After playing Louisville and Florida State this week the Miami Hurricanes schedule eases a bit with four straight games against unranked teams. It will be important for UM to continue to build their resume for the NCAA Tournament.
The Miami Hurricanes enter Wednesday night’s showdown with Louisville 14-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. They are coming off an important 86-81 road victory at North Carolina State on Sunday. The win ended a two-game losing streak after losses to Clemson and Duke.
Although Miami has had a good season and has a very good RPI of 20 they are still looking for a signature win. After allowing a 13 point lead to evaporate against Duke last week Miami is still searching for a signature win this season.
Miami will have a pair of big chances to earn that signature win this week with the games against the Cardinals and Seminoles. The Hurricanes did defeat Florida State earlier this month at the Watsco Center. Winning in Tallahassee would make a far bigger statement.
The Hurricanes have started out well on the road this season. They are 5-2 in true road games and 3-1 in neutral site games. Louisville is 13th in the RPI and Florida State 38.
Miami’s biggest road win to date was against number 74 Minnesota. That came when the Gophers had star center, Reggie Lynch. Lynch has since been suspended through 2020. North Carolina State is 79 in the RPI.
After Miami travels to Florida State on Saturday, Miami will not play a team above 63rd in the RPI until they host Virginia February 13. The Cavaliers are second in the polls and fourth in the RPI.
Busting Brackets
That four-game stretch that commences January 31. Miami will play at Pittsburgh to begin the four games, travel to Virginia Tech February 3, host Wake Forest February 7 and travel to Boston College February 10. The Panthers are 145th in the RPI, Hokies 77th, Demon Deacons 117, and Eagles 63rd.
Boston College will be the most difficult of the four games stretch. The Eagles have defeated Duke and Florida State at home and lost by one at Virginia.
Pittsburgh is off to another rough start under second-year Head Coach Kevin Stallings. The Panthers are 8-12, 0-7 in the ACC. They have yet to defeat a team with an RPI in the top 100.
Traveling to Blacksburg will be tough. The Hokies are battling for a spot in the NCAA Tournament and just defeated North Carolina at home. The Hurricanes have lost three of their last four games at Virginia Tech. The win against the Tar Heels was by far their biggest of the season. Virginia Tech is 14-6, 3-4 in the ACC.
Like Pittsburgh, Wake Forest is off to a rough start in conference play. The Hokies are 8-11, 1-6 in the ACC. Their lone ACC victory was over Syracuse. The Demon Deacons victory over the Orange is their only top 100 win this season.
Next: Miami Hurricanes road success will be important for NCAA Tournament seeding
That four-game stretch is the type that elite teams get through undefeated. Any game in the ACC is tough. For Miami to get back in the discussion for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament those are the kinds of games they need to win.