The Miami Hurricanes are about to enter a territory they've never been to before. This will be the first time Miami basketball is set to play in a Final Four round of the NCAA tournament, and the Canes intend to make the most out of it. Will Miami upsend the Connecticut Huskies to advance to the National championship game? We're going to find out about that on Saturday. For now, here are three predictions we have for Miami in the Final Four.
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3. Miami gets at least 20 points from the free-throw line
Free throws were a big weapon for Miami basketball in its comeback win against the Longhorns. The Hurricanes drained 28 of their 32 attempts from the foul line in that game, capitalizing on the aggressive defense of Texas that resulted in a bunch of freebies for Miami. Jordan Miller, in particular, took full advantage of it, as he made all of his 13 tries from the charity stripe.
Look for the Hurricanes to get a ton of free-throw chances again on Saturday. For one, UConn gives up a lot of fouls. In fact, the Huskies are 260th in the nation with 18.0 personal fouls per game and 279th with a 23.3 percent foul rate (personal). The Huskies were called for 15 personal fouls in the first round against the Iona Gaels, 16 in the second round against the Saint Mary's College Gaels, 18 in the Sweet 16 against the Arkansas Razorbacks, and 18 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Elite Eight.
2. Jordan Miller outplays Jordan Hawkins
If the Hurricanes are to flip the script in the Final Four and upset Connecticut, they are going to need Jordan Miller to come up with another excellent performance. The same is true for the Huskies when it comes to Jordan Hawkins, but it's clear who between Miller and Hawkins has the hotter hand right now.
Miller was coming off an insane showing versus the Longhorns, as he went off for 27 points on an immaculate 7-for-7 shooting from the field and 13-for-13 from the free-throw line. Chances are, his style and UConn's tendency to commit plenty of fouls will result in a number of trips to the foul line for Miller. It's quite a tall order for him to be perfect again this time against the Huskies' stellar defense, but he's clearly in the zone and loves to create scoring opportunities for himself with great movement off the ball.
1. Hurricanes post its most efficient shooting performance in March Madness
One of the easiest narratives to make about this upcoming matchup between Miami basketball and UConn is that this will be a classic offense vs. defense affair. On one hand, we have the high-scoring Hurricanes. On the other hand, we have a team that is considered elite defensively in the form of the Huskies. This is also quite the same theme Miami games have carried the past couple of rounds, at least. In the Sweet 16, the Hurricanes took on No. 1 seed Houston Cougars, who are fifth in the nation this season with just 90.4 points allowed per 100 possessions adjusted.
The Cougars are also second nationally with a scoring defense that let opponents score only 57.5 points per contest on a 42.7 effective field goal percentage — also No. 2 overall in the country. And what did the Hurricanes do against that kind of defense? They torched it.
Miami basketball posted a 51.7 percent shooting from the field against the Cougars, went 11-for-25 from behind the arc, and recorded a 60.8 effective field goal percentage in an 89-75 win. If that was not enough to turn doubters of Miami basketball's ability on offense, then the Hurricanes made sure to generate yet another proof in the Elite Eight round where they sent the Texas Longhorns packing.
Texas was another great defensive team that stood in the way of Miami, and the Hurricanes ripped that obstacle apart by again going off on offense. Like the Cougars, the Longhorns carried a stout defense into the game versus Miami.
The Longhorns finished this season 13th in the nation with only 92.1 points allowed per 100 possessions adjusted and 21st in defensive turnover rate (22.1%). None of those numbers mattered in the end, with Miami concluding the contest with a 59.2 percent shooting from the field and a 61.2 effective field goal percentage.
After taking down a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed in back-to-back fashion, Miami basketball must be feeling even more unstoppable. The Hurricanes entered the tournament coming off a loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC tournament and looked wobbly in the first round versus the Drake Bulldogs, but since that win against the Indiana Hoosiers, they've shot the ball on a level like no other in the tournament, so far. The Huskies' defense is not a joke and should never be seen as one, but Miami just does have the touch right now that can humble any type of defense.
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