Wake and Miami Collide for 3rd Time in ACC opener

With selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament right around the corner, the Miami Hurricanes will need to have an impressive showing in the ACC conference tourney to get the attention of the voting committee. An 18-12 record isn’t very impressive, but what makes matters worse for the Canes is their 4-12 mark in conference play. It will take everything they have just to win their first round match-up over a Wake Forest Demon Deacons team that was ranked in the top 25 for much of the season.

Miami began the year with an extremely easy non-conference schedule. Many coaches do this to build the confidence of their players prior to league play. Sometimes it works, but obviously not in this case. After opening the ACC year with a win against Wake, the Hurricanes have since gone 3 and 11, and are not in a “must win” situation. With such a weak strength of schedule outside of the ACC, Miami will most likely need to get to the Championship game if not win it.

They are a well balanced team that does not have any standout players. Dwayne Collins leads the team in scoring with a 12 point per game average. James Dews is the only other Hurricane player that averages over 10 points per game. However, they have 5 players that contribute solid minutes and over 5 points per game. Their ability to keep their line-up fresh is what keeps them in games, but the lack of star-power is why they have failed to finish teams off late in games.

Wake Forest has the potential to be a bracket buster. They started the season with a difficult schedule, taking on solid mid-major teams. They beat Gonzaga, Richmond and a tough Xavier squad prior to starting ACC play. Although they are 9-7 in the ACC, they have taken down many reputable teams that will be high seeds in the NCAA tournament. Wins against Maryland, Georgia Tech and Clemson should be more than enough to earn them a reasonable seeding. They only blemish to their year was a 4 game losing streak in which they played Virginia Tech, NC St, N. Carolina and Florida St. Two of those 4 games should have been easy wins, but sometimes teams find it hard to get their confidence back during a losing streak.

The last game of the year may have given the Demon Deacons the lift they needed to get them back on track. A 70-65 win against Clemson sends this squad into the ACC tourney on a high note, and could potentially get them started on a deep run in the Big Dance.

Al-Faroug Aminu leads Wake in scoring with a 16 ppg average. He also contributes almost 11 boards per game, and is clearly their defensive stopper. The key to this teams success is the balance on offense. They have a true center in Chas McFarland that scores 7 points and grabs 7 rebounds per game. Their guard play is outstanding as Ishmael Smith, C.J. Harris and L.D. Williams combine for 32 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists per game. Everyone knows they are one of the best teams in the country despite not being ranked, but they will need to forget about the past and focus on one team at a time.

Related posts:

1. Hokies and Demon Deacons Fight to Keep Pace in ACC
2. Blue Devils take on Boston College in ACC Showdown
3. ACC’s Best Battle: Georgia Tech vs. Duke
4. ACC Battle: Duke vs. Clemson Re-Match
5. Blue Devils and Yellow Jackets: ACC Conference Finals

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