Two in a row was apparently too much to ask.

Your University of Miami Hurricanes were going for their second consecutive ACC win against the Clemson Tigers on the second Saturday in February.  But it was not to be as the Tigers used a strong second half performance to beat the Hurricanes 74-66 in Clemson.

The Tigers’ Trevor Booker scored 18 points to lead Clemson to back-to-back victories, something Miami simply could not manage.

The Hurricanes could not match the inside play of  Booker as Dwayne Collins registered two early fouls and sat out the rest of the first half out.  As a result, Miami tailed by 5 going into halftime 33-28. 

Clemson (18-7, 6-5 ACC) then utilized a consistent outside shooting game in the second half to pull away from the Hurricanes (17-8, 3-8 ACC).  The Tigers Andre Young had four of Clemson’s nine 3-pointers.

Miami was led by Malcome Grant who scored 13 points for the Hurricanes.  The ‘Canes have lost seven of its last nine games, six of which have been on the road.  Freshman guard Durand Scott posted 10 points for Miami, his ninth double-digit scoring effort of the season for the Hurricanes.

Miami will next play Wednesday when Duke visits lovely Coral Gables for another ACC contest at the Bank United Center at 7 PM.  The game will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN.   Miami pulled a huge upset of the Blue Devils in their last visit to the 305 in 2008 by the score of 96-95.

Could it happen again?  Who knows but I will be on hand for the game to try to keep hope and “Faith in Haith” alive.  Go ‘Canes!

Your University of Miami Hurricanes won possibly their biggest game of the season Wednesday night when James Dews sank a 15-foot buzzer beater to give Miami a 64-62 victory over the 20th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Miami had built a 14 point lead early in the second half before they once again pulled their usual late game collapse and allowed Georgia Tech to launch a furious rally that pulled them to within four points with a minute left in the game.  This time the Cardiac Canes managed to hold on to win as Faith in Haith was restored for at least one more game.

The Hurricanes (17-7, 3-7 ACC) managed to win only their third Conference game of the 2010 season as they won for only the second time in the past eight games. Georgia Tech (17-7, 5-5 ACC ) dropped to 1-4 on the road in the ACC, while Miami improved their home record to 11-1 this season.

The Hurricanes fell behind early in the first half but then outscored Georgia Tech 41-19 the rest of the first half.   Dwayne Collins led the ‘Canes with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Adrian Thomas made four three pointers and Malcome Grant posted 11 points for Miami.  Reggie Johnson added 10 points and 7  rebounds off the bench for the Hurricanes.

Gerogia Tech was paced by Brian Oliver who notched 19 points off the bench and junior Gani Lawal had 17 points and a career-high 18 rebounds.  The Yellow Jackets struggled from the charity stripe, making only 50% of their free throws (8 of 16). They also shot poorly from long range, making only 6 for 17 attempts from 3-point range.

The Yellow Jackets used a full court press in the second half  to confuse and frustrate the Hurricanes and get them off their game.  Tech was able to cut the deficit to 52-50 at one point before Miami rallied back to stretch the lead to 60-52.

Collins’ slammed home a vicious dunk that made it 62-58 before Tech sank two free throws with 20 seconds left and then hit a layup to tie the game before Dews’ nailed the game winner at the buzzer.

The Hurricanes now face two more ACC opponents when they hit the road to take on the Clemson Tigers on 2/13/10 before returning home to take on the Duke Blue Devils at the Bank United Center on 2/17/10.

I will be on hand for the Duke game and hope to see U there.  GO CANES!

THUD!

That sound you heard was the noise created by the University of Miami’s basketball team that recently came crashing back to earth.

You see the Hurricanes were flying high after posting their best early season record in fifty, that’s right 5-0, years.  Miami had waltzed through the first 16 games of the season with a 15-1 record and had reached #23 in the AP poll before reality set in.

By reality I mean playing against some real competition in the ACC.  Since running up the score on weak teams like Stetson, the Canes have dropped off the radar in their conference.  Miami now stands at 1-4 in the ACC, which is good enough to earn them last place.

