Can Miami Stay Alive In The NCAA Tournament Race?
Back-to-back home losses hurt for any team. When those losses come from one of the worst teams in the country and your biggest rival, the sting hurts a little more.
Well this is the situation Miami is in right now, as they've lost to Louisville and Florida State in their last two home games and stand at 3-3 in conference play. Many have been quick to say the season is already over, when actually there still remains plenty of opportunities for this team to prove themselves again.
With 14 games remaining in the regular season, half of the games as it stands today are Quad 1 win chances to bolster Miami's resume for the tournament. There's no saying all of them will stay Quad 1 by the end of the season and no saying Miami will win all of them. However, there's enough chances to make things interesting.
In order for Miami to have a chance to win these games, they'll need to make some adjustments and stay healthy the rest of the season.
The first adjustment they need to make is commit to a primary ball-handler. Miami's six players with the most minutes played all average at least 1.5 turnovers per game, and it's hurting the team drastically. If I had the choice, I'm sticking with Nijel Pack as the primary ball-handler.
The next adjustment comes with rotations, as Miami needs to find their groove when Norchad Omier is off the court. Given he has been the reason Miami has been close in rebounding differential this season, Coach Jim Larrañaga needs to find a combination that can survive when he's off the court.
If Miami can't adjust when he's off the court, they'll be banking on this team shooting them back into this game. AJ Casey and Michael Nwoko haven't been cutting it lately, which makes me want to see how Christian Watson can do with Matthew Cleveland in a small ball lineup.
While not an adjustment, the last issue is Miami needs to stay healthy. Pack, Omier and Wooga Poplar have all been banged up at times this year and are integral pieces to this roster. Surely there isn't the perfect answer for this, as that goes into the hands of the training staff.
I'm not coming out and saying that Miami is going to go out and win all these big games and make the tournament, but I am saying the opportunity is there. They'll need to take down one of the alphas (Duke or UNC) to give them some leverage in the bidding process. They've made it to consecutive Elite Eights, so it's time for this Miami team to show they still got it.
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You can find Liam on Twitter @theleftyliam where he shares news on University of Miami basketball and football as well as opinions