Brown to miss NCAA opener

CORAL GABLES — Not long after the Hurricanes men’s basketball team learned it would open NCAA Tournament play against Loyola-Chicago in Dallas, Miami coach Jim Larrañaga was adamant guard Bruce Brown — who has missed the past six weeks of the season with a foot injury — wouldn’t play Thursday afternoon.

Before the Hurricanes boarded the buses that would take them to the airport for their flight to Dallas, though, Larrañaga reiterated he doesn’t expect Brown to play against the Ramblers. But the coach did indicate the guard — who was evaluated by team doctors on Monday — has improved and will be dressed, in uniform, for Thursday’s game.

“It’s going to be a shock to everybody, but Bruce Brown is going to be dressing come Thursday,” Larrañaga said. “He won’t play, but he wants to be in uniform.”

Asked about Brown’s availability to play beyond Thursday, Larrañaga continued, “Beyond Thursday, the first thing is, we’ve got to play well enough to win the game. And then after that, you make decisions one day at a time.”

Brown, who jokingly interrupted Larrañaga’s chat with reporters, was seen wearing a walking boot on his left foot before heading to the airport, but Larrañaga said he had been moving around without it earlier in the day.

“He’s been cleared. He’s in the boot right now, but he’s been out of the boot this morning, walking around in the gymnasium, working with our trainer,” Larrañaga said.

Before getting hurt, Brown had started all 19 of Miami’s games to that point in the season, averaging 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4 assists.

The sixth-seeded Hurricanes and 11th-seeded Ramblers are set to tip off at approximately 3:10 p.m. Thursday from Dallas, and it will be televised on truTV.

ccabrera@ sun-sentinel.com; On Twitter @ChristyChirinos.