Is Miami fading as it approaches the finish line?
The No. 6 Hurricanes (23-6, 14-3 in the ACC) have looked like a team capable of making a deep run into March for much of conference play, however, they have now lost two in a row and three of their last four games. After falling to No. 3 Duke Saturday in a hard-fought 79-76 game between the top two squads in the league, Miami experienced what most teams experience after playing the Blue Devils: the post-Duke hangover.
Being top dog in the conference means that you get everyone else’s best shot. Wednesday night, Georgia Tech (16-13, 6-11 in the ACC) pulled off the upset Wednesday night on a last-second tip-in to win 71-69 in Coral Gables, Fla.
Miami held a 13-point lead in the second half, which disappeared down the stretch as the ‘Canes were unable to secure the ACC regular-season title outright.
The loss opens up the door for Duke (26-4, 13-4) to share the ACC regular-season title if the Blue Devils can defeat surging North Carolina (22-8, 12-5) Saturday and if the Hurricanes fall to Clemson (13-16, 5-12) this weekend.
Miami has likely played its way out of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament too with its loss to the Yellow Jackets.
Either way Miami is a really, really good team. Loads of talent. They will be a matchup nightmare for most college teams. It will be interesting to see a 3rd game between these 2 leaders of the ACC on a neutral court. I hope it happens.