If you want to know just how bad things have turned for the Hurricanes then just check these stats on how they stack up against ACC competition:

The Hurricanes are last in home attendance in the conference as well.  Seems all of a sudden nobody wants to watch a train wreck.  Imagine that?

The only bright spot for Miami is the play of Senior forward Dwayne Collins.  Collins is averaging 12.4/ppg and 8.2 rebounds/pg.  Collins will play TE for the UM football team next year so all is not lost.  Just kidding, that could never happen (Note: see Jimmy Graham who will be a NFL draft pick)!

So now once again as the ACC basketball season moves into the homestretch and the ACC games continue, Hurricane fans have little to look forward to other than the warm glow of the cheerleaders.

Which, if you haven’t seem them lately, are worth a look.

I’m just sayin’…

If Virginia is for lovers, call me a hater.

This past week your University of Miami men’s basketball team managed to lose two consecutive games to ACC rivals Virginia Tech and Virginia.  The Hokies hammered the Hurricanes 81-66 on Wednesday only to be outdone by the Cavaliers who crushed the Canes 75-57 on Saturday.

That is a combined butt whooping of 33 points by the teams from Virginia.  Now that’s gonna leave a mark!

The Hokies shot 62% in the first half and had their biggest lead at  48-13 before closing out the first half with a 17 point lead and a score of 50-23.  The Hurricanes lead the ACC in three point shooting percentage but somehow managed to miss their first eight attempts while shooting a miserable 27% in the first half.

The loss to VT ended Miami’s seven game winning streak and may have erased any dreams of the Hurricanes being competitive in the ACC this year.

As was the case in Blacksburg, Miami came out cold and started slowly in Charlottesville.   The Hurricanes missed their first nine shots and trailed by 12 points at halftime 33-21.  For the game, Miami hit only 31% of their shots and never got closer than nine points in the second half.

Miami had entered the week with faith in head coach Frank Haith, a 15-1 record and a #23 AP ranking attached to their name.  Off to their best start in fifty years the Hurricanes hoopsters were finally getting some love from their fans and the national media.

They finished the week getting no love from anyone especially the two teams from the State of Virginia where apparently love flows freely.  Miami is now 1-3 in the ACC after suffering the two lopsided losses in the conference where success has been hard to find for the Hurricanes.  Faith in Haith is once again clearly waning.

Miami head coach Frank Haith will not have to wait too long to get a chance to redeem himself  and his team .  Tuesday night the Hurricanes take on the Boston College Eagles in another ACC show down in lovely Coral Gables.

Let’s see if playing in the State of Florida makes a difference in the results.

We never really liked Virginia anyway and love is so over-rated.

Editorial Note:  ”Bucky The Badger” is the official nickname of the Wisconsin Badger mascot (seen below).

Your Miami Hurricanes got mauled by the Wisconsin Badgers 20-14 in the Champs Sports Bowl on Tuesday night.  While the final score does not convey just how badly Wisconsin beat Miami it was clear to those on hand who witnessed the game just how one-sided the contest really was.

Miami has now lost their bowl game two years in a row and has failed to use these opportunities to impress their fans, the media or the pollsters heading into the next season.

The unusually cold, windy weather in Orlando that made many fans uncomfortable probably made the Badgers feel right at home even though the crowd was heavily stacked in favor of the Hurricanes.

However, when the game was over it would be the Citrus Bowl field that made the news, not the game time temperature.   The field did neither team any favors as it was torn up in chunks and in terrible condition as the game wore on.  It cost Miami it’s starting running back in Graig Cooper who severely injured his knee (torn ACL) as he slipped on a kickoff return and would not return to the game.  It may have been the worst field conditions either team played in all year (that includes the VT “mud bowl” game).

The Hurricanes came out with a bang and returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown (well almost).  Sam Shields took a reverse handoff from Graig Cooper and returned it for a score only to be denied by a very late illegal block in the back penalty at the Badger 15 yard line.  Graig Cooper would run it in for the score on the very next play to put Miami up 7-0.

Many UM fans could already smell a blowout of the Badgers brewing.  But it was not to be as Wisconsin settled down and turned into their power running game and an aggressive, attacking defense to shut down Miami’s offense and take control of the game, the clock and both lines of scrimmage.

