Two Final Four firsts
Miami, SD State pass region finals
Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong rallied Miami from a 13point second-half deficit, Norchad Omier made two big free throws and an even more important steal down the stretch, and the fifth-seeded Hurricanes stunned No. 2 seed Texas, 8881, Sunday in Kansas City, Mo., to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.
Miller finished with 27 points in the Midwest Region final, going 7 of 7 from the field and 13 of 13 from the foul line, and Wong scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to beat the Longhorns, who had been the top remaining seed in a topsy-turvy NCAA Tournament.
Now, after falling short in the Elite Eight a year ago, the fifth-seeded Hurricanes (29-7) are headed to NRG Stadium in Houston for a date with No. 4 UConn on Saturday night. Two more first-time Final Four participants, No. 5 seed San Diego State and No. 9 Florida Atlantic, will play in the other national semifinal.
It’s the first time since seeding began in 1979 that no team seeded better than No. 4 made the Final Four, and perhaps it’s fitting that Miami coach Jim Larranaga is involved. He returns to the Final Four after taking George Mason there as an 11 seed in 2006.
“No one wanted to go home,” said Miller, who joined Duke’s Christian Laettner as the only players since 1960 to go 20 for 20 combined from the field and foul line in an NCAA Tournament game. “We came together. We stuck together. We showed really good perseverance and the will — the will to just want to get there.”
Miami and Texas were tied 79-all when Omier was fouled by the Longhorns’ Brock Cunningham while going for a loose ball. He made both of the foul shots to give the Hurricanes the lead, then stole the ball from Marcus Carr at the other end, and Wong made to more free throws with 34 seconds left.
Wooga Poplar scored 16 points for Miami, and Nijel
Pack had 15.
Carr led Texas (29-9) with 17 points, though he appeared to be bothered by a hamstring injury he sustained late in the game. Timmy Allen added 16 points and Sir’Jabari Rice finished with 15.
The Longhorns revealed about 90 minutes before tipoff that Dylan Disu, the Big 12 tourney MVP and early star of the NCAA Tournament, would miss the game with a foot injury.
Texas hit seven 3-pointers in storming to a 45-37 halftime lead. The advantage stretched to 13 in the second half. Still trailing 72-64 with about eight minutes to play, the Hurricanes went on a 13-3 run to take a 7775 lead, their first since the opening minutes. When Rice answered at the other end for Texas, it was Miller who began the late-game parade to the foul line with two go-ahead free throws. After one more tie, the Longhorns fell behind to stay.
“Last year we got to the Elite Eight here and it comes to a crushing end,” Larranaga said. “Today, last night, all the guys just kept talking, ‘We’ve got to go past the Elite Eight and get to the Final Four.’ ”
Aztecs go on line
Darrion Trammell converted a go-ahead free throw after he was fouled on a floater with 1.2 seconds left, and San Diego State muscled its way into its first Final Four, grinding out a 57-56 victory over Creighton in the South Region final in Louisville, Ky.
Lamont Butler scored 18 points and Trammell had 12 for the fifth-seeded Aztecs (31-6), who slowed down the highscoring, sixth-seeded Bluejays (24-13) and became the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the national semifinals.
The experienced Aztecs, in their sixth season under coach Brian Dutcher, will play the surