Miami Basketball lives to see another day at the ACC Tourney in Charlotte.
After blowing their shot at an opening round bye, losing a fourth straight to rival Florida State last Saturday in Tallahassee – the Canes responded with a 63-50 beat down of the Wolfpack.
Two months ago N.C. State took down Miami – in overtime – on a fluke play. An errant inbounds pass was the difference in a 79-77 loss. Today, there’d be no fluke or down-to-the-wire finish.
The Canes jumped on the Wolfpack early – an 11-2 advantage barely eight minutes into the contest.
It was all Miami from there. The Canes held a 24-17 advantage at the half and led by fifteen with just over twelve minutes to play.
James Dews led the Canes with 14 points, going 8/8 from the free throw line. Lance Hurdle wasn’t far behind with 13 points and 6/8 from the line.
Miami was only 1/9 from three point land and The Assassin, Jack McClinton was 2/6 on the day with 8 points, going 4/4 with free throws.
The Canes were 26/30 regarding free throws but only 18/49 in field goals made.
Next up, #5 Miami gets a shot at #4 Virginia Tech. The Hokies earned the first round by the Canes lost after stumbling in Tallahassee last weekend. Miami and Virgina Tech met once during the regular season (Feb. 9) with the Canes taking a 74-71 victory in Blacksburg.
The Hokies enter the ACC Tourney 18-12 and are 4-4 in their last eight games. They have a road record of 3-8, while the Canes are now 7-7 away from home – including their three wins in the Puerto Rico Tip Off and today’s road win in Charlotte.
Today’s win absolutely assures Miami of getting an NCAA bid by the end of the weekend. The only question remaining is their seeding. A win over Virginia Tech would help even more. Should that happen, the Canes faces the winner of tomorrow’s Noles/Tar Heels showdown.
Big win today. Celebrate. The Canes are going dancing and are still alive in the ACC.