Getty Images On Wednesday night, Minnesota staked their claim to being one of the Big Ten’s best teams by going into Champaign and knocking off Illinois.
On Thursday night, it was Miami’s turn to make a statement, as they rolled through the Dean Dome and picked up their third straight win, knocking off the Heels 68-59.
There was quite a bit of concern about Miami’s season and tournament hopes after their starting center, double-double machine Reggie Johnson, went down with a broken thumb a couple of days before Christmas. But after a disappointing showing out in Hawaii at the Diamond Head Classic, the Canes have come on strong.
They beat a better-than-you-think La Salle team last week and followed that up with a win over in their ACC opener on Saturday. But going into the Dean Dome and knocking off North Carolina — even if this UNC team is closer to being a carbon copy of 2010 than a true ACC title contender — is impressive. Doing it without Johnson is even more so.
How is Miami surviving without their big fella in the middle?
Well, it helps when Kenny Kadji is kicking in 18 points, nine boards, four blocks and three assists. It’s even more helpful when Julian Gamble, who is starting in Johnson’s place, is going for 14 points, six boards and three blocks. More to the point, Miami still have a talented group of individuals that understand their roles. They have a point guard in Shane Larkin that is as underrated as anyone in the ACC. They have a slew of shooters on the perimeter. Kadji and Gamble have enough size and bulk to manage in the paint.
And then there is talented veteran Durand Scott, who does whatever he team needs him to do on a given night.
The bottom-line is this: the only known quantity on the ACC is Duke. Everyone else is entirely beatable. NC State, Maryland, Florida State and North Carolina — obviously — have their flaws. The conference is way down this season, so even without Johnson, Miami will be able to win a lot of games.
What’s more? They already have. They are a top 10 team in the RPI thanks in large part to six top 100 wins.
And now the scary part: they’ve spent less than a month of the season at full strength.
Chew on that.
You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.
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AP
If you aren’t familiar with Vine, it’s an app that allows users to record up to six seconds worth of video. That was plenty of time for Tennessee rising junior forward Jarnell Stokes to film Oklahoma State star sophomore guard Marcus Smart taking a sideline bounce pass and throwing down a 360 slam while the…
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Gorgui Dieng is gearing up for next Thursday for the 2013 NBA Draft. On Tuesday, following a workout with the New York Knicks, the former Louisville center had time to talk about his old team. “I think they’re going to have a better team this year,” Dieng told Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and SNY.tv on…
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AP
A week after being cut loose by Iowa State, Indian Hills Community College forward Richard Amardi made a commitment to the Oregon Ducks. He has one year of eligibility left. Jeff Goodman first reported the news via Twitter on Tuesday night. The 6-foot-9 Amardi was on the wrong-end of a scholarship issue. He had originally committed…
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Penn State grants forward Jon Graham release, will transfer
Jun 18, 2013, 7:52 PM EDT
AP
After three years with the Penn State program, rising junior forward Jon Graham was granted a release and will be allowed to transfer for his final two seasons of eligibility, the school announced on Tuesday afternoon. “Jon and I have had several meetings to discuss his future and he has decided to seek opportunities to…
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AP
The return of Greg Whittington was going to be a crucial for the Georgetown Hoyas, entering next season without Big East Player of the Year Otto Porter. However, on Tuesday it was confirmed that Whittington has suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. “Greg will return when he is 100 percent healthy,”Georgetown head coach John…
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Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.) was one of 12 players selected to the USA Basketball Under-16 team, playing in the FIBA World Championship in Uruguay. The 6-foot-9 2016 recruit injured his left knee on Wednesday in a win over Argentina. On Tuesday, Giles told Jason Jordan of USA Today that he torn his ACL and MCL.…
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AP
Kansas commit and consensus top high school player Andrew Wiggins decided not to play for the Canadian Under-19 team this summer at next week’s FIBA U19 World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic. That hasn’t stopped the 6-foot-7 Wiggins from impressing this summer. According to Gary Parrish of CBS Sports, sources confirmed that Wiggins participated in his first…
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#POSTERIZED: Aaron Gordon demolishes Nigel Williams-Goss (VIDEO)
Jun 18, 2013, 3:03 PM EDT
