Wake Forest vs Miami Basketball Recap

Wake Forest 62, Miami-FL 53

If the Miami Hurricanes had any remaining margin for error in the chase for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, it likely vanished into the night on Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Coach Frank Haith's team, which entered Lawrence-Joel Coliseum with a 2-5 ACC record, didn't just fall to 2-6 after dropping a nine-point decision to Wake Forest. The Hurricanes lost one of their few remaining chances to gain a quality road win. Moreover, the kids from Coral Gables, Fla., fell even further behind the curve in terms of doing the things that impress the NCAA Tournament's Selection Committee.

This point might be more and more obvious as the years go by, but it still bears mentioning with a month left in the regular season: Wins are not even a primary measure of a team's bona fides... not according to the men who gather in an Indianapolis war room and pore over data used to determine the field of 65. The true test of a tournament team is found in the quality of a team's wins, which pertains not only to an opponent's legitimacy, but to the circumstances in which a victory is attained. Tourney-worthy ballclubs need road wins, they need significant wins, and they need to do reasonably well in the conference.

Yes, Miami stands at 16-6 after bowing to coach Dino Gaudio's Demon Deacons, but those 16 wins are so much cotton candy to any college hoops junkie. Miami's best non-conference win came at home against a Minnesota squad that - at the present moment, at least - is bound for the NIT. Coincidentally, Miami's best ACC win to date came against these very same Deacons in South Florida on Jan. 9. The Hurricanes used two free throws with 30 seconds left in regulation to topple Wake, 67-66, and preserve at least a small amount of hope that this ACC season could be salvageable.

Tonight, those hopes - and with them, dreams of a tourney ticket - are resting on life support.

> Check out our great selection of Demon Deacon Apparel & Merchandise!

When given this opportunity to produce the first big road win of the season against an NCAA-bound opponent, Miami predictably flopped. A program that didn't challenge itself in November and December is now paying the price for its soft scheduling.

When the going got tough in Winston-Salem, the Hurricanes flinched. The hardwood incarnation of "The U" was unable to hit the Atlantic Ocean from the shore. Intimidated and flustered by the Deacs' defense throughout the evening, Miami committed 18 turnovers and shot only 30 percent from the field. More importantly, Miami's worst offensive possessions - which produced a ghastly mix of turnovers and missed shots - came in the final 5:40 of regulation. Down 55-52 with just over five minutes remaining, the Canes couldn't hit a single field goal for the rest of the game. With Wake making only 18 field goals on the evening and limping in its own right to the finish line, a modest amount of Miami scoring punch would have been enough to pull off a season-changing upset. As it was, however, no one on Haith's roster was able to fill the void. With guards James Dews and Garrius Adams missing layups in the final three minutes and forward Dwayne Collins committing a crucial turnover with 1:50 left, the Canes dried up precisely when they needed to whip up a storm.

That's a portrait of a team bound for the NIT.

Perhaps Miami can go on a huge February run. Perhaps this team can win two of its three remaining conference road games. It's nice to have hope, but at some point, hope must give way to realism. The truth of the matter is that the Hurricanes can only lose one more game between now and the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. Anything more, and the NIT will come calling for another season.

By: Matt Zemek
ACC-Fans Staff Writer