Within hours of the University of Miami’s stunning 78-74 overtime victory at No. 7 Duke on Sunday, there were signs the unheralded Hurricanes had created some buzz. When they arrived at the Raleigh airport, and walked up to American Airlines Gate C21 for their return flight, the monitor read: “Congrats to Univ Miami for beating Duke.”

Then, when the team bus pulled into the Coral Gables campus at 10 p.m., a spirited group of about 50 to 60 students was waiting at BankUnited Center.

Monday morning, the Canes (14-7, 5-3 ACC) received a vote in The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time this season, and their RPI moved up to No. 38. They have won four games in a row and five of six. ESPN commentators started mentioning words like “bubble” and “résumé” in discussing the Hurricanes’ chances of making the NCAA Tournament.

Reggie Johnson, the Hurricanes center who scored a career-high 27 points with 12 rebounds Sunday, said the team was thrilled to see students waiting for them, especially considering it was during the Super Bowl.

“I watch college basketball on TV all the time, and you see the big programs like North Carolina, Duke and UConn, where their fans wait for them after big-time wins, but I had never experienced that here before, so it was really cool,” he said. “I would love if we can get a big crowd to show up on Thursday [against Virginia Tech at 9 p.m.].”

UM coach Jim Larranaga described the reception from students as “symbolic,” and he, too, hopes it leads to bigger crowds. The Hurricanes rank last in the ACC with an average crowd of 4,467 for conference games. North Carolina leads with 20,861, and N.C. State is next with 16,146.

A ‘motivator’

“You look for growth with the team but also with support of the program,” the coach said. “The greatest thing would be to get students excited about coming to the BUC. If a game like that can be the motivator, and they show up in large numbers, that creates electricity in the arena. You see Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Crazies are there hours before the game. We want our students to feel part of that ACC excitement.”

Though he wants his players to enjoy their win over Duke, Larranaga reminded them the season is far from over. After Virginia Tech on Thursday, UM plays at No. 15 Florida State on Saturday and against No. 5 North Carolina next Wednesday.

“We have played 21 games and this is a 29-game test,” Larranaga said. “You don’t know your final grade until you answer all 29 questions. … We have very talented opponents coming up very quickly. They should be very proud of themselves, it showed a lot of resiliency to come out on top at Duke, but that day is behind us now.”

Women move up

The UM women’s team moved up to No. 6 in The Associated Press poll Monday. The Hurricanes improved to 20-3 and 9-1 in the ACC with their 68-47 win over Clemson on Sunday.

The No. 6 ranking ties the highest in school history, which was reached in March 1992. UM is behind Baylor (23-0), Notre Dame (23-1), UConn (21-2), Stanford (20-1) and Duke (18-3).

Senior guard Riquna “Bay-Bay” Williams remains questionable for the Wednesday night home game against No. 23 North Carolina, after taking a hard fall during the second half of the Clemson game.

Williams collided with teammate Michelle Woods chasing a loose ball with 14:53 left in the game, and both went tumbling to the court. Williams appeared to have injured her neck or head, and she was slow to get up. She left the game and never returned. Williams underwent X-rays, which were negative, and was still being evaluated by doctors Monday.

Coach Katie Meier said she wasn’t sure whether Williams could play Wednesday, but was “more optimistic” about her guard’s condition following initial testing.

Williams scored 15 points before exiting Sunday, and she is averaging 15.6 points. She also reached a milestone Sunday, becoming the fifth player in UM women’s basketball history to score 2,000 or more points.