Miami Hurricanes Have Must Wins in Next Two Games

The Miami Hurricanes have their next two games at home against teams they will be favored against. If the Hurricanes are to continue a push towards an NCAA Tournament berth, they have to defeat Georgia Tech and Clemson at the Watsco Center.

Miami has one big win this season, against then number nine North Carolina at the Watsco Center on January 28th. They also have a home win against Virginia Tech who is 32nd in the RPI.

The rest of Miami’s wins are against teams that are 60th or below in the RPI. Their only really “bad” loss was at number 78 Syracuse. The Orange is surging after a bad start. That loss might look different in three weeks.

The next two games at home are critical. Georgia Tech is 15-10, 6-6 in the ACC. They 2-7 on the road, 1-6 on the road in conference games. They are 76th in the RPI and their only quality road win was at number 27 Virginia Commonwealth.

Clemson ended a three game losing streak with a 95-83 win against Wake Forest on Tuesday night. The Tigers had lost nine of their previous eleven entering the game with the Demon Deacons.

Clemson has had a pair of big road wins. They won at South Carolina who is 21st in the RPI and at Wake who is 36th. The game against South Carolina was their only non-conference road game, although they did play Alabama in Birmingham. Clemson is 3-5 away from Littlejohn Coliseum.

Their worst loss came to a 9-16 Oklahoma team that is 173rd in the RPI. The Hurricanes will be expected to win the next two games. Losses to either Georgia Tech or Clemson could be crippling.

Nearly half of the Hurricanes wins, seven, have come against teams ranked 200 or below in the RPI. Miami got a big road win at North Carolina State a few weeks ago, but the Wolfpack is fading. Mark Gottfried’s job appears to be in jeopardy as NC State is 14-12 overall, 3-10 in the ACC and 108th in the RPI.

Miami will travel to Virginia on Monday before returning home to face Duke on Senior Day, February 25. The Hurricanes finish the season on the road at Virginia Tech February 27 and Florida State March 4.

The Hurricanes have let several opportunities for big wins slip away in the second half. They had halftime leads on Duke, Louisville and Florida State before poor second halves allowed the game to slip away.

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They have to be looking forward to hosting Duke in the return game. The Hurricanes led 36-25 at the half. The Blue Devils opened the second half with a 31-4 run, that included a 20-0 run inside of that to defeat Miami.

The Hurricanes also had leads of 8-0 and 22-8 before losing at Louisville on Saturday. Throw in tough home losses to Notre Dame and Florida State and just a win or two would have secured the Hurricanes place off the bubble.

Miami is currently projected as a ten seed in the latest bracket matrix projections. Seven teams are currently projected below the Hurricanes as at-large teams expected to get an NCAA Tournament bid. Wake Forest and Syracuse are among those teams.

Georgia Tech is listed among the first four out and Clemson is listed among the next four out. Iowa State who Miami lost to in December is one seed line on top of the Hurricanes.

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Wins against teams in the top 25, 50 and against other teams being considered for NCAA Tournament berths are all important criteria the committee looks at. Miami has plenty of opportunities to get key wins in the last three and half weeks of the season.

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