It's time for the sweet 16, finally! The wait between the round of 32 and the sweet 16 is always a hard one. There's such build up of great games, even moreso this year, followed by a 3 day wait. Of course, ACC fans had Maryland and Virginia to follow. While the Terps moved on with a win over Alabama on Tuesday, Virginia lost to Iowa in the NIT quarterfinals last night.
Tonight, Miami plays Marquette without big man Reggie Johnson. While Johnson isn't the focus of this Hurricanes offense, like he has been in the past, he does provide frontcourt depth. Julian Gamble has arguably been more valuable to Miami this season, but if Gamble were to get into foul trouble it could present a problem. An inexperienced, raw Tonye Jekiri will likely be the first big off the bench. It also wouldn't shock me to see Miami go small, when matchups allow it, with Rion Brown playing as a 4th guard.
With Johnson's absence, rebounding will be very important for Miami. Marquette ranks 17th in the nation in offensive rebound percentage (38%). Miami has been a good defensive rebounding team but Johnson leads Miami, grabbing 25% of the defensive rebounds when he is in the game. This is a huge red flag to me for Miami.
Can Miami win without Johnson? Sure. But... my feeling is that they'll need to rely more on the 3 point shot to make up for the second chances that Marquette will inevitably get.
Check out Game Sim's predictions, links, previews, and more below.
Game Sim Predictions
Marquette at Miami - Miami wins 64-62 Sim the game here
Arizona at Ohio State - Ohio State wins 66-65 Sim the game here
Syracuse at Indiana - Indiana wins 67-64 Sim the game here
La Salle @ Wichita State - Wichita State wins 65-64 Sim the game here
| Team | Conf | Pct | Overall | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 15-3 | 0.833 | 29-6 | 0.829 |
| Duke | 14-4 | 0.778 | 29-5 | 0.853 |
| UNC | 12-6 | 0.667 | 25-11 | 0.694 |
| NC State | 11-7 | 0.611 | 24-11 | 0.686 |
| Virginia | 11-7 | 0.611 | 23-12 | 0.657 |
| FSU | 9-9 | 0.500 | 18-16 | 0.529 |
| Maryland | 8-10 | 0.444 | 25-12 | 0.676 |
| Boston College | 7-11 | 0.389 | 16-17 | 0.485 |
| Georgia Tech | 6-12 | 0.333 | 16-15 | 0.516 |
| Wake Forest | 6-12 | 0.333 | 13-18 | 0.419 |
| Clemson | 5-13 | 0.278 | 13-18 | 0.419 |
| Virginia Tech | 4-14 | 0.222 | 13-19 | 0.406 |
 Injury Report |
|---|
| John Auslander (MD) |
| left tibia fracture - out for season |
| Seth Allen (MD) |
| broken hand |
| Staats Battle (ST) |
| suspension |
| Darion Atkins (VA) |
| stress reaction in shins |
| Reggie Johnson (MI) |
| knee |
Links
- Collins Named Head Coach at Northwestern
- Plumlee, Coach K credit Sulaimon for helping Duke reach Sweet 16
- Duke vs. Michigan State: social media style
- Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on Chris Collins leaving for Northwestern
- DeCock: Duke facing familiar hurdle
- Duke elevates James to assistant coach
- Stretch ’4s’ gave Duke shot at sustainable success
- Paulus to join Collins at Northwestern? Capel to Old Dominion?
- Cavaliers’ season comes full circle in loss
- UVa’s season wore Joe Harris out
- Virginia loses in NIT quarterfinals
- Now prominent, Miami Hurricanes basketball team was once disbanded
- Canes head to DC, Sweet 16 without Reggie Johnson
- Miami Hurricanes’ Reggie Johnson out for Sweet 16 with knee injury
- Wellman: Bzdelik has Deacons going in right direction
- Miami basketball taking campus, nation by storm
- NC State junior PG Brown to enter NBA Draft
- Sweet 16 Breakdown: Thursday's East & West Regions
Yesterday's Games
| Matchup | |
|---|---|
| Iowa 75 @ Virginia 64 | Box |
Today's Games
| Time | Matchup | TV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7:15:00 PM | Marquette @ Miami | CBS | Preview |
