The Canes move back to 18th in the AP Poll

The Hurricanes come in ranked 18th in the latest AP poll after a week that included a road loss to ACC opponent, Georgia Tech, and a home win vs 25th ranked rival, Florida State.

Coach Larranaga and company desperately needed a bounce back win at the Watsco Center against Florida State to stay ranked, and as Canes’ fans have been accustomed to, their team defended home court. Over the past three seasons, the Canes are 35-3 at home with losses to Northeastern, Florida State, and Notre Dame.

The win also kicked off a brutal three game stretch against ranked opponents where the Canes will travel to 19th ranked Clemson and host 7th ranked Duke this week.

Miami’s 13-2 record may not show the frightening struggles this team has had early in the season, frequently playing down to their competition, but the once-ranked 6th Canes seemed to turn the corner Sunday night as they defeated Florida State with an efficient offensive outing.

The Canes were guided by sophomore five-star prospects, Dewan Huell and Bruce Brown Jr., but also received a spark off the bench from freshman point guard, Chris Lykes, scoring a career-high 18 points. Also, freshman phenom, Lonnie Walker, was inserted into the starting lineup (second time this season), as Canes fans should expect this to permanently be his role (FINALLY).

Hopefully, this performance against FSU ignites the Canes as they enter the thick of ACC conference play. A 2-0 week vs Clemson and Duke would certainly have the Canes near the top 10 again and put them in prime position to compete for an ACC regular season title.