Advertisement

Hurricanes headed to Sweet 16 with a message for their fans: ‘The job’s not finished’

The Sweet 16-bound Miami Hurricanes returned to campus Monday afternoon following their emphatic, entertaining 85-69 win over Indiana. They disembarked from the bus with a message to their fans:

“The job’s not finished,” said senior guard Jordan Miller, who combined with Isaiah Wong for 46 points and helped lead the late-game surge that overwhelmed the Hoosiers. “I don’t think anybody goes into the tournament with the dream of just getting to the Sweet 16. Obviously, we want to win a national championship, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time.”

Up next: The fifth-seeded Hurricanes (27-7) are headed to Kansas City to face No. 1 seed Houston (33-3) in the Midwest Regional at T-Mobile Center at 7:15 p.m. Friday. The game will air on CBS.

About 50 fans, mostly students and several carrying signs, waited outside the Watsco Center to greet the team as it returned to Coral Gables less than 24 hours after clinching a second straight trip to the Sweet 16. Miami is the lone ACC team left in the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Jim Larranaga was first off the bus and reached his arm into the crowd to hand out high fives. Miller did the same and Wong, who made up for a subpar first-round performance with a game-high 27 points against the Hoosiers, took time to pose for photos with fans, which included a dog.

Miami, FL- March 19, 2023 - University of Miami Guard, Isaiah Wong, poses for photos with UM fans at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami. The team arrived home this afternoon after qualifying for the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami, FL- March 19, 2023 - University of Miami Guard, Isaiah Wong, poses for photos with UM fans at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami. The team arrived home this afternoon after qualifying for the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Hurricanes are finally getting national recognition for their basketball success, but Miller said they have loftier goals.

“We are all passionate about basketball, being able to quote-unquote make Miami a basketball school is a great feeling, but we sit and think if we were to win a national championship, what that dynamic would look like,” Miller said.

After the game Sunday night, Pack said: “This is our first stop, but we’ve got plenty more stops to go.”

Miller added that was more pressure on this year’s team to make the Sweet 16 than last year’s team, which wound up in the Elite Eight.

“Last year was like, `Wow, these guys made it to the Sweet 16, and this year there was more pressure to show it wasn’t just a fluke,” Miller said. “We’re headed to Kansas City, have a really big game against Houston coming up and all the guys are amped up to play them and prove more stuff.”

Miami is 11-2 since Jan. 31 and has averaged 81.4 points per game during that stretch, including 85 points against Indiana, the most in Miami history in an NCAA Tournament game.

The Cougars, known for their guards and relentless defense, have been the nation’s top-ranked team for much of the season and held their first two tournament opponents to 32 percent shooting. They beat Northern Kentucky 63-52 and Auburn 81-64.

Miami players and coaches say they are ready for the challenge.

After the win over IU late Sunday night, players showered Larranaga with love while he did courtside TV interviews. Nijel Pack even planted a playful smooch on his cheek.

Miami, FL- March 19, 2023 - University of Miami Head Coach Jim Larrañaga waves at UM fans at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami. The team arrived home this afternoon after qualifying for the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami, FL- March 19, 2023 - University of Miami Head Coach Jim Larrañaga waves at UM fans at the Watsco Center at the University of Miami. The team arrived home this afternoon after qualifying for the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

The coach gave the love right back.

Asked what it says about his program it has made back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time in school history, Larranaga heaped praise on his players and assistant coaches.

“I think so much credit belongs to my assistant coaches for the job they’ve done in recruiting these players to Miami and to the players themselves who work so hard,” he said.

He pointed out that associate head coach Bill Courtney was responsible for recruiting transfers Pack, Norchad Omier, Miller and Charlie Moore and spends countless hours in the gym helping players who want extra work.

“The coaches have the players over to their house, they hang out together,” Larranaga said. “Coach Courtney is in the gym rebounding with Isaiah Wong six or seven days a week. Isaiah wants to shoot on his own in a quiet gym, so he’s there. When you have an associate coach like Bill Courtney, you really appreciate all the little things that he does. Got to give credit where credit is due. Great staff. Great players who really bonded. It makes my job very, very enjoyable.”

Larranaga has so much trust in this team that he did not call a single time out during the Indiana game.

“I don’t know if anybody picked up on it -- I never called a timeout, not in the first half, not in the second half,” he said. “Even when we fell behind, I felt like, no, our guys are playing hard and playing smart. They’ll figure it out.”

The Hurricanes were dialed in from the opening whistle, playing with the confidence, freedom and cohesion that has been their trademark. They made nine of their first 12 shots and established quickly they were going to push the pace and try to outrun the Hoosiers.

They also dominated the boards (48-31) with Omier’s 17 rebounds leading the way.

“Everyone was crashing, they didn’t have guards getting back, everyone was going to get the ball,” noted Hoosier All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis. “They were relentless on the glass and punished us.”

IU coach Mike Woodson added: “You’ve gotta give Miami a lot of credit. It was a well-coached game and I thought they were the better team, they showed it first half and second half. That coach has done a hell of a job with that team for many years, and that team competed and played their asses off, and that’s why I’m sitting here going home and they’re moving forward. That team was pretty damn good.”