From Final Four to 8-game skid. What went wrong?
The Miami Hurricanes’ 2023-24 season began with a Final Four bannerraising ceremony, a No. 13 preseason national ranking, and high expectations. Their final home game ended Wednesday night with a 67-57 loss to Boston College, their eighth defeat in a row.
It is the longest UM losing skid in 20 years, when the Hurricanes lost 10 straight during the 2003-04 season. Miami dropped to 15-15 and is stuck in second-to-last place in the ACC with a 6-13 league record heading into the season finale at Florida State.
Dejected fans filed out of the Watsco Center before the final whistle.
It was a far different scene from the home finale last season, almost a year ago to the day, when UM won a thriller over
Pitt to earn a share of the league crown. Jubilant Miami students stormed the court, engulfed the team, and belted out “We Are the Champions!” UM coach Jim Larrañaga and his players climbed a ladder to cut pieces of net as souvenirs from their memorable season.
They went on to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.
On Wednesday night, a clearly frustrated Larrañaga watched the end of the game from a seat on the bench. He was optimistic about his team’s chances against the Eagles because his entire starting lineup was healthy for the first time in months.
Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack had missed numerous games with ankle and knee issues. They participated in an intrasquad scrimmage over the weekend, and Larrañaga liked what he saw and was still hopeful when Miami took a 30-20 lead over Boston College with five minutes to go in the first half.
“I was very happy when we hit 30-20, but Nijel Pack went down and then nothing went right,” Larrañaga said. “It’s kind of been the story all season long.”
The Hurricanes led 32-28 at halftime, but
Pack banged an already sore knee late in the first half and never got back in the game. He finished the night 0-for-5 and played just 13 minutes.
The Eagles opened the second half with a 15-2 run and Miami never recovered. UM shot 29 percent in the second half, 10 percent from threepoint range (1-of-10) and managed just 25 second half points. The Canes missed 18 of their last 19 three-point attempts.
UM had no answer for 7-foot Dutch center Quentin Post, who scored a game-high 19 points with nine rebounds, three steals and a trio of threepointers. “Especially in the second half, their bigs were kind of hesitant to help on the ball screen because I made a few threes and spread the floor,” Post said.
Larrañaga heaped praise on Post, a graduate student.
“He’s an NBA guy; he probably won’t get drafted because he’s older, but he can shoot the three, he can post up, he’s got a great jump hook, he rebounds and knows how to play,” Larrañaga said.
“Boston College played terrific, you have to give them a lot of credit, but I think it’s much easier to play offense when the other team can’t make a shot.”
It was Senior Night on Wednesday. Fourth-year juniors Pack and Norchad Omier were honored, even though they have a year of eligibility remaining if they choose to come back. Omier, who had 10 points and 13 rebounds, said after the game that he is focused on what’s left of this season and has not decided about his future. The Pack and Omier families were in town for the pregame ceremony. It was not the result they had hoped for.
“It’s unfortunate for these guys to have gone through this,” Larrañaga said. “Maybe in their lives there will be a lot more challenges and adversity, but right now for a college basketball player to lose as many as we have in a row … it’s very challenging and frustrating and disappointing for everybody.”
So, what went wrong? How does a team with most of its players back from the 2023 Final Four roster find itself in this rut? Asked that question, Larrañaga replied: “Isaiah Wong and Jordan Miller graduated. The game comes down to players. Last year we needed a bucket, I went right to Isaiah or Jordan, one of those two guys, and invariably they would deliver. We don’t really have that this year. Haven’t all season long.”
Although several players have wanted to take on the role of Wong and Miller, none has been able to, either due to injury or other issues.
“You don’t just score, you’ve got to really have the skills to put the ball in the basket time after time after time. And we just really haven’t had that this year.”
The coach then explained over the next seven minutes how injuries to Pack, Poplar and Omier kept the team from reaching its full potential and how the collective confidence of the team was affected once the losing streak got going.
Omier and Bensley Joseph expressed their disappointment and frustration after the game, saying the team has vowed to turn things around at FSU.
“We didn’t win a game since the beginning of February, and then it’s March, Senior Night, didn’t get the W, we keep dealing with adversity,” Omier said. “We have to keep a positive mindset. We have to bounce back. We have to pull together and be a team. We can’t just cry, complain, we have to find a way.”
Despite the losing streak, Omier found a way to smile as he summarized this season.
“It’s been rough, but I still love my teammates and enjoy this ride, even though it’s not the way anyone imagined it,” he said. “I love being at the University of Miami. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”