This past week was a huge one for the ‘Canes. They locked themselves into the tournament field with wins over Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia. Two wins over bubble teams and a second ranked win vaulted them up the ACC standings. They accomplished all of that without their point guard and leader Ja’Quan Newton, who was out due to injury. A myriad of players – Davon Reed, Kamari Murphy, and Bruce Brown – stepped up to lead the team while he was down. This week will be another big one for Miami as they face off against Duke and Virginia Tech. With no potential bad losses looming, they could probably win out and still be safe. That doesn’t mean they’ll get complacent, though, as they’ll want to keep up this momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament.
After losing four straight, Notre Dame has picked it up and now won four in a row. That included two wins over the bottom two in the conference last week. Their offense appears to be back on track as they’ve scored 80 or more in each of those four wins. Bonzie Colson and VJ Beachem are leading the charge, combining to average 38 points per game over the last two. This week gives them another relatively easy go, facing just Georgia Tech. The Jackets will be fighting for their bubble lives, so the Irish can’t afford to get complacent. If their offense continues to click as it has, that game should be no problem for them as they march toward postseason play yet again. Mike Brey keeps doing a great job and looks to win the ACC Tournament for the second time in three years.