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Miami, Marquette and Pitt among the teams on Upset Alert this weekend

Shane Larkin

Who’s Getting Upset?: No. 2 Miami at Wake Forest (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

I know this sounds silly, but hear me out. Miami has struggled their last two games. They needed a three-pointer from Kenny Kadji with 17 seconds left to beat Clemson on Sunday. On Tuesday, it was Shane Larkin finding Reggie Johnson by himself under the rim that save the Hurricanes from their first loss in ACC play this season.

Now, Wake Forest isn’t exactly a powerhouse, but they’ve been a tough team to beat on their home court this season. They beat UVA. They beat NC State. They were beating Duke after the under-four TV timeout in the second half. They beat Florida State by 25 points. With a visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium coming up next week, the Hurricanes cannot look past the Demon Deacons.

Who else is on Upset Alert?:


  • No. 17 Marquette at Villanova (6:00 p.m. ET, ESPN): Villanova has been a pesky opponent for some of the top teams in the Big East this season. They’ve already picked off Syracuse and Louisville at home, and last weekend went into Connecticut and beat the Huskies. Marquette is tied for the Big East lead with Georgetown and Syracuse, which clearly means they are ripe for the Villanova picking.

  • No. 24 VCU at Xavier (2:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network): Xavier doesn’t exactly have an NCAA tournament resume, but they are just two games behind St. Louis in the Atlantic 10 standings and they do have one of the best home courts in the conference. Can Semaj Christon and Dee Davis protect the ball well enough against VCU’s overwhelming pressure?

  • No. 14 Oklahoma State at West Virginia (2:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2): Oklahoma State is coming off of a loss where Marcus Smart played about as poorly as he has all season long. WVU has had their troubles this season, but Morgantown is a long way from Stillwater and always a tough place for opposing teams to visit. Will the Pokes avoid a slip-up on the road?

  • No. 20 Pitt at St. John’s (Sun. 12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3): St. John’s has been one of the bigger surprises in the Big East this season, but they are currently sitting just on the wrong side of the bubble. That’s a bad place to be heading into the final weeks of the season. The Johnnies will have their chances, however: in addition to hosting Pitt, St. John’s will visit South Bend and play Marquette in NYC before the Big East tournament starts.

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.