After a 22-point drubbing at the hands of Virginia, the Hurricanes have some serious self-scouting to do before the NCAA Tournament tips off.
The Cavaliers dismantled the Hurricanes 84-62 on Friday in Charlotte, exposing three glaring weaknesses that could derail Miami's March run. If the Hurricanes are going to make noise in the NCAA tournament, they'll need to address each one fast.
Miami went ice cold from deep
Miami went 4-for-20 from three-point range on Friday. The Hurricanes also missed ten of their first eleven attempts from behind the arc against Virginia, and before they knew it, the game was long gone.
Without a consistent threat from deep, Virginia's defense was free to load up in the paint, clogging the lanes and making it nearly impossible for Miami to generate quality looks anywhere on the floor. Miami isn't exactly the most dominant jump shooting team as they have been known this year for attacking the paint. But, when the shots aren't falling even in the slightest, the Canes will inevitably struggle to get anything going when teams can focus on defending the rim.
In the NCAA Tournament, Miami can't afford to go cold for 15-minute stretches and expect to survive.
Miami was eaten alive on the glass
Virginia outrebounded Miami 38-26. Against capable teams, that's essentially gifting your opponent a win. The Cavaliers are a long, physical team, and they used every inch of that advantage to bully Miami off the boards from the opening tip.
The Canes have been a good rebounding team this year, but they weren't able to show it on Friday. In the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Miami will need to put an emphasis on pulling down rebounds and not allowing second chance opportunities.
Composure when the game gets tough
With under three minutes left in the first half and the score still manageable, the Hurricanes let the game slip away. Virginia went on a 13-2 run over the final 2:47 of the first half, taking a 38-23 lead into halftime.
The game turned into a blowout and Miami was unable to put together any type of run to bring the game within reach. While Miami has had an amazing turnaround this year, it would have been nice to see the Canes put together a run to make this game closer at some point in the second half. The loss was Miami's worst of the year and it will be interesting to see how the Canes attempt to bounce back from the performance.
Jai Lucas will need to make sure his team puts this game behind them and focus on their first round matchup with the same amount of confidence they had prior to the loss.