A long flight, a home-field advantage for the opponent. Did the NCAA bracket set the Miami Hurricanes up for an uphill battle?
The Miami Hurricanes have an opportunity to establish a higher standard for years to come. Following a 24-7 overall regular season, 13-5 in ACC play, the program is off to a great start in the Jai Lucas portion of its history. Despite having an empty roster to fill, the 37-year-old recruited established players in seniors Tre Donaldson, Malik Reneau, Ernest Udeh Jr., and junior Tru Washington, plus a couple of promising freshmen in five-star Shelton Henderson and four-star Dante Allen.
The team finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels, Clemson Tigers, and Louisville Cardinals. Despite falling short of the ACC Championship game after an 84–62 loss to the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers in the semifinals, they would seek redemption in the NCAA Tournament.
It was announced on Sunday that the Hurricanes will play as the seventh seed in the West Region of the bracket, facing the 10-seed Missouri Tigers. However, the matchup will take place at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The Tigers will play the second-closest home game to campus out of all the first-round matchups, approximately 125 miles away.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes have to travel approximately 1,222 miles to play in the NCAA Tournament.
A lower seed playing close to home could be a slight disadvantage for a higher seed, especially in what’s supposed to be a neutral zone.
However, the Hurricanes faced a similar situation earlier in the regular season against the at-the-time No. 10 Florida Gators. They would face off on a neutral court in Jacksonville, only for VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena to be filled with blue and orange. Regardless, the team was one of six in the ACC to have a winning record on the road.
Coach Lucas isn’t worried about the geographics of the matchup.
“For us, business as usual,” he said on Sunday. “We’ll play road games and this will be a road game. We’ve been in big environments before like this. We’ll just go and do what we do.”
This marks the 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, three years removed from making the Final Four for the first time under coach Jim Larranaga. The Hurricanes look to carve out a similar journey. Donaldson, Washington, Reneau, and Udeh Jr. have experience in the NCAA Tournament. They will be relied upon as leaders as they have been all season.
The Hurricanes will face the Tigers on March 20.
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