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Losers No More, The U Is In The Final Four

Facing a 13-point second-half deficit Friday night at the T-Mobile Center, the fifth-seeded University of Miami men’s basketball team came all the way back to take down second-seeded Texas, 88-81, and reach the Final Four for the first time in program history.

No. 16/15 Miami (29-7, 15-5 ACC) overcome sensational 3-point shooting by No. 5/7 Texas with a blistering 59.2 clip from the field of its own. Fifth-year senior guard Jordan Miller paced the Midwest Region champions with a game-high 27 points on perfect shooting from the floor and the line.

The Hurricanes got off to a fast start and raced out to a 7-0 lead after just two minutes. The two sides exchanged baskets and then Texas (29-9, 12-6 B12) went on a 9-0 run in 2:37 to go in front, 11-9, with 14:23 on the clock.

After starting 9-of-21 from the floor, the Longhorns made eight of their final 10 shots of the half and built an eight-point edge, 45-37, entering the locker room. Texas shot 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from 3-point range in the opening frame and held Miami to just a 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) ledger, though the Hurricanes did go 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) overall.

The Longhorns hit four of their first five shots to open the frame and went up by a dozen, 53-41, with 17:24 to go. They pushed the advantage to a game-high 13, 62-49, with 14:24 after hitting their ninth 3-pointer on just 17 attempts, while Miami was just 2-of-4 at the other end.

The Hurricanes, though, did not go away and used a 9-0 run in 2:24 to go ahead, 73-72, with 5:26 remaining. After Texas’ 10th 3-pointer of the night, Miami scored the next four points to go up by two, 77-75, with 3:57 to play.

Miami extended its margin to six, 85-79, with 23 seconds left and the Longhorns never got any closer than four, as the Hurricanes claimed the seven-point win. The victors shot 13-of-14 from the stripe in the last four minutes, including 7-of-8 in the last 34 ticks.

The Hurricanes shot 29-of-49 from the field, posting a clip of at least 54.0 percent in each half. They also went 28-of-32 (87.5 percent) from the line to counteract the 2-of-8 (25.0 percent) mark from beyond the arc.

Miller’s 27 points, his most in two years as a Hurricane and tied for the fourth-most in program history in NCAA Tournament play, came on 7-of-7 shooting from the field and a 13-of-13 mark from the line. Sophomore guard Wooga Poplar totaled 16 points, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the stripe.

The Hurricanes will now play fourth-seeded UConn, ranked No. 10/12 nationally, Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET in the Final Four, live on CBS From NRG Stadium in Houston.

Sweet Sixteen Is A Sweet Emotion

The fifth-seeded University of Miami men’s basketball team defeated fourth-seeded Indiana, 85-69, Sunday night at MVP Arena to claim a second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. 

Fourth-year junior guard Isaiah Wong scored a game-high 27 points for No. 16/15 Miami (27-7, 15-5 ACC) to help the team defeat No. 21/19 Indiana in a top-25 NCAA Tournament second-round showdown.

The Hurricanes jumped out to an 8-0 lead after just 2:13, connecting on four straight field goals after an opening miss. That helped Miami build an early 10-point edge, 13-3, after only 4:02, as it started 6-of-8 from the floor and Indiana (23-12, 12-8 B1G) opened just 1-of-6.

Aided by back-to-back 3-pointers, the Hurricanes extended their lead to 13 points, 28-15, with 9:52 on the first-half clock. The Hoosiers then scored 10 straight points in 99 seconds to close within three, 28-25, with 7:17 left in the frame. Miami countered with a 10-3 run, including eight points by Wong, to go back up by double digits, 38-28, with 3:05 to go.

Indiana eventually scored the final five points of the frame, including a buzzer-beating corner 3-pointer by fifth-year senior forward Miller Kopp, to make it 40-35 at the break. Miami shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes and notched an 8-2 margin in fast-break points.

The Hoosiers scored the opening eight points after halftime and, after never leading in the first half, gained their first advantage with 18:37 to go and upped it to 43-40 with 17:42 left. Miami, though, quickly recovered and soon logged a 16-2 surge in 4:49—it scored nine straight points in just 2:05 to end it—to go back up by a dozen, 63-51, with 8:15 remaining.

Indiana closed back within seven, but never got any closer. Miami eventually drilled back-to-back 3-pointers in the closing minutes to go up by 15 points, 75-60, with 3:26 to play. Although the Hoosiers made back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers, the Hurricanes continued to score at the other end, making their final seven shots and scoring the last eight points to win by 16 points, their largest margin of the night.

Miami finished with a 48.6 percent (34-of-70) clip from the field, including a 39.1 percent (9-of-23) ledger from 3-point range. The Hurricanes posted a dominant 48-31 margin on the glass and compiled more offensive rebounds (20) than Indiana had defensive rebounds (19). Head coach Jim Larrañaga’s team totaled a 29-11 cushion in second-chance points, 14-0 tally in bench points and a 46-28 ledger in paint points.

