Hurricanes Season: Miami Will Be Scary in March

It's easy to see why the Miami Hurricanes were overlooked coming into the season: they hadn't made the NCAA Tournament in two seasons, had no future first-round picks on their roster, and weren't bringing in a big-time recruiting class. In Jim Larranaga's fifth season in Miami, they had seemingly settled comfortably into the middle of the pack in an ACC conference defined by aristocratic programs like Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Louisville.

Through the first three months of the season, though, none of those blue bloods have played better than Miami, who are ranked No. 8 in the country with a 13-2 record, including wins over Utah, Butler, Florida, and Syracuse. In a year in which college basketball doesn't seem to have a single great team, Miami looks capable of competing not only for an ACC title but a national title, as well. They don't have any future NBA stars, but in a year like this they don't really need them. The Hurricanes have everything else anyone could want in an NCAA team.

1. They are experienced

Miami starts four seniors and one junior. In a sport dominated by 18- and 19-year-olds, the average age of their starting five is well clear of drinking age. Three of those guys—Angel Rodriguez (Kansas State), Sheldon McClellan (Texas), and Kamari Murphy (Oklahoma State)—transferred from Big 12 schools, and all have had to sacrifice for the good of the team to make the most of their second chance in Miami.

2. They have athletes at every position

One benefit of all that experience is that the Hurricanes have a bunch of guys who have spent a lot of time in the weight room. From a physical perspective, Miami looks like an NBA team. They go 6-foot-5, 200 pounds (McClellan) and 6-foot-6, 210 (Davon Reed) on the wings, and 6-foot-8, 215 (Murphy) and 7-foot, 245 (Tonye Jekiri) up front. All are good-to-great athletes for their positions; there isn't a team in the NCAA who can overpower them. At 5-foot-11, 180, Rodriguez is the only guy in the starting five giving up size.

3. They can shoot the three

Three-and-D player are in demand at every level of the game, and Miami has two of the best in the country in McClellan (39.3 percent on 3.7 3PAs) and Reed (33.3 percent on 3.2 3PAs). Those two give Larranaga enviable lineup versatility because they can slide between multiple positions on defense and open up the floor on offense. The Hurricanes come at you in waves, and in the most efficient possible way—they bring three players off their bench who shoot at least 36 percent from long range.

4. They are deep

Miami's second-leading scorer (sophomore combo guard Ja'Quan Newton) and second-leading three-point shooter (senior stretch-four Ivan Cruz Uceda) come off their bench. They are complemented by two high-upside young wing players in Antonio Lawrence, Jr., (6-foot-7, 185) and Jordan Palmer (6-foot-5, 200). Newton, the highest-rated recruit on their roster, is the guy to watch, as he can run the offense and create his own shot with ease. He typically closes games for the Hurricanes, but all of these players are good.

5. They have multiple guys who can initiate offense

McClellan, Rodriguez, and Newton are all double-digit scorers who can take their man off the dribble, get into the lane, and set up their teammates. They are also good decision-makers with the ball in their hands, and all have positive assist-to-turnover ratios. This gives Miami multiple options when it's time to initiate offense and attack a defense late in the shot clock. Even teams stacked with NBA-quality prospects do not have this.

6. They have a bona fide NCAA star

There isn't a great deal of buzz surrounding McClellan, because he shares the ball on a deep team. He's only projected as a late-second-round pick, but McClellan is one of the most efficient scorers in the country, averaging 16.1 points a game on 53.1 percent shooting. McClellan scores from all over the floor: 62 percent from two-point range, 39.3 percent from three, and 87 percent from the free-throw line. He has NBA-caliber size and athleticism at the two and is impressively smooth with the ball in his hands. There's not all that much separating him from Buddy Hield, the frontrunner for the National Player of the Year and someone McClellan competed against in the Big 12.

7. They have a coach who knows how to win in March

While you know about Jim Larranaga because of George Mason's run to the Final Four in 2006, he's more than a one-off One Shining Moment case. Larranaga is a college basketball lifer, with 30 years as head coach at the D1 level and a career winning percentage of 60.3 percent. He surprised many by taking the Miami job at a relatively advanced age in 2011, but he was able to take Frank Haith's players to a Sweet 16 in 2013. He has patiently built up the program and brought in his own players over the past few seasons. There's no substitute for a coach who can make adjustments on the fly and put his players in a position to succeed, and Larranaga has proved that he knows what buttons to push come Tournament time.

When rosters turn over as frequently as they do in college basketball, the degree of difficulty in getting to the Final Four can vary drastically from year to year. Miami would have had a difficult time making a run last season, when Duke, Kentucky, and Wisconsin combined to go 109-9, with three of those losses coming to each other; those teams sent a combined twelve players to the NBA.

This season, with no team separating themselves from the pack and none as stacked with talent as last year's elite, a team full of seniors who play at a high level on both sides of the ball has as good a chance as anyone. Miami has the 14th-rated offense and the 36th-rated defense in the country, a system that works, a coach that knows how to win, and players that know how to play. There aren't many teams that can say as much this year, or make a better case for why they couldn't cut down the nets when March Madness is over.