamas Championship back on Sunday with a 91-83 win over Kansas State. Nijel Pack had 28 points and Norchad Omier had 23 points and 7 rebounds, with the two returning stars from last year’s postseason run really showcasing their skills early this season.
The Hurricanes have answered every early challenge this season, now winners of their first five. It hasn’t exactly been a murderer’s row of a schedule, with Kansas State certainly the hardest challenge. This defense sometimes let them down last season and they’ve already had some iffy play on that side of the ball, though it’s not yet a concern. It could be a concern with Miami’s upcoming road test at Kentucky as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. We’ll learn a lot about this Miami squad in this young season on Tuesday night.