Hurricanes in uncharted territory
The Miami Hurricanes are playing the Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament at Chicago’s United Center. Here’s what you need to know.
When is the game and how can I watch? The Hurricanes and Jayhawks tip off at 2:20 p.m. Sunday. The game will be televised on CBS.
How did both teams get here? The Hurricanes (26-10), led by coach Jim Larrañaga, are playing in the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. UM made the NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest Region after a solid run in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
AAMiami went 14-5 in league action during the regular season and reached the semifinal of the ACC tournament where it lost to Duke.
Once the NCAA Tournament began, Miami pulled off consecutive upsets, beating No. 7 seed USC 68-66, No. 2 seed Auburn 79-61 and No. 11 seed Iowa State 70-56.
Kansas (31-6), led by coach Bill Self and winners of three NCAA Tournaments (1952, 1988 and 2008), is one of college basketball’s blue bloods. The Jayhawks are playing in the Elite Eight for the 23rd time in school history and are the highest remaining seed still alive in this year’s tournament. Kansas also moved ahead of Kentucky for most wins in Division I men’s basketball history (2,354) after beating Providence in the Sweet 16 on Friday night.
They earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest after going 14-4 in the Big 12 and have won games against No. 16 seed Texas Southern (83-56), No. 9 seed Creighton (79-72) and No. 4 seed Providence (66-61) so far in the tournament.
Who are the players to watch on each team? The Hurricanes have four players averaging in double-figure scoring: Kameron McGusty (17.8),
Isaiah Wong (15.3), Charlie Moore (12.6) and Jordan Miller (10.1).
Kansas is paced by the three-man attack of
Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun and Jalen Wilson. Agbaji, a senior, averages
Aa team-best 18.9 points per game and is making almost 40 percent of his three-point shots. Braun, a junior, is averaging 14.6 points and is making more than half of his shots from the field. And Wilson, a redshirt sophomore, averages 11.2 points per game and is also the team’s top rebounder (7.3 per game).
What happens if the Hurricanes win? A Miami win on Friday would send the Hurricanes to their first Final Four and have them two wins away from a national championship. The winner of the Miami-Kansas game plays the winner of the Houston-Villanova game in New Orleans on April 2. The national championship game is set for April 4.
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