Miami basketball falls two spots in final regular season national polls

The Miami basketball team fell from 14th to 16th in the AP Top 25 and to 15th from 13th in the USA Today Coaches poll in the final national rankings of the regular season. Miami is the fifth seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes fell after losing to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Miami defeated Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. The Hurricanes will begin ACC Tournament play on Friday in Albany, New York at 7:25 PM. Drake is 24-7 overall and won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Miami received 581 points in the AP Top 25. Kansas State is one spot ahead of Miami with 709 points. Texas A&M is one spot behind Miami in the AP Top 25 with 562 points. The Miami basketball team received 342 points in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Xavier is one spot ahead of Miami with 369 points in the Coaches Poll.

Duke is one spot behind Miami with 334 points in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The highest ranking for Miami this season was 12th in the January 2nd AP Poll. Miami earned its highest seed in an NCAA Tournament since they were the three seed in the South Regional in 2016 when they lost to Villanova in the regional semifinals.

Drake received two points in the AP Top 25 and did not receive any in the USA Today Coaches poll. Entering their game on Friday Miami is 35th in the NCAA Net Ratings and Drake is 55th. Friday will be the first time Miami and Drake play. Drake has not been ranked in the AP Poll at any time this season.

Miami made their run to the Midwest Regional Final last season as a 10 seed without appearing in the AP Poll at any time. The run included a second-round win over second-seeded Auburn. Miami finished 3-1 this season over teams ranked in the AP Poll. The Hurricanes’ sole loss was to Duke on Friday.