Louisville, Duke Injuries Open A Path for the Miami Hurricanes and the ACC Championship
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Injuries are a part of basketball, but the Miami Hurricanes now have a chance to make a deeper run in the ACC Tournament thanks to a few key players being out.
The Hurricanes will face the winner of SMU and Louisville in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament after earning the third seed thanks to an outstanding regular season in conference play. It helps with getting the right players healthy at the right time with the extra rest afforded to them.
However, other teams in the tournament will be without their star players. The Cardinals will be without projected NBA Draft lottery pick Mikel Brown Jr. for the whole tournament, giving the Canes the advantage for another round.
Some might question the advantage that the Canes have, knowing that the last team they faced was the Cardinals without their outstanding freshman. The Hurricanes' locker room knows that had they played a cleaner first 10 minutes of the game, they would have defeated the visiting team.
"I told them after the game, the game is lost in the first 10 minutes and from now on those 10 minutes cost us in this game, the next game, the season's over," Lucas said after the regular season finale. "So to understand that's the level of desperation, that's the level of urgency from here on out that you have to play with and you have to have.
"And I'm not taking anything away from Louisville. I thought they were really good today. Conwell and everybody. The big kid, Khalifa, can really shoot. He comes in and hits a 50-footer almost. So they played well, and I just thought we waited too late to get going."
The Hurricanes would then have to face another team they have already faced in the No. 2-seeded Virginia Cavaliers.
The Canes battled back and forth on the road against their opponents, and a second opportunity against them could push them over the hump.
If they get past them, the clear favorites to win the entire Tournament will be the Duke Blue Devils. Furthermore, Jai Lucas's former squad is also dealing with injuries. Caleb Foster has a fractured bone in his foot and will be out “for the foreseeable future.” Additionally, Patrick Ngongba will miss the ACC Tournament.
Each is a key factor for the best team in the country, but without them, weakness can show, and attacking the paint could afford the Canes a victory.
This is just a projection of what the Canes can do. It starts with winning the first game, moving on, learning what style of basketball they need to play, and continuing from there. It's do or die now for the Miami Hurricanes, a place they have been able to thrive in all season.
"But for us to be third in the ACC and to have ourselves in position to hopefully get an at-large bid. That's all you can ask for is the opportunity to compete for a national championship, which I feel like we're in position, but we still have work to do," Lucas said.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.
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