Highly touted RB John Clay rushed for 121 yards and fellow Badger RB Montee Ball ran for 67 yards.  The Badgers offensive line pushed the Hurricane defensive line around, blocked Miami’s pursuing linebackers and safeties and allowed Wisconsin to keep the ball for over 39 minutes of the game.   The Badgers used that time of possession to run 15 more plays than the ‘Canes and out-gain them 430 to 250 yards.

Wisconsin held a 17-7 lead at the half and sent Miami’s coaches and players  into the locker room looking for answers.   Unfortunately for Miami, it would turn out to be answers that they would never find.  The Hurricanes never stopped the Badger rushing attack, could not defend the middle of the field against Wisconsin’s passing game and most of all could never generate anything on the offensive side of the ball.

In fact it could be argued that the defense played well enough to win (they held the Badgers to 20 points) but the offense failed to carry their weight or produce enough points to secure a victory.  UM QB Jacory Harris was constantly harassed, pressured and was sacked five times by Wisconsin’s defense.   He finished the game 16-30 after completing several passes on a late drive in the fourth quarter that led to a score and brought Miami to within six points at 20-14.

Miami kicker Matt Bosher would recover his own onside kick to give the Canes a chance for the win with over a minute to go.  But Jacory would throw four straight incompletions and the game would end as it should, with the Beavers, uh, I mean the Badgers, on top.

Wisconsin did it the old fashioned way: run the ball, control the clock and the line of scrimmage.

Yeah, the Badgers, especially Bucky, earned it.

Your Miami Hurricanes have started practicing for the Champs Sports Bowl, which will be played at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on December 29.  As you know by now, the ’Canes will face the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big 10 vs ACC match up.  

Miami head coach Randy Shannon hopes to use the extra practice time to continue to develop his young team and prepare them for the 2010 season.  That’s right, it’s never too early to plan or look ahead to next year.

Next week, Miami will practice again on Tuesday and Wednesday in Coral Gables before heading up to Orlando on Christmas Day. 

On December 28th, there are several pre-game events in and around the 407 that fans can attend.  There will be interviews with the coaches (11 AM), a team luncheon (noon) at the official team hotel (Marriott World Center), and a pep rally with the players, bands and cheerleaders at Point Orlando on I-Drive at 5 PM.

Also making the news this week was the revelation that long time UM commit DT Todd Chandler from Miami Northwestern High School has at least temporarily decided to shop himself around.  This week Big Todd announced the he was no longer verbally committed to UM and instead has switched his allegiance to the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Chandler, who has been committed to Miami since his junior year at MNW, apparently was not getting enough “love” or attention from UM coaches.  Why would a recruit who has been committed for over a year and a half need more love letters from the Miami staff?  Why would a recruit who attends a UM “pipeline school” in the heart of the 305 and has several former high school teammates currently at UM need so much on-going attention? 

Welcome to the ugly, sinister and sometimes sickening world of recruiting in today’s modern era of pay Internet recruiting sites and other forms of what appears to be legal prostitution. Yes, in today’s world, we have the common scenario where high school players believe they can get their “money for nothin’ and their chicks for free.” 

Or at least at Tennessee they can, but I digress.

Apparently these fickle, spoiled, and ego driven student athletes demand constant attention, stroking and coddling to stay true to their first love.  Here’s a news flash to recruits: Randy Shannon don’t play that game. 

It has been reported on more than one occasion that Shannon and Recruiting Coordinator Clint Hurtt openly tell recruits that if they want to shop around, then the Hurricane coaches will do the same. If a recruit decides to take visits to other schools, then Miami will begin recruiting other high school players to take their place. All’s fair in love and recruiting.

So Mr. Chandler, if you aren’t bluffing and you really are serious about your change of heart, then go have fun in Tampa with Coach Leavitt.  We will see you when you return to the 305 to visit The Shark next year when USF plays Miami at home. 

We will enjoy watching you play for the Bulls, not the Hurricanes, as Miami spanks USF again like they did recently in Tampa just a few short weeks ago.

Now, doesn’t that sound like fun?