Putting the "U" in U-G-L-Y…

No possible way to put lipstick on this pig. This one was ugly top to bottom. Miami was never in control and Virginia Tech had the Canes playing catch up almost the entire game.

In the end, the Hokies trounced the Canes, 63-49 in a fashion few expected. Seeing the highlights of North Carolina’s 82-70 win over Florida Sate – and hearing the commentators talk about how ‘evenly matched’ Miami and Virginia Tech were – like most, I expected a close one. In the end, the Canes lost by 14 and the Noles proved a better match for the Heels than The U did for VT.

Pretty pathetic with so much on the line.

Truth be told, Miami didn’t even look that hot yesterday in a 13-point beatdown of the N.C. State. The Canes were sloppy, but a solid effort from the free throw line proved the difference maker.

Today, nothing went right.

Jack McClinton led all Cane scorers with 16-points, going a paltry 4-of-17 in field goals and 3-of-11 from behind the arc. 5-of-5 from the line helped, but McClinton needed a Superman-esque performance and all the superheroes were on the other team.

A.D. Vassallo killed Miami. 7-of-14 in field goals made and 1-of-5 from behind the arc, but all his points seemed to come at crucial times when the Canes needed a stop or to snatch back momentum. Vassallo had 15 points, as did Malcolm Delaney.

Deron Washington wasn’t far behind with 14 of his own – including a few in-your-face dunks to drive it home that the Canes are headed back to Coral Gables instead of advancing to the next round.

Equally as detrimental to the Canes was the lack of production from everyone not named McClinton. Anthony King got his nine points and three rebounds, but for the most part the Canes were going through the motions and never woke up. Look no further than Lance Hurdle and Dwayne Collins combining for an 0-for-13 performance, zero points and a handful of rebound. Hurdle has looked like a Jr. McClinton at times, but was nowhere to be found today.

The commentators talked about Tech ‘wanting it’ more than the Canes. I guess so. You’d think that at this level and with one tourney victory under their belts entering today, Miami would simply show up and not go through the motions. The Hokies want in the NCAA tourney – but the Canes were jockeying for position.

An NCAA berth seems like a lock, but nothing is guaranteed. Especially if some of these mid-majors keep pulling upsets. Hell, same could be said if a Georgia Tech or Virginia Tech finds a way to take out powers like Duke or North Carolina.

Miami is said to be a 10-seed right now and a win today would’ve helped their cause even more. Very frustrating to see the Canes bow out – not only to a hated rival, but to a team they beat on the road earlier this season. Everything is on the table right now and the Hokies proved they were the money team today. The Canes seems to be fading down the stretch.

Has this team overachieved? I there anything left in the tank? I don’t know. The bleeding hearts will defend these Canes to the death, but from what I saw the past two games this looks like a team simply happy to have gotten to the Big Dance – even though it’s not even written in stone yet.

Frank Haith needs to regroup – if that’s even possible. Impossible not to be proud of this team and what’s been accomplished this year, but Miami looks like a team that started hot and faded as the season went on. 8-8 in conference during the regular season isn’t anything to write home about. Nice, but hardly stellar.

Conversely, watching Virgina Tech and hearing how Seth Greenberg rallied the troops, turned things around and even came up with a cheesy contract for the players to sign mid-season – it showed the difference between a team ready to make a run and a team that might’ve reached their finish line.

Miami is now 3-3 in their last six games and sputtered down the stretch even in games they won – almost blowing a 10-point lead in under two minutes at Virginia. The win against Boston College was huge and the team showed some grit that night, but a few days later fell to a sub par Florida State team that didn’t make the NCAAs.

A lethargic win yesterday and a lopsided loss today don’t help Miami’s cause.

On the other hand, Virginia Tech is following that ‘getting hot at the right time’ methodology to a T. The Hokies won four of their last five regular season games. The lone loss, a 70-69 setback at Clemson. Now they’re 1-0 in the ACC tourney and have a showdown against the same North Carolina team that whooped ’em 92-53 before they went on that late season run.

The Heels are obviously a big favorite, but can’t take much solace in facing an improving, hungry and revenge-minded Tech team. Tomorrow’s game could be interesting.

As for the Canes, back to the confines of The U to regroup, prioritize and wait for Selection Sunday. Miami has one last shot this year to prove it belongs. Success in the ACC tourney would’ve been nice, but it’s time to put that behind and hope there’s still some gas in the tank for a rare March Madness run.

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