Where We Stand, the Gators Plight and Other NCAA Related Thoughts

• Miami remained 26th in the RPI this morning. A victory against Florida State will move the Hurricanes into the 22 to 24 range while a defeat would drop Miami to about #30.
  
• The Hurricanes will likely face either Boston College, NC State or Georgia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament if the Canes lose to Florida State. My preference would be to avoid playing NC State in Charlotte although the Canes owe them a game after giving away that heart breaker in Raleigh earlier this year and quite frankly NC State is far and away the worst team in the league right now.
  
• If Miami wins in Tallahassee, and Clemson defeats Va Tech, the Canes will get a first round ACC Tournament bye which will be a good thing because that likely prevents the Hurricanes from having the potential RPI killer loss North Carolina State or Boston College.
• Since the ACC expanded in 2004-05, the top seeded team to play on the first day has always lost to the lowest seeded team in the field. In 2005 the Hurricanes lost to last place Virginia, in 2006 Florida State lost to last place Wake Forest and last year the last place Hurricanes took it to Maryland.
  
• I have mixed feelings about Saturday's game. Don't get me wrong, we need a win to ensure an NCAA birth and avoid being a #11 or #12 seed. But I continue to have a soft spot for Leonard Hamilton, the man who turned Miami from a sleepy big city also ran program to an NCAA contender year in and year out. Coach Ham is on very thin ice in Tallahassee, even though the past two seasons have been their best in the ACC since the 1992-93 season.
• It may work out if Hamilton is axed. With rumors beginning to mount about Frank Haith potentially bolting to a big job in a few years, Hamilton being available would be a good thing for the program. However, if Miami pays Frank Haith a decent salary he'll hang around unless a top job opens up and he is offered it which is by no means a certainty.
  
• Florida is in dire straights right now. I got home last and flipped on the Gator game and promptly watch the Gators blow a big lead at home to Tennessee. I predicted a Florida win thinking Tennessee would be emotionally drained after a three game stretch against the school's three biggest rivals all on national TV, including the hyped #1 vs #2 game against Memphis. Sure enough I was right. Tennessee apparently didn't show up in the first half but then stepped up and dominated the second half save the fine play of Nick Calathas who deserves mention as one of the top freshmen in the country. (Yeah I know Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, etc, but Calathas is a better all around player than just about any first year player in America) . My biggest impression of the game is how worthless a home arena the O'Connell Center is when things aren't going well for the Gators. I've read stories about how tough Gainesville is as a road trip, but that is only when the Gators are playing for SEC and National Titles I fear. For the second straight game the home crowd was totally flat and resembled any other easy away environment in the lame SEC.