This 'Canes team is achieving great things for the university both for the present and for the future

The Miami Hurricanes are ranked #8 in the country and no, I'm not talking about the football team.

A post talking good things about Miami can't seem to start off without mentioning the joke of an investigation the NCAA has committed against the university, so let's get that out of the way and thank the NCAA committee for not being very good, even though we've lost many recruits and the penalties are still hanging in the balance, but everything is looking up in that situation.

Anyway, how about this 'Canes basketball team? Yeah, this is the same team that had Durand Scott suspended for six games that began last season in the ACC tournament by the aforementioned NCAA. This is the same Miami team that lost to Florida Gulf Coast in just the second game of the season and this is also the same Miami Hurricanes program that before this season had only "Packed the BUC" once.

It would be a cliche if I came out and said "times are changing" or "the Canes are back!", but in reality, times as a 'Canes hoops fan haven't been all that good, so everything that's happening would be a first. The 'Canes have never had this kind of national exposure and the 'Canes have also never won quite like this. The 72-50 win against Boston College on Tuesday, already matches the school-record of nine conference wins since the school joined the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was achieved by last years team. The 'Canes still have nine games remaining on the conference schedule and taking the Duke game on the road out of the equation, the 'Canes seem to have the "easy" part of the schedule coming up in the upcoming weeks.

All this winning is even making the good folks of Coral Gables come out and support this program. The Bank United Center or the "BUC" fits close to 8,000 fans and like I mentioned before, it had only been sold out once for a basketball game since it opened back in 2003. That was last season against Duke and to be honest, a lot of it was to see Austin Rivers and the gang. This season, the arena has been sold out three times and even got two straight sell outs, obviously for the first time in the history of the arena. The Duke game was undoubtedly the game that gave the university most of the national exposure and not only because the 'Canes laid a smack down on the Blue Devils, but Dick Vitale was in town and so were 8,000 hungry and loud 'Canes fans ready to storm the court when the team achieved the first win over a number one in the schools history.

The success of this team is helping out some of the young players that are coming in future classes, too and giving them a sense of eagerness to join in on the magic that's going on in Coral Gables.

"As an incoming freshman next year the expectations of the team and the fans is for us to perform at a high level, so it motivates me to keep working on my game so that I can come in and make an immediate impact" Hurricanes commit Davon Reed said, when asked what the current success of the team means to him. "Now that they've knocked off a number 1 and remain undefeated in the ACC, a lot of people have began to pay attention" he added.

This team is in the midst of a magical run, but the impact they've had on the program and fan base matches the success the team has maintained on the hardwood. The nation seems to be buzzing about this team, and even has some college basketball experts praising Miami as the fourth best team in the country. This is huge for recruiting and the school, not only for this season's NCAA tournament run, but for the program that very dearly needs to move forward in a positive direction.