Podcast: Miami (men and women!) is back in March Madness. Can the Hurricanes make a run?
Sunday was a long-awaited basketball celebration for the Miami Hurricanes.
The men’s basketball team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. The women’s basketball team is back there for the first time since 2019.
After years of .500 seasons or worse, Miami will once again be in the thick of March Madness this weekend when both teams play in the Round of 64 on Friday in South Carolina, which means it’s time for a special, all-hoops addition of the Eye on the U podcast as Michelle Kaufman, the Hurricanes basketball beat writer for the Miami Herald, joins David Wilson to preview the opening weekend of the tournaments.
The men are the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region and will take on the No. 7-seed USC Trojans in Greenville with the No. 2-seed Auburn Tigers potentially looming in the Round of 32. The women are the No. 8 seed in the Greensboro Region and will take on the No. 9-seed USF Bulls in Columbus with the top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks almost certainly on the horizon, if the Hurricanes can get past their in-state foe.
Can either team make a run beyond the opening rounds? The odds are really stacked against the women with South Carolina getting a chance to play on its home floor, but the men might have a shot. USC has lost three of four and Auburn has lost three of six, while the Hurricanes (23-10) have proved they can play with just about anyone, with a win against the then-No. 2 Duke Blue Devils on their resume.
Their first-round matchup should be a clash of style as Kameron McGusty and guard-heavy Miami will try to find a way to slow down star power forward Isaiah Mobley and the bigger Trojans.
With a potential rebuild on the horizon, this tournament could be pivotal on the recruiting trail for newly extended coach Jim Larranaga.
As for the women, at least they’re hot after winning back-to-back games against top-25 teams at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament March 4 and 5. It will be a daunting task to topple the Gamecocks, but those two wins earlier in March also came against the top-seeded Louisville Cardinals and NC State Wolfpack.
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