Disclaimer: This is not my official tournament prediction. But for a program who’s highest level of tourney success is reaching the Sweet 16, this time of year leads to a lot of guessing of what cutting down the nets feels like. If this were the year for the Canes to go on a run, however, here’s what it would look like:
1st Round: Miami 81, Loyola-Chicago 68
Loyola-Chicago dominated the Missouri Valley Conference, but facing a team that finished third in the deepest conference in the country proves to be too much for the mid-major. Dewan Huell and Ebuka Izundu can’t be kept off of the boards, and Dejan Vasiljevic, Chris Lykes, and Lonnie Walker IV light it up from outside.