Coach Jim Larranaga usually has more time to prepare his team for the Atlantic Coast Conference, but this season, for the first time since he took over the program eight years ago, the Hurricanes have to play their first-round game on Tuesday.
That is the price they pay for finishing 5-13 in the conference and 13-17 overall. The Canes are the No. 12 seed and play 13th-seeded Wake Forest (11-19, 4-14 ACC) at noon at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be on ESPN.
The Hurricanes and Demon Deacons split the series during the regular season, and Miami’s loss on Feb.