Moving On Up

Lance Hurdle goes to the basket / A.P. Photo

It wasn't pretty but at the same time it was never in doubt. Despite the ugliness of the style Miami crushed NC State and with it clinched an NCAA birth. Now the Canes face Virginia Tech, a team that very badly needs tomorrow's game. Today was Jack McClinton's worst game of the year, reminiscent of Guillermo Diaz's effort (if you call at that) a few years ago against Louisville. But this Miami team knows how to play the 2-3 zone to near perfection at times and while Jack was ice cold and the big men were missing layups, NC State was taking bad shots against the zone.

Miami's victory today was only the 2nd by the Canes against a Big Four school in the state of North Carolina. The first win of course came in Chapel Hill two plus years ago and the Canes now have yet to beat Duke or Wake Forest in the state of North Carolina.

Virginia Tech is for my money an NCAA Tournament team. But if they don't beat the Canes tomorrow, they will not get in the dance. On the other hand we can play a little looser since seeding is what is on the line for the Canes. It would be nice to work our way up to a 6 or 7 seed to avoid a potential matchup with a #1 seed in the second round, but after six years in the wilderness thanks to Perry Clark, an NCAA bid of any sort is welcome news for a program seemingly on the upswing. Next year the Canes will add the biggest recruit of the Frank Haith era: DeQuan Jones. The year after a good chance exists that Kenny Boynton, one of the best H.S. players in the nation will come to Coral Gables. Times are good now, and regardless of what happens tomorrow, let's enjoy the return to relevancey that this season has brought the program and toast what is ahead in the future.