The Miami Hurricanes took care of business in the Sweet 16 with an 89-75 win over the Houston Cougars.
The Hurricanes orchestrated one of the most efficient shooting performances of their season on Friday, as they shot 51.7 percent against Houston. Nijel Pack led the way for the ACC side with a 26-point outing on the day.
Miami's men’s basketball program has advanced to the Elite Eight in back-to-back NCAA tournaments. On the other hand, Miami’s women’s basketball program will feature in the Elite Eight for the first time on Sunday when it meets LSU.
As of late, Miami’s football program has not enjoyed as much success as the school’s pair of basketball programs. The last 10-win season from its football program came back in the 2017 campaign.
During a press conference following the Hurricanes' victory over Houston, head coach Jim Larranaga was asked whether Miami is now a “basketball school.” Larranaga took some time to instead give his appreciation to the school’s athletic department and administration.
“Here's what I would tell you, I've heard people describe schools as football schools, basketball schools, whatever,” Larranaga said on Friday. “My opinion is we're a great academic institution. We're one of the top 50 schools in the country. It's a private school with an absolutely awesome campus. … So I don't look at it that way. Our football team has won five national championships. Our baseball team has won four. I think we've got a great athletic department and great leadership in the administration.
“Our AD Dan Radakovich, the administrators in the president's office, they do a great job of providing us the resources to be competitive.”
Larranaga also lauded the Hurricanes' women’s basketball team for defying the odds by clinching a spot in the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
“They not only beat Indiana, they beat Indiana at Indiana, the No. 1 seed,” Larranaga said during his postgame press conference on Friday. “So hat's off to both men's and women's basketball programs.”
In the big picture, Larranaga will now turn his attention to his team’s upcoming Elite Eight showdown against the Texas Longhorns coming up on Sunday.
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