Miami basketball among last 4 byes in 2025 ESPN bracketology

The remade Miami basketball team is projected to have one of the last four byes in the updated 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracketology posted by Joe Lunardi of ESPN on Tuesday. Lunardi projects Miami as the 10th seed in the Midwest Region versus seventh-seeded Illinois in Lexington, Kentucky.

Lunardi projects the Miami-Illinois winner to play the victor between second-seed Auburn and 15th-seed Fort Wayne.. The winner of those games would move on to the Midwest Regional Semifinal in Indianapolis. Miami has NCAA Tournament history against Auburn and Illinois.

Miami beat Illinois 63-59 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes repeated wins over the Illini in Coral Gables in 2014 and Champaign in 2019 in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Illinois won the first meeting versus Miami in 1968.

MIami is 2-1 all-time versus Auburn. The 10th-seeded Hurricanes upset second-seed Auburn 79-61 on their way to the first of consecutive NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Final Runs in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Miami lost to Auburn in 2001 and beat the Tigers in 1966.

Miami is attempt to return to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons after missing the postseason in 2024. The Hurricanes started 15-7 during the 2023-24 season but finished 15-17. Guards Paul Djobet and Nijel Pack and forward Matthew Cleveland are the only returnees for Miami in 2024-25.

During the 2023-24 season, Pack missed seven games due to injuries, and Cleveland was out for two games. Djobet occasionally played as a rotation player for Miami, which was greatly affected by injuries for most of the second half of the season. the 12th-best recruiting class and the 29th-best transfer class for the 2024-25 season.

Jalil Bethea is the seventh-best prospect and third-best shooting guard nationally in the 2024 class. Miami also signed high-scoring Stetson transfer Jalen Blackmon and efficient shooting guard A.J. Staton-McCray an elite defender to provide the Hurricanes with an elite backcourt.

Center Lynn Kidd and power forward Brandon Johnson provide Miami with far more size on the frontline than they have had for the last three years. Kiree Huie transferred from Idaho State to give Miami an elite shot blocker off the bench. Miami will have a much deeper roster in 2024-25.

Miami begins the 2024-25 season against 2023 NCAA Tournament Cinderella Fairleigh Dickinson on November 4 at the Watsco Center. The Hurricanes will play in the Charleston Classic from November 21-24, host Arkansas in the ACC-SEC challenge on December 3 and play Tennessee at Madison Square Garden in New York on December 10.