Canes Beat Va Tech 74-71

Every game from now on is a must-win game for the Miami Hurricanes basketball team. It's still my belief that the damage has been done and they are out of contention for an NCAA bid, but yesterday's game vs Virginia Tech was important to at least get started if they plan on making a run.

The Canes remain 3-6 in the ACC and will need an 8-8 record to look good for a bubble spot. If not, they need to at least go 7-9 and win two games in the ACC tourney, something I wouldn't count on at this point.

The good news is that they won their first ACC road game in forever, and did so by closing out the game against a tough VT team that had been 5-4 in ACC play. Jack McClinton had a good night shooting the ball considering his recent troubles.

While the stat sheet might shot a huge disparity in rebounding in favor of Miami, theres a good reason for it: VT never had a chance on the offensive glass because they were too busy shooting 55% from the field. That's unacceptable by any standards. What happened to the team that was clamping down defensively early in the season?

Regardless it's a great win for Frank Haith and his kids. Now they get a week off before having to play GT on the road. We beat them earlier this year, but everything is different in a hostile environment. If the Canes play to the best of their abilities, they are capable of winning this game. And aside from the Duke home game, they are capable of winning their other 6 remaining ACC games. The key is to play focused and to come out strong at the beginning of each half.