SMU head coach previews Miami, Canes ranked in top 25, plus other Miami basketball notes

SMU is in desperation mode heading into its home game against Miami on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Mustangs enter the final week of the regular season as losers of two straight games, having gone winless in last week’s West Coast road trip against California and Stanford. In On3’s latest bracket projection, SMU is listed among the last four bye teams. A quality win over the Hurricanes, now a lock to make the NCAA tournament after defeating Boston College on Saturday, could solidify SMU’s postseason status.

Mustangs head coach Andy Enfield is expecting a “close” game against Miami, which has won six of its last seven games.

“I think both teams have strengths and weaknesses, and it’ll come down to what team defends I think at a higher level, and some shot making will go into that because our shot making has not been very good lately, but at home, it’s been very good,” Enfield said. “So we’re hoping to use our home crowd to our advantage and play our up-tempo style and put some points on the board.”

Miami’s interior-focused offense, which ranks fifth in the ACC in points per game and first in field goal percentage, could present problems for SMU. The Mustangs rank dead last in the ACC in points allowed per game (78.0) and have given up at least 85 points in losses versus Vanderbilt, LSU, Louisville and most recently, Stanford. 

“Offensively, they’re very good,” Enfield said about the Hurricanes. “They share the ball, and two guys are extremely hard to guard one on one, with [Tre] Donaldson and [Malik] Reneau, who’s a first-team all-league.”

SMU will likely have to play without starting guard B.J. Edwards, who Enfield described as “doubtful” for Wednesday’s matchup. Edwards was injured in a recent game against Cal and did not play in the Mustangs’ loss to Stanford.

Edwards plays a jack-of-all-trades role for SMU, averaging 12.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists and an ACC-high 2.3 steals per game this season.

Miami Coach Jai Lucas said that removing Edwards from the rotation alters Miami’s gameplan against the Mustangs.

“It’s difficult because he’s a big part of their team, and he’s been a big part of their success this year,” Lucas said. “Whenever you take somebody out of the lineup like that, it changes things so much. For us, we’ll prepare as if he’s playing the whole time until we find out he’s not, and then we’ll kind of operate from there.”

Miami’s second opponent this week is Louisville, who the Hurricanes will face in their regular-season finale at home on Saturday. The Cardinals will first play Syracuse on Tuesday.

Canes ranked in the top 25

For the first time this season, the Hurricanes are ranked in the AP Top 25.

Following a 2-0 week with wins over Florida State and BC, and as winners of six of its last seven games, Miami ranked No. 22 in the latest poll release. This is the first time that UM has been ranked since December 2023.

Washington, Udeh on defensive hot streaks

Junior guard Tru Washington’s defensive impact has been on display all season long, but he’s hit an extra gear on that end over the last three games, totaling 12 steals, including six in Miami’s win over Boston College.

Lucas attributes Washington’s recent play on defense to “tweaks” the staff has made as far as how he’s utilized.

“It’s just kind of some tweaks and giving him a little bit more freedom,” Lucas said. “We’ve been playing a bunch of different defenses, and it’s kind of hurt him and hindered him from his steals at first. He was leading the ACC with almost two-and-a-half steals, and then we got into a little bit of a lull on defense, where we started to play some more zone and doing some stuff, and now we’re putting him at the front of things and giving him the ability to kind of just go be Tru. And I feel like he’s done a good job of getting comfortable in man and zone and being able to read and do that.”

In addition to Washington, starting center Ernest Udeh Jr. is playing his best defense of the year as the regular season winds down. His rim protection has been excellent, and he’s shown that he has the capability to contain guards along the perimeter as the team opts to switch more on defense.

Udeh totaled a career-high six stocks (steals plus blocks) against Boston College.

“He’s given us the ability now, towards the end of the season, the ability to switch. And I think the one thing with the switching, and one thing that has started to show is his rim protection and the shot block has really jumped up this last month,” Lucas said about Udeh. “For his size and his ability to guard guards, to guard bigs, protect the rim, to play in different coverages, play and in zone play in man, he’s taking us to the next level defensively.”

On Feb. 27, Udeh was named, along with 14 other players throughout college basketball, to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Late-Season Team. He and Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Maliq Brown were the only ACC players to receive this recognition.

Latest on postseason positioning

As we mentioned on Saturday, Miami is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament following its 76-54 win over Boston College. Many bracket experts share that viewpoint. 

So, leading up to Selection Sunday on March 15, we’ll explore the likeliest seed lines for the Hurricanes, and as we get closer to the NCAA tournament, their likeliest Round of 64 opponents. For now, let’s just focus on the seeding.