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We’ve dissected the position that Aaron Gordon will play at Arizona far too often this offseason. Maybe, instead of worrying about whether he’ll be a three or a four, we should sit back and appreciate the fact that he can do this: I mean … I just … wow. Oh, there’s a better angle, too:…
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This week is a very important week for Ed O’Bannon’s case against the NCAA
Jun 18, 2013, 2:28 PM EDT
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Ever since Ed O’Bannon first filed a lawsuit against the NCAA over the use of his likeness in a video game back in 2009, there has been scuttlebutt that the outcome of said lawsuit could end up playing a major role in the way that college athletics operates at the highest level in the near…
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One of the big names to keep an eye on in the Class of 2015 is one of the biggest players in the class: 6-foot-11 Stephen Zimmerman. A native of Las Vegas who plays his high school ball at Bishop Gorman, Zimmerman is a lanky left-hander that can score with his back to the basket,…
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Florida head coach Billy Donovan made the final cuts to the U19 Team USA team on Monday night, getting the roster down to 12 players. The best known player on the team? Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart, who will likely enter the 2013-2014 season as a preseason first-team All-American. Duke sophomore Rasheed Sulaimon, incoming Arizona freshman…
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Getty Images
Jermaine Marshall has had a change of heart. Last month, Marshall announced that he would be leaving Penn State with the intention of going pro, but he’s had a change of heart. Marshall, who didn’t sign with an agent, will graduate on August 10th and has received a release from the Nittany Lions. He’ll be…
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How badly is Greg Whittington injured? That’s the biggest question facing Georgetown heading into the summer, because at this point, we know that Whittington is dealing with some kind of a knee injury. Late Monday night, Casual Hoya reported that Whittington was hobbling around on crutches. Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com…
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A broken foot failed to derail C.J. McCollum’s trek to the lottery
Jun 18, 2013, 9:28 AM EDT
AP
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Former UNC Asheville guard Keith Hornsby transfers to LSU
Jun 17, 2013, 11:01 PM EDT
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Keith Hornsby, the sophomore guard from UNC Asheville, took to Twitter to announce where he will spend his final two years of eligibility. #letsGeaux!!!!!!! – tweeted Hornsby on Monday night The 6-foot-4 sophomore picked LSU almost three weeks after announcing he would be leaving UNC Asheville following the departure of head coach Eddie Biedenbach. Hornsby was…
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Kelly Kline/Under Armour
One of the nation’s top rising seniors Rashad Vaughn has decided to leave Robbinsdale Cooper High (Minn.) in favor of prep school for his final season. Vaughn has been debating about whether or not to leave Cooper for months. “The kid has to move on and do what’s best for him,” Vaughn’s mentor Pete Kaffey told the Pioneer…
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North Carolina guard was arrested on June 5. It’s been almost two full weeks since the incident occurred in Durham, and for the first time since the arrest, Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams spoke about his leading scorer. “We are doing one thing: We are waiting until all the information comes out,” Williams told…
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Florida has already started its incoming class for the fall of 2015. On Monday evening, sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes (Suwannee High/Live Oak, Fla.) committed to Billy Donovan and the Gators. This early commitment was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout and then later confirmed by coach Martin McCann of Nike Team Florida — Hayes’ AAU team. According…
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Walter McCarty’s 1996 Kentucky national championship rings are being sold on eBay
Jun 17, 2013, 6:50 PM EDT
eBay
The championship rings of former Kentucky Wildcat Walter McCarty are now up for sale on eBay. McCarty, a member of the 1996 National Championship team is having both the ring given to the team by the NCAA and the ring presented to the Wildcats by the University of Kentucky are both being auctioned off with…
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Getty Images
Alabama’s second-leading scorer Trevor Lacey has decided to transfer to North Carolina State, according to PackPride.com. He will have to sit out the 2013-2014 season per NCAA transfer rules. He will have two years of eligibility left. In April, Lacey had elected to leave the Crimson Tide program after two seasons. He was considering Wolf…
