Saturday, March 13, 2010

Looking forward to the ACC semis

Miami-Duke, 1:30 p.m.

Working Title: Do You Believe in Miracles? The 12th-seeded Hurricanes are basically the 1980 U.S. hockey team, and the top-seeded Blue Devils are the Russians. That game was a semifinal, too.

At Stake: Miami needs two more victories to play in the NCAA tourney. Duke is trying to take another step toward a No. 1 NCAA seed.

Who Has The Advantage: Duke. No, really. After pulling two big upsets and playing with utmost intensity, does Miami have anything left in the tank? If the Canes use the same zone that slowed Virginia Tech Friday, Duke’s shooters could tear it up. The Blue Devils won the regular-season matchup 81-74 in Coral Gables.

Stat to watch: The rebounding totals. Miami smashed the Hokies on the glass 42-29 Friday, and outrebounded Wake Forest in the opener as well. Getting putbacks might be the Canes’ only hope for winning, but that won’t be easy against Duke’s rotation of big men.