Can Miami Win the ACC Regular Season Basketball Title?
The Atlantic Coast Conference regular season basketball title has always been a difficult road outside of a few prominent college basketball programs.
The traditional powers – Duke and North Carolina – have long since dominated first place, if not first and second place.
Upstart Miami wants some of that action, and this year is a great chance to make that happen for the first time since 2013, the only year the Hurricanes have won the ACC regular season basketball championship.
Time to examine Miami’s chances after knocking off one of those traditional powers, UNC, 80-72 last night inside the Dean Smith Center.
First, what’s Miami up against in terms of the last couple of decades?
Beginning with the 2000 champion, Duke has outright won or tied for the regular season ACC title six times, North Carolina won 10 titles. The most recent program to challenge the two giants has been Virginia, as it won six titles as well.
So where does Miami fit in this year?
Well, starting with the current standings, four schools have earned the right to an advantage to win the 2023 ACC title. The ACC standings have been established as follows:
1) Pittsburgh & Virginia | 11-3
3) Miami | 12-4
4) Clemson | 10-4
5) North Carolina State | 10-5
6) Wake Forest | 9-6
7) Duke & Syracuse | 8-6
9) North Carolina | 8-7
10) Boston College and Florida State | 6-9
12) Virginia Tech | 5-9
13) Notre Dame | 2-12
14) Georgia Tech | 2-13
15) Louisville | 1-13
The top four teams – Pittsburgh, Virginia, Miami, and Clemson – are all within one game of each other in the loss column. Miami only has four games left, however, as the other three must play six games. Keep that in mind as tired legs could come into the equation down the stretch.
The remaining ACC basketball schedules for each of the four ACC programs, going in alphabetical order:
Clemson: Florida State (Feb. 15), at Louisville (Feb. 18), Syracuse (Feb. 22), at North Carolina State (Feb. 25), at Virginia (Feb. 28), and Notre Dame (March 4).
Miami: Wake Forest (Feb. 18), at Virginia Tech (Feb. 21), Florida State (Feb. 25), and Pittsburgh (March 4).
Pittsburgh: Boston College (Feb. 14), at Virginia Tech (Feb. 18), Georgia Tech (Feb. 21), Syracuse (Feb. 25), at Notre Dame (March 1), and at Miami (March 4).
Virginia: at Louisville (Feb. 15), Notre Dame (Feb. 18), at Boston College (Feb. 22), at North Carolina (Feb. 25), Clemson (Feb. 28), and Louisville (March 4).
Examining each of the four team’s final ACC games showed different levels of difficulty.
Clemson has NC ST and Virginia on the road during back-to-back games. That’s probably the hardest consecutive games remaining. Plus, the Tigers have shown chinks in their armor by way of losing the last three games by a combined point differential of 32 points, including the 20-point beatdown the Tar Heels put on them.
Miami has the easiest remaining path with three of the four at home, including this next game against a quality Wake Forest team. The key will be the last game, at home, versus Pittsburgh. The Panthers won the first matchup between the two schools 71-68, so the Hurricanes will be looking to knock them off the second time around. Overall, the Hurricanes should be considered the most likely team to win each of their remaining games from this point forward.
Pittsburgh’s slate showed to be similar to Miami, but it’s still six games instead of four like Miami’s schedule. Plus, the Panthers conclude the 2023 regular season on the road inside the Watsco Center in Coral Gables after playing at Notre Dame three days prior. Special note: That trip to Notre Dame will be Irish head coach Mike Brey’s last, as he’s retiring. That will be a Notre Dame team that plays as hard as it does all season long.
Virginia has a three-game stretch of at BC, at UNC, and home to Clemson from Feb. 22-Feb. 28. Those three games will likely determine if the Cavaliers can win the ACC regular season title. If Viginia goes 3-0 in those three, it becomes the odds-on favorite.
In conclusion, Miami has placed itself in prime position to earn its first ACC regular season title since 2013. Can the Hurricanes make it happen?
Absolutely they can.
Last night’s win over UNC was a continuation of a run that has placed Miami at 7-3 during their last 10 contests, and the Canes have been playing quite well throughout that stretch.
The 2023 ACC regular season title has become well within reach for Miami.
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