Eighth-seeded UM women face familiar foe South Florida in first round of NCAA tourney
University of Miami women’s basketball coach Katie Meier was recruiting in the Northeast over the weekend, had flight delays and almost didn’t make it back to campus in time for the team’s Selection Sunday watch party.
Her flight was diverted to Fort Myers and a car service drove her to Coral Gables just in time for the celebration. The Hurricanes found out they are the No. 8 seed in the Greensboro region and will play ninth-seeded University of South Florida Friday in Columbia, South Carolina. They will be playing an hour and a half from Greenville, where the UM men’s team is playing.
“This team has given us so much joy this year and I wanted to share this with them,” Meier said.
It is the 15th NCAA tournament bid in program history and ninth under Meier.
Miami enters the tournament with a 20-12 overall record and the Hurricanes are one of the hottest teams in the nation in recent weeks. They have won eight of their last 10 games, including a trio of wins over top-25 opponents – No. 16/18 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Louisville and No. 20 Notre Dame.
Their thrilling wins over Louisville and Notre Dame in the ACC tournament earned them a spot in the championship game – the first in school history – where they lost to top-seeded North Carolina State. The win over the Cardinals made national headlines and ESPN highlights as Destiny Harden went on a solo 15-0 run to end the game, punctuated by a buzzer-beating game-winning shot.
Those heroics elevated Miami’s profile this March, and Meier said she already notices the rewards on the recruiting trail.
“When you walk into a home, you don’t have to say, `Have you seen us play? Do you know our style?’’’ Meier said, smiling. “They’re like, `Coach, we saw that. Unbelievable. The way your kids ran off the court and had great energy.’ That’s all I’ve ever wanted for this program, to be a household name and that people see the passion, love and joy and see our culture. And you can see that with this team.”
She said recruits are impressed with Miami’s character.
“It’s not just Miami made it to the championship, you had to fall in love with our team when you watched us, with how we played and how much we love each other, and people are really seeing that,” Meier said.
Senior guard Kelsey Marshall said the ACC tournament run “shows we can compete with any team no matter their rankings’’ and gives the players a boost of confidence heading into an NCAA tournament bracket quadrant that includes the event’s overall No. 1 seed South Carolina playing on its home court.
“Our ACC run is going to continue on in the NCAA tournament,” Marshall said. “We’re a lot more committed defensively, sharing the ball a lot more, scoring more and keeping up with the top teams in the nation. Everybody definitely knows who the University of Miami is now, for sure.”
The Hurricanes were assured a spot in the tournament, the only question was what they would be seeded and where they would play.
“It was affirmation,” Meier said about seeing her team’s name pop up on the T.V. screen during the selection show. “We had a solid resume felt good about it. I had us as a solid eight-nine.”
UM has scrimmaged against USF in the preseason in recent years, so Meier and her staff and players are familiar with the Bulls program. They were also in the same Bahamas tournament earlier this season. USF is coached by Miami native Jose Fernandez, an FIU alum who previously coached at Miami-Dade College, Sunset High School, Barry University and Lourdes Academy.
“Love their program, love their coach,” Meier said. “They do a great job. They’re tough as nails.”
The Hurricanes are 7-14 overall in 21 tournament games and hold an 0-3 record when entering the tournament in the eight-spot. The Bulls enter the NCAA Tournament at 24-8 overall and 12-3 conference record.
Also in Miami’s pod is overall No. 1 South Carolina, No. 16 Howard and No. 16 Incarnate Word. Howard and Incarnate Word will play in a First Four game on March 16. The winner of Miami/USF will take on the winner of South Carolina vs. the First Four game winner.
UM athletic director Dan Radakovich, who was hired in December, watched the men’s and women’s Selection Sunday watch parties with pride.
“For the guys, getting the double-bye was really important, we won the game (against Boston College) in New York when we needed to and played Duke really, really tough in the semis,” Radakovich said. “And the women got better and better as the season went on and getting to the championship game was such a phenomenal achievement given where they were at different parts of the season. It’s a very exciting time for Miami basketball.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2022 at 10:04 PM.