Miami Hurricanes enter NCAA Tournament ranked No. 16/15 in polls
ANALYSIS: Breaking down Miami Hurricanes NCAA Tournament bracket and the team’s matchups
Isaiah Wong excited for NCAA Tournament, weighs in on injury situation with Omier
The Miami Hurricanes basketball team, which fell to Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, enter NCAA Tournament play ranked No. 16/15 in the nation.
That’s per the latest Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches’ polls.
Miami is a 5 seed in the tournament and will face Drake on Friday night at 7:25 p.m. in Albany, NY, in Midwest Region play. The game will be televised on TBS.
Assuming the Canes get past that game, UM will play either heavily favored Indiana or Kent State.
The No. 16 spot is the fifth-highest finish in the AP Poll—there is no release after the NCAA Tournament—in program history. Miami placed fifth in 2013, co-No. 10 in 2015-16, No. 10 in 1998-99 and No. 10 in 1959-60 (post-NCAA Tournament release).
The Hurricanes are among three ACC teams in the top 20 of both polls, joining No. 10/14 Virginia and No. 12/16 Duke. Pittsburgh and NC State both received votes in the Coaches Poll.
Five Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball teams picked up bids to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: Duke, Miami, NC State, Pitt and Virginia were selected.
Virginia was the highest seedd at No. 4, while Miami and Duke were No. 5 with Pitt and NC State No. 11.
Head coach Jim Larrañaga’s team split a pair of ACC Tournament contests last week. Top-seeded Miami defeated Wake Forest, 74-72, to clinch the fifth semifinal bid in program history. Once there, it fell to then-No. 21 Duke, 85-78, after losing third-year sophomore forward Norchad Omier, a Third Team All-ACC designee, to injury just 66 seconds into the game.
The hope is that Omier will be able to suit up this weekend, but that is still to be determined.
