What Hurricanes said after magical run ended with 76-50 loss to Kansas in Elite 8
The Miami Hurricanes’ magical March ride came to an end after finally hitting a speed bump they couldn’t overcome.
The 10th-seeded Canes, playing in the first Elite Eight in school history, led the top-ranked Jayhawks by six at halftime, shocking the boisterous Kansas fan contingent in the United Center and a national television audience, but KU dominated the rest of the game and advanced to its 16th Final Four with a 76-50 victory.
Miami, typically a poised unflappable team, made uncharacteristic mistakes early in the second half and began to unravel. Kansas capitalized, outscored Miami 47-15 in the second half and showed why it is the only No. 1 seed remaining in the tournament.
“We did a darned good job in the first half playing the way we wanted to play, but Kansas came out in the second half and really hit us with a knockout punch,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “We were never able to answer their scoring runs. So, a tale of two halves. We did a great job in the first half and they did an even better job in the second half.”
With two minutes to go, the Jayhawks fans began their haunting “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” chant. After the final whistle sounded, as the Jayhawks celebrated at midcourt, Larranaga walked across the court to thank the cheerleaders and pep band.
Sixth-year senior guard Kam McGusty, who led UM with 18 points, sobbed on the bench with a towel draped over his head.
“It’s very frustrating,” McGusty said. “It just hurts because this is a close-knit group of guys, being able to accomplish the things we did this year, to lose — it just hurts. We’ve done a lot, gotten so close. I’m going to miss playing with these guys.”
The UM locker room was somber after the game, Larranaga said, with many players crying.
“I told them not to be disappointed in themselves,” the coach said. “We played a terrific first half, they played a better second half. In basketball, someone wins, someone loses. We were one of the final eight teams in the entire country and no one expected that when you’re picked 12th in the preseason [ACC poll]. You’re thinking to yourself, ‘I hope we have a winning season.’
“Boy, did we have a winning season. And boy did these guys do a fantastic job of representing the university. I told them I was very proud of them, loved them and they will have these memories — not this game, but all the memories that led up to it — for the rest of their lives. They’ll be sharing these stories with their grandchildren.”
The Hurricanes, who looked like an even match for the Jayhawks throughout the first half, began to fall apart as soon as the second half started. They turned the ball over, missed open shots, took ill-advised three-pointers and the Jayhawks picked up their level.
Miami got into foul trouble and the Jayhawks got UM’s typically reliable Moore off his game. Moore played his sophomore season at Kansas before transferring to DePaul and then Miami, so the Jayhawks coaching staff knew him well.
“A tale of two halves,” Kansas coach Bill Self said, echoing Larranaga’s words. “We weren’t very good the first half, played tight and couldn’t guard McGusty. For whatever reason, the lid came off the second half and the intensity picked up defensively and we had two good plays turn into four, turn into eight, which turned into 16. That was about as well as we could play the second half.”
Larranaga said UM’s scramble defense, which disrupted every opponent until Sunday, was not effective because it requires the Hurricanes offense to score to have time to get back to defend and they were not scoring.
“Kansas is the best in the open court attacking you, and when you’re not scoring, it’s hard to get back and set your defense,” Larranaga said. “We weren’t scoring. We got a little anxious. We started looking up at the scoreboard, and we had fallen behind, and that created some anxiety. Instead of settling down, we started to rush even more.”
Asked if it surprised him that his veteran team lost its composure, the coach said: “I think it was the Elite Eight, one thing. That has to be taken into consideration. The other is Kansas. They are really, really good, especially running the floor. They’ve got terrific athletes who can handle the ball.”
Isaiah Wong scored 15 points for UM on 6-of-14 shooting. Moore was held to five points, no three-pointers and three turnovers. Miller, who had been averaging 15 in March, had just two points and fouled out. Sam Waardenburg also fouled out.
Kansas was led by Big 12 Player of the Year Ochai Agbaji with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting. David McCormack had 15 points, and Christian Braun had 12.
The Hurricanes end their season at 26-11.
It was clear during pregame introductions this was a matchup between a college basketball blueblood accustomed to this stage and a team that had never gone this far in the NCAA Tournament.
The arena announcer said: “We welcome the Kansas Jayhawks, in their 25th Elite Eight, the winningest program in college basketball history with 2,354 wins. And, the University of Miami Hurricanes, in their first Elite Eight.”
That the Hurricanes reached this stage was remarkable, considering they were coming off three losing seasons, were 10-17 last season and picked to finish 12th in the preseason ACC poll. They were not ranked in the Top 25 all season.
The Hurricanes, a veteran team with three sixth-year seniors in the starting lineup, remained calm and composed early, as they have all season. They were loose during warmups, took an early 7-4 lead on a Charlie Moore driving layup, kept up with the Jayhawks’ pace, and had an answer every time Kansas took a lead.
But the momentum switched in the second half and Miami never recovered.
The Hurricanes went 6-of-28 in the second half (21 percent) while the Jayhawks shot 59 percent (16-of-27). Miami missed all 13 three-point attempts in the second half, while KU made five of nine. Miami was also outrebounded 25-11 in the second half after controlling the boards in the first half.
The large, spirited UM fan section behind the Hurricanes bench included UM President Julio Frenk and Jay Larranaga, the coach’s son, who is an assistant coach with the L.A. Clippers and got the day off to surprise his father and see the historic game with his family.
Lawrence, Kansas, is an eight-hour drive from Chicago, and the Jayhawks fans showed up in huge numbers. They roared with every KU basket, screamed at officials every time a Jayhawk was called for a foul, and were quiet at halftime as the Hurricanes led 35-29.
Jon Channing of Boca Raton, a 1976 UM graduate, was seated in a largely Kansas section, having the time of his life. He has been a season-ticket holder Hurricanes football and basketball for many years and was determined to be here for the milestone game.
“I grew up in Miami Beach and have been a Hurricanes fan my entire life,” Channing said. “This is unbelievable to be watching UM in the Elite Eight. For them to be here with the team they have is amazing and says so much about Coach L. He has brought so much spirit and fight to this team. If they win, this will be the feel-good story of South Florida sports.”
Alas, they didn’t win. But their improbable run will go down as the best in program history.
“Just being able to accomplish what we did, two, three years down the line the Elite Eight is going to be the goal at Miami,” McGusty said. “That’s what we were able to do this year and I’m so happy for us. I love these guys. It was great to get the community involved. Hopefully, UM teams in the future can go to the Final Four.”
This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 5:59 PM.