Canes Pull Away And Advance

I have to admit it didn't look good for a while. Jack McClinton was taking bad shots and every single layup was rolling off the rim. I could have sworn there was something funky with our basket because half of our missed shots in the first half were half-way down the net before rimming out.

Luckily, St. Mary's played poorly this afternoon and couldn't manage a sizeable lead before the Canes got back into rhythm. As many predicted, Miami needed a big day from Jack McClinton, and boy did they get it. McClutch dropped a career high 38 points and the Canes pulled away in the 2nd half to advance to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tourney.

The biggest problem I have with this team is the careless mistakes. I'm not even talking about moving screens or bad passes. Sometimes they just forget to dribble or pass the ball wildly instead of taking their time. Poor basketball IQ plays, like those that cost us against NC State. Those sorts of mistakes will kill us against Texas this weekend if we continue to make them.

The good thing is that Frank Haith knows how to get his boys to regroup and focus on defense. Once he makes the necessary adjustments, all the Canes need to do is stay within striking distance and our All-ACC guard can bring us back into the game. That's been the m.o. all season and it worked today.

This was a big win for the program, folks. Don't underestimate how good we look advancing to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. I guarantee you people were watching and saw that when this team is on all cylinders, it is legit. Now, all they have to do is the impossible: upset Texas. A win there and we'll immediately see the rewards rolling in for this program. Big time schools will be more favorable to schedule us. Prestigious preseason tournaments will begin to invite us. And more importantly, guys like Kenny Boynton will believe that this program has what it takes to compete with the big boys. Landing the top recruits is what Miami needs to get into the upper echelon of teams in the nation. Today was another big step into realizing that dream.