Wong’s 27-point performance, good for the co-fourth-most by a Hurricane in the NCAA Tournament, came on a 9-of-17 shooting from the field, including a 4-of-6 mark from deep, along with a perfect 5-of-5 line on free throws. The ACC Player of the Year also grabbed eight rebounds in the win.

Fifth-year senior guard Jordan Miller amassed 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting, adding five rebounds and two blocks. Third-year sophomore guard Nijel Pack, an Indianapolis native playing against his home state school, scored 12 points in the win. Third-year sophomore forward Norchad Omier scored seven points and pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds to break the program’s NCAA Tournament single-game record he set two days prior and post the top total by a Hurricane in any regulation game since November 2018.

Fourth-year junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, a First Team All-American, paced the Hoosiers with 23 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, finishing 7-of-10 from the field and 9-of-11 at the line. Freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 19 points, but Miami held him to 8-of-22 shooting, including a 3-of-11 clip from deep. Redshirt senior forward Race Thompson added 11 points.

Up next for Miami, which led for 33-plus minutes in Sunday’s victory, is a matchup with top-seeded Houston, ranked No. 2/1 nationally, Friday at 7:15 p.m. at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., live on CBS.

The U Can't Go Wrong With Wong

For the second time in program history, a member of the University of Miami men’s basketball team is the ACC Player of the Year, as Isaiah Wong claimed the award Monday night.

Wong joins 2012-13 honoree Shane Larkin in program record books. He also received First Team All-ACC distinction, becoming the second Hurricane, alongside Jack McClinton, to earn three postseason All-ACC honors.

In addition, Jordan Miller claimed Second Team All-ACC plaudits and Norchad Omier garnered Third Team All-ACC accolades. This is the third time three Hurricanes have earned first-, second- or third-team status in the same year, including just the third time in the ACC era, alongside 2015-16, 2012-13 and 2001-02 (BIG EAST).

“I am so proud of all three of our All-ACC honorees. Isaiah, Jordan and Norchad have all had amazing impacts on the court and in the locker room,” Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga said. “They are tremendous basketball players who helped lead us to a share of the ACC regular season title, as well as fantastic representatives of both our program and our University.

“I want to especially commend Isaiah on winning ACC Player of the Year, an award he most certainly deserves. He is one of the hardest-working players I have ever coached and I am overjoyed for him to receive this recognition.”

A fourth-year junior guard, Wong received 30 votes for ACC Player of the Year, seven more than second-place Tyree Appleby of Wake Forest. His 337 points in All-ACC balloting also led all players, putting him 13 above second-place Armando Bacot of North Carolina. Wong, Larkin and James (1998-99) are the only Hurricanes to win conference player of the year in any league, with James doing so in the BIG EAST.

The Piscataway, N.J., native is the fourth First Team All-ACC designee in program history, joining Kameron McGusty, McClinton (2007-08 and 2008-09) and Larkin (2012-13). He is the sixth Hurricane, regardless of league, to earn first-team status, as Tim James (1997-98 and 1998-99) and Johnny Hemsley (1998-99) did so when Miami was in the BIG EAST. Additionally, Wong, McClinton (2007-09), James (1997-99) and Darius Rice (2002-04) are the only three-time all-league honorees in any conference in program history, with the latter two doing so in the BIG EAST.

The 6-foot-4, 184-pounder is averaging team highs in points (15.9), assists (3.4) and steals (1.4) per game. He is also third on the team in rebounding (4.4), while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor, 38.1 percent beyond the arc and 82.9 percent at the line.

Wong owns the highest single-game point total in the league this year (36 vs. Cornell on 12/7/22) and is a two-time ACC Player of the Week. He ranks sixth in the ACC in made free throws (121), eighth in steals per game and free-throw percentage, co-eighth in 20-point games (nine), No. 11 in points per game, No. 13 in field-goal percentage and No. 14 in assists per game.

A fifth-year senior guard, Miller is just the eighth Hurricane to receive first- or second-team All-ACC status, joining Wong, McClinton, Larkin, McGusty, Sheldon McClellan (2015-16), Kenny Kadji (2012-13) and Guillermo Diaz (2005-06 and 2004-05). Only four others—James, Rice, Johnny Hemsley (1998-99 and 1999-200) and John Salmons (2000-01)—did so in the BIG EAST era. Miller finished ninth in All-ACC balloting with 148 points.

Hailing from Middleburg, Va., Miller is averaging 15.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game, all second-best on the team, in a Miami-high 34.5 minutes per outing. He is shooting 54.0 percent overall, second-best among Hurricanes, as well as 35.4 percent on 3-pointers and 80.0 percent from the stripe. He owns two double-doubles, four 20-point showings and a co-team-high 27 double-digit scoring performances, including 24 in a row, this season.