With the tip-off of ACC games less than six weeks away, the Miami basketball team enters the 2019-20 season with many question marks. They will find out quickly how they stack up in the conference this season.
After being decimated by injuries and their best player, Dewan Hernandez, losing his eligibility the Miami basketball team ended the 2018-19 regular season with a 5-13 ACC conference record (14-19 overall) and made an early exit from the ACC Tournament after only one win.
That finish put the Miami basketball team in the bottom quarter of the ACC Conference standings. However, the forecast is looking brighter in Coral Gables as Canes Warning’s sister site BustingBrackets.com in their pre-season ACC rankings has pegged Miami ranked to finish seventh in the ACC for the upcoming season.
Busting Brackets believes the addition of transfers Keith Stone (formerly at Florida) and Kam McGusty (formerly at Oklahoma) along with three top 150 freshmen, should help the Canes return to the upper half of the ACC standings this year.
Those touted freshmen are guards Isaiah Wong and Harlond Beverley and power forward Anthony Walker. How much they help Miami improve will largely depend on how quickly the incoming players can mesh with veterans like Chris Lykes, Dejan Vasiljevic and Sam Waardenburg.
🗣Squaaaaaaaad pic.twitter.com/TxD13Zi2F0
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) September 23, 2019
If Miami is to make a return to the postseason this year (after missing out last season) they will likely need at least nine to 10 regular-season conference wins. Looking at the recently released schedule it is easy for most to assume the Canes would lose to what will likely be the preseason top five teams in the conference.
Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Florida State and defending national champion Virginia. Miami plays Duke, Florida State and Louisville twice and Virginia and North Carolina once each. That’s potentially eight losses out of the 20 game regular conference slate.
The Canes will know quickly how they stack up against ACC competition. Miami opens ACC play against Louisville on November 5 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables. Louisville finished tied for sixth in the ACC last season.
The Cardinals could garner some first-place votes in early polls as Louisville returns most of their team while adding a top freshman and grad transfer to an already mature squad. Another key test for the Hurricanes will come on New Year’s Eve when UM travels to play Clemson for the start of the remainder of the ACC schedule.
LET'S RIDE.
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) September 13, 2019
More on our conference slate: https://t.co/aemLLyGUzh pic.twitter.com/7sko7IQpAY
BustingBrackets has the Tigers slotted at 13th in their pre-season rankings. Clemson is in rebuilding mode as they only have two starters back from last year’s team to rely on. The Tigers added three incoming freshmen and two grad transfers in the offseason to help restock their depleted roster.
Clemson is an important game for the Canes as a win here on the road against a similar but beatable team could help set the tone for the rest of the ACC season. The ACC Basketball game that almost always packs the Watsco Center is when Duke comes to town. This year the Blue Devils come to play UM on January 4.
Despite losing three players in the NBA draft as lottery picks, Duke simply reloaded with comparable talent. Should the Hurricanes pull off the upset it would most definitely help their case with the NCAA Tournament selection committee heading into the post-season.