Throughout the University of Miami basketball's dream season, Jordan Miller was always kind of an afterthought. Isaiah Wong was the ACC Player of the Year; Nijel Pack was the big money transfer with a $800,000 NIL deal and a sports car; Norchad Omier was the Hurricanes' heart and soul in the paint; Miller was the unsung glue guy. In Miami's 88-81 win over Texas in the Elite Eight to secure the first Final Four berth in program history, though, Miller thrust himself front and center, scoring 27 points without missing a single shot of any kind.
By shooting 7-7 from the field and 13-13 from the free throw line, Miller became the first player to go 7-7 or better on both accounts since Christian Laettner did so in 1992. Similarly, Miller joined Laettner as the only player in NCAA Tournament history to score more than 25 points without missing a single shot (Miller had 27 points, Laettner had 31).
And Miami needed all 27 of Miller's points to squeak out the biggest win in the history of Hurricanes' basketball. With Wong and Pack struggling to find breathing room against an elite Texas defense, Miller kept the Hurricanes in the game by sliding into empty space that was created by all the attention Texas paid to Miami's star backcourt duo; five of Miller's seven field goals came within the paint and all seven were two-pointers.
For Miller, this game marked the apotheosis of his college career, if not his basketball career at large. A fifth-year senior, Miller is the face of how college basketball has changed for the better—he took advantage of the transfer portal to come to Miami from George Mason in 2021 and used his extra year of eligibility from COVID to stay for another year to fuel Miami to the Final Four. Jordan Miller and the Hurricanes will look to continue their rousing March Madness run next weekend in Houston when Miami basketball faces off with UCONN in the Final Four.
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