This Week in Miami Hurricanes Basketball: 2/27 Edition

The weather is warm and welcoming in North Florida. Sadly, Miami’s second-half defense on Saturday against FSU was also warm and welcoming. Not what you want when you are looking to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

We’re back for another week of Miami Hurricanes Men’s and Women’s Basketball. The guys won their ACC road finale at Virginia Tech on Tuesday night, the came home to completely collapse against a 9-20 FSU team on Saturday afternoon. The ladies lost on the road to Louisville on Thursday night, then came home to beat Virginia on Sunday for Senior Day.

It’ll be interesting to see where the guys are ranked in today’s AP Top 25 Poll after such a bad loss.

Also, Miami Women’s Basketball was the first NCAA program to be given sanctions due to NIL violations. The penalties include one year of probation, a $5K fine plus one percent of the women’s basketball budget, and some recruiting restrictions. Unsurprisingly, the violations center around UM alum and mega-donor John Ruiz. The article below explains the situation concisely and lists the specific punishments.

Last week:

I recapped Miami’s 76-70 win at Va Tech. The Canes played a good second half and forced some missed shots when needed. Basically, it was the opposite of their performance against FSU. Maybe it’s just me, but the hangover from Saturday’s loss against the Noles makes it seem like the win against the Hokies happened three weeks ago. I’m rattled.

Miami has a new “worst loss of the season”. At least the loss to Georgia Tech was on the road. Saturday’s second-half performance was extremely disheartening. It could also provide a blueprint for future opponents of the Canes: simply drive to the basket.

I wrote a scant recap of Miami’s collapse against Florida State. As a loyal viewer of Canes basketball this season, I am well aware of their struggles in late-game execution. Still, a loss like this for last year’s team wouldn’t have surprised or bothered me as much. For a reminder, Miami lost both matchups to their in-state conference rival last season, each by one point. Saturday’s result was so much worse. The fact that it was a buzzer-beater wasn’t even among the first five reasons of how and why it was so bad. Three questions: How hurt was/is Nijel Pack? (Not that it should’ve mattered, I’m just asking.) Did Jordan Miller hold his pose too long after his made three-pointer before the buzzer-beater? (I’m not going to watch it again myself, I can’t). How will Miami play against Pittsburgh this Saturday? (I could see them trying too hard to play perfect, leading to mistakes). No more analysis. I’m going to attempt to move on.

The Lady Canes fell to the Louisville Cardinals on the road on Thursday, 71-57. Haley Cavinder led Miami with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Hailey Van Lith led Louisville with 25 points. Coach Meier’s squad couldn’t get their heads above water against the consistently-good Cardinals, getting outscored in every quarter. Miami could’ve used the quality road win to stay amongst the Top 25-ranked teams atop the ACC standings. Inconsistency: the story of the season for 2022-23 Miami Hurricanes Women’s Basketball.

The ladies concluded their regular season with a Senior Day home win over Virginia, 85-74. Destiny Harden led the Canes with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Haley and Hanna Cavinder combined for 26 points and 7 assists. Freshman Kyla Oldacre came off the bench to score 19 points on 9-11 shooting. Camryn Taylor led the Cavaliers with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Miami needed this win for some positive momentum going into the 2023 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro, NC. The Lady Canes finish the season at 18-11, 11-7 ACC. They appear to be firmly in the NCAA Women’s Tournament field. Their seeding can improve by a line or two by topping a couple ACC squads and making it to the weekend in Greensboro.

This week:

The guys play their season-finale at home against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, 3/4 at 6:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network. The matchup between the two former Big East foes will determine the 2022-23 ACC regular season champion. Pitt has one game prior to this weekend’s matchup, playing at Notre Dame on Wednesday, 3/1. Despite Saturday’s meltdown, the Watsco Center crowd should be electric again. Let’s hope it makes a difference this time.

The ladies are the #6 seed for the 2023 ACC Women’s Tournament. They will play the winner of Boston College vs Georgia Tech on Thursday, 3/2 at 8:00 PM. ACC Women’s Tournament games will be televised on ACC Network. The Championship game will be televised on ESPN this Sunday.

GO CANES!