Miami 'ready to go' against Hokies after cruising past Wake

By Mark Berman

GREENSBORO, N.C.

For the third straight year, Virginia Tech will meet Miami in the ACC tournament.

The No. 12th-seeded Hurricanes squashed fifth-seeded Wake Forest 83-62 in the first round Thursday to advance to a quarterfinal meeting with Virginia Tech at 2:30 p.m. today at the Greensboro Coliseum.

"We've got adrenaline pumping. We're going to be ready to go," said Miami guard James Dews, who had 15 points.

The fourth-seeded Hokies (23-7) eliminated Miami (19-12) the past two years, winning in the quarterfinals two years ago and in the first round last year.

The teams split the regular-season series this season.

The Hokies cruised to an 81-66 win at home on Jan. 13, going 7 for 9 from 3-point range in the first half to build a 50-23 halftime cushion.

"They stun-gunned us in the first game," Miami coach Frank Haith said after his team's win Thursday. "They really got after us. We turned the ball over, particularly early in that ballgame, and they got going in transition."

In the rematch, Miami snapped a four-game skid in the series, winning 82-75 at home on Jan. 31, shooting 70 percent from the field in the first half to build a 17-point lead.

"I don't anticipate doing that" today, Haith said.

The Hurricanes shot 63.2 percent from the field in the rematch, and sank nine 3-pointers. It was one of only four ACC regular-season wins for the team.

On Thursday, Miami won without its best player, forward Dwayne Collins (12 ppg, 7.8 rpg). He will miss his third straight game today with an injured right foot.

Redshirt freshman center Reggie Johnson, starting for just the fourth time, had a career-high 22 points Thursday. He was 8 for 8 from the field.

"Everyone's coming together without Dwayne," Johnson said.

Sophomore forward Julian Gamble added eight points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds.

"Without Dwayne, we need Reggie and Julian and Cyrus (McGowan) and Adrian Thomas to step up, and they have," Dews said.

Miami made eight 3-pointers, including six in the first half. The Hurricanes built a 27-15 lead with 9:46 left in the first half and led the rest of the way.

"We were back on our heels the whole game," said Wake's Ishmael Smith, who had 14 points.

With a 9-7 ACC regular-season record and an RPI of No. 32 entering Thursday, Wake (19-10) is still a safe bet for an NCAA tournament at-large bid.

But the Demon Deacons aren't playing like a team anyone will want to pick in their bracket. They have lost 5 of 6 games, with the lone win coming in the regular-season finale against Clemson.

"Our defense usually triggers our offense, and then that's when we get going. We didn't do a good job of it today," Smith said. "We did a great job of it against Clemson. That's why I guess you guys are kind of looking at this like it's a head-scratcher, for us to have a big win against Clemson and then just come out and just kind of blow our tires flat here."