On3 has the Hurricanes as an eight seed. CBS Sports as a seven. That marginal difference in seeding shouldn’t be taken lightly, as it’s the difference between Miami playing a team like Arizona, Duke or Michigan in the Round of 32 should it get an eight seed versus playing a still great but more beatable team like Illinois or Michigan State as a seven seed.

UM can bolster its resume this week, with its contests against SMU and Louisville both counting as Quadrant 1 games. Miami boasts a 3-4 record against Quad 1 teams and a 7-1 record against Quad 2 teams this season. 

As for Miami’s predictive metrics, it’s climbing in both the NET (No. 30) and KenPom (No. 32). Wins over SMU and Louisville could lift the Hurricanes into the 20s of these rankings for the first time this season.

And now…for your CaneSport message board questions

From Dr Mike: You think 1 more win clinches a double bye in the ACC tourney? 

While it may not receive the same sort of attention as the NCAA tournament, the ACC tournament will be important for Miami, as it will have chances to play in games that could improve its NCAA seeding and add some hardware with a conference tournament championship. As of Monday afternoon, the Hurricanes are third in the ACC standings, sporting an in-conference record of 12-4. They’re a game ahead of fourth-place Clemson and North Carolina, who both have an ACC record of 11-5. To answer Dr Mike’s question, finishing in the top four of the ACC regular-season standings is crucial for the Hurricanes, as they would receive a double bye in the conference tournament. Miami of course controls its own destiny, as winning out would cement its double-bye status, but a loss (or two) against SMU or Louisville could complicate matters. If Miami and Clemson share the same record, then Clemson would be ranked ahead, as the Tigers hold a head-to-head advantage over the Hurricanes. The inverse applies to Miami and North Carolina, as UM defeated UNC earlier this season and would get the nod should the two teams have the same record. Clemson and North Carolina play each other on Wednesday, so Canes fans should be rooting for a Tigers win. If Clemson comes out on top, this would hand the Tar Heels their sixth loss, which would prevent them from jumping Miami in the ACC standings if they both, along with Clemson, ended the season with a 12-6 record. Hope that makes sense.

From Greentree: What kind of game does Gaskins have?

This question is in reference to Miami signee Caleb Gaskins, who’s ranked by Rivals as the third-best small forward and No. 8 overall player in the 2026 cycle. Here’s my scouting report on Gaskins from September, which should give you a good idea of what Gaskins will bring to the Hurricanes:

Gaskins has a solid all-around skill set, and while he doesn’t project as a lead offensive engine, he has the makings of a very steady connective piece at the collegiate and eventually the professional level. At 6-foot-8, Gaskins’ frame is more filled out than the majority of other players at his height, granting him the ability to battle with larger players in the low post. Defensively, he can guard multiple positions. We truly think he has the potential to at the very least keep up with any player, regardless of position, but he’ll likely spend most of his time on defense matched up against wings. Gaskins runs the floor well on both ends, as he’s a threat for chasedown blocks on defense and above-the-rim finishes on offense. In the half court, Gaskins looks the smoothest working off the ball, finding pockets of space to flash and get into his high-finishing mid range shot. Like many other forwards at this stage of development, three-point shooting will be Gaskins’ swing skill. If he can improve from where he is now (23.3% 3FG during the EYBL regular season on nearly three attempts per game) to around the 35% from deep range on decent volume, Gaskins will be coveted as a future high-end role player come draft time.

From JST390-2: In your eyes how important is the ACC tournament to this team? How many wins do you think would take to move them up the seed line in the big dance? What is your percent they can make it to the semis of the ACC tourney?

Question No. 1: I’d say moderately important. The ACC tournament will present Miami with the chance to tack on more quality wins, improve its NCAA tournament resume and generate even more momentum heading into The Big Dance. Winning a conference tournament would also, obviously, be a very big deal for Lucas and for the program. Because Miami is already a lock for the NCAA tournament, I wouldn’t say performing well in the ACC tournament is necessary, but it would be nice.

Question No. 2: Running with the assumption that Miami is currently an eight seed, I think another pair of Quad 1 wins would lift it up to seventh-seed status. If it wins the ACC tournament, defeating Duke along the way, I think a six or maybe even a five seed could be in play.

Question No. 3: Looking at the current bracket, Miami would play the winner of North Carolina State and Stanford/Syracuse. Assuming the Canes play NC State, I would give them a 55% chance of winning and moving on to the ACC semis.