Miami for Real

Miami of Ohio is a competitive basketball team. They shoot the three pointer well and run hard backdoor cuts. Their defense is underrated. They will not be an easy team for Tennessee or anyone else to knock out. The Vols know how to defend such opponents, and unlike Alabama, Miami does not have a Labaron Philon, who breaks down defenses off the dribble, generating his own offense, and must do more with spacing, quick passes, screens, and sharp cuts to create scoring. Oddly enough, the coach who put Tennessee men's basketball on the map, Ray Mears, attended Miami of Ohio, so there is some unusual connection between the programs.