Who's stopping these Miami Hurricanes? The legendary Jim Larranaga has steered Miami basketball to the Final Four round of the 2023 NCAA tournament for the first time in program history by defeating No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns in the Elite Eight portion of March Madness Sunday night, 88-81.
Apart from the fact that it's just the first time that Miami basketball has booked a ticket to the Final Four phase of an NCAA tournament, what makes the accomplishment more special in the eyes of college basketball fans is that three programs will play in the national semifinals without having prior experience of getting that deep in the tourney, per ESPN Stats & Info.
“The newcomers have crashed the Final Four party. Three teams will make their Final Four debut for the first time in a single year since 1970, when St. Bonaventure, Jacksonville and New Mexico State each debuted.”
The other teams who are also preparing for the Final Four for the first time ever are the Florida Atlantic Owls and the San Diego State Aztecs. The Connecticut Huskies also have made it to the national semifinals round, but that territory isn't something they have not been to before. The Huskies have even won the national title as recently as 2014 when they managed to be the last team standing despite being just a No. 7 seed in the tournament.
Speaking of which, no team better than a No. 4 seed is still alive in the 2023 March Madness. The Huskies are the best-seeded team at No. 4, while Miami basketball is No. 5. San Diego State and Florida Atlantic are seeded No. 5 and No. 9, respectively.
How Miami basketball got here
The road to the Final Four was anything but easy for Miami basketball. In the first round, the Hurricanes were tested right away by the Drake Bulldogs in a 63-56 win. Then the Hurricanes woke up and played much better since, taking down the No. 4 Indiana Hoosiers, bannered by Trayce Jackson-Davis in the second round, 85-69, before scoring another upset in the Sweet 16 round where they victimized a No. 1 seed in the form of the Houston Cougars, 89-75.
Miami basketball will battle the Huskies this coming Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Follow Us
Subscribe