Natalia Chi
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong bounced Miami back from a 13-point second half deficit, Norchad Ommie added another important steal with two big free throws and a stretch, and the No. 5-seeded Hurricanes Surprised 2nd place. Seeded on Sunday he defeated Texas 88-81 to advance to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
Miller finished with 27 points, scoring 7/7 from the field and 13/13 from the foul line, while Wong scored 12 of the 14 points in the second half to beat the Longhorns, who were the remaining top seeds in Topsy. defeated. Disturbed NCAA Tournament.
After falling short of the Elite Eight a year ago, the No. 5-seeded Hurricanes (29-7) head to Houston’s NRG Stadium for a date with No. 4-seeded UConn on Saturday night. Two more teams entering the Final Four for the first time, 5th-seeded San Diego State and 9th-seeded Florida Atlantic, will play in one more of his domestic semifinals.
It’s the first time since seeding began in 1979 that a team with more seeds than 4th has made it to the Final 4, so perhaps it’s fitting that Miami coach Jim Larrañaga is on board. He returned to the Final Four in 2006 by defeating George Mason as the 11th seed.
“No one wanted to go home,” said Miller, who joined Duke’s Christian Laettner as the only players since 1960 to go 20-for-20 from the field and foul line in an NCAA Tournament game. We came together, we stuck together, we showed really good patience and will — just the will to go there.
Miami and Texas were tied 79–79 when Ommie, known for his bruised style of play, was fouled by Longhorns’ Brock Cunningham while going for a loose ball. He made both foul shots to give the Hurricanes the lead, stole the ball from Texas star Marcus Carr on the other side, and Wong made another free throw with 34 seconds remaining.
Miller continued to stretch foul shots to clinch the Midwest regional title for the Hurricanes.
Uga Poplar scored 16 points and Nigel Puck continued his virtuoso performance with 15 points against top-seeded Houston as the same school that completely dropped the hoops in the 1970s advanced to the biggest stage of the game. I was.
Marcus Kerr led the Longhorns (29-9) with 17 points, but he looked troubled by a hamstring injury late in the game. Timmy Allen added his 16 points and Sarjabari Rice finished with his 15. The season began with Chris He dismissing Beard for his domestic violence charge, which was later dropped, and ended with Rodney his interim coach Terry consoling the team after a crushing defeat.
The Longhorns revealed about 90 minutes before tip-off that Big 12 Tournament MVP and early star of the NCAA Tournament, Dylan Dis, will be out of the game with a foot injury. He hurt it in the second round against Penn State, playing only about 90 seconds in the Sweet 16 against Xavier, but watched the rest of that game walking in his boots.
He was still wearing his bulky boots as we watched Sunday in anguish.
With no 6-foot-9 star in the paint, the Longhorns’ deep group of dangerous guards resorted to potshots from the perimeter against Miami’s porous defense. Rice hit two 3s early on, Kerr added two of his own, and the Longhorns, who tied the school tournament record by recording 3-of-13 in the first round against Colgate, finished 45. They struck out 7 in a storm to a -37 halftime lead.
Texas, meanwhile, decided to keep Puck and Wong from producing a sequel to their 3-point barrage against Houston.
Pac, who dropped seven 3s in the regional semi-finals, didn’t attempt a single one with seven and a half minutes remaining in the first half. I don’t count.
Wong scored as many points (2) in the first 20 minutes of the game with as many shots as turnovers.
The Longhorns’ advantage extended to 13 in the second half, and tensions began to build on the Miami bench. At one point, Harlond Beverly attempted and failed to drive against two established defenders.Larragnaga not only gave the backup guard a tongue-in-cheek during his next stoppage, but also knocked him out of the game. pulled away.
Luckily for Cane, Puck and Wong were poised, and Poplar and Miller seemed possessed.
Holding a 72-64 lead with about eight minutes remaining, the Backcourt Dynamo joined Miller and Ommie in turbocharging a 13-3 run to give the Hurricanes a 77-75 lead. And when Rice answered on the other side of Texas, it was Miller who started the late-game parade to the foul line with two go-ahead free throws.
Kerr hit a nifty turnaround jumper to tie the game for Texas once again, but Miami’s momentum never slowed.
Ommier made a free throw with a minute left, swiped the ball off the car, and Miller and Co. worked the foul line.
“Last year we reached the Elite Eight here and it came to a disastrous end,” Larrañaga said. “Today, last night, everyone kept saying, ‘We have to get past the Elite Eight and get to the Final Four.'”
