Miami put together one of the biggest wins of the season when they upset the Duke Blue Devils 90-74 at home on Tuesday. That puts Miami at a perfect 3-0 on the road while being one of four teams in the league with two road wins against ranked opponents since they also defeated Florida who was ranked No. 8 at the time. Now, they have to try and follow that up with a third road win against a ranked opponent as they prepare to face Notre Dame on Saturday.
The Hurricanes are operating under a trio of guards led by Angel Rodriguez. He put up 24 points against Duke while averaging 24.3 points and 5.0 assists while going 10 of 21 from beyond the arc against the three teams ranked in the top-10 Miami has faced. Sheldon McClellan and Manu Lecomte teams up with Rodriguez to combine for 61 points against Duke while hitting 8 of 15 3-point shots.
Miami will be getting back Ivan Cruz Ucede after he was ruled out for the first 16 games of the season due to an NCAA rule that requires enrollment one-year after high school. Right now, Miami is working with Tonye Jekiri at center who is leading the ACC with 9.9 rebounds. Ucede might not have a spot on the court right now in Miami's offensive plan.
The Hurricanes will be put to the test when they face one of the best shooting teams in the league. Notre Dame is coming off a win over Georgia Tech, but it came with bad news as it appears Zach Auguste might be out for the remainder of the season. He has been key for Irish and their No. 12 ranking, but was held out in the win over Georgia Tech due to what was being described as an academic issue. Head coach Mike Brey made it clear that if Auguste was going to return to the team, he had a lot of work to do first.
Jerian Grant was forced to step up in the effort as he had 12 points in the win as five other players also put up double-figures in the route. Grant will be key moving forward if the Irish intend to keep their high ranking.
