Miami basketball begins ACC schedule with four straight home games

The ACC is one of the toughest conferences in college basketball. The Miami Hurricanes are not currently known for their basketball team. This year, with a relatively experienced roster, the Miami basketball team will attempt to compete amongst the best nationally. The ACC basketball schedule was released earlier this month.

The Miami basketball team will play 11 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Miami begins the season against Clemson Tigers at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables on December 4. The Canes then have to wait 25 more days, until December 29 to take on the NC State Wolfpack at home.

Miami takes on Wake Forest in a New Years Day game at home and closes out the homestand with Syracuse on January 5. After that, things are going to get really tough for the Hurricanes. The team will travel to Durham, North Carolina to take on the Duke Blue Devils, a perennial NCAA Tournament favorite on the road.

Three days later on January 11 Miami plays a very tough Florida State squad on the road. Miami then takes on two tough opponents at home on January 18 and January 22, North Carolina and Florida State respectively. The Tar Heels are looking to bounce back after an 18-12 season and loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

On January 26 the Canes take on Virginia Tech and on January 29 the team will face Georgia Tech. These two road tests will play a big role in the overall success of the season for Miami. If the Canes want a high seed in the ACC Tournament, they will need to finish above the teams like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Notre Dame.

Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, and Virginia are all extremely formidable opponents, so it is not likely that the Hurricanes out-perform those squads, even if they play at their peak all season. The Miami Hurricanes get Notre Dame at home on February 2 before heading out to play Virginia on February 5 on the road.

Virginia will be a tough road test for the Hurricanes before returning home to take on Georgia Tech on February 9. From February 12 to March 2, the Hurricanes take on Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Four of these games are on the road and two will be at home.

The Canes will then close out the regular season on March 5 with a trip to Syracuse to take on the Orange. Overall, this is certainly going to be a tough year for the Miami basketball program. The ACC is filled with top-notch basketball programs that are extremely competitive year in and year out.

This year should prove to be no different in the conference. Miami has brought in new faces this season. Guard Charlie Moore and swingman Jordan Miller, are replacing high-profile players such as transfers Chris Lykes and Earl Timberlake. Miami also added three freshmen. Miami’s experience should go a long way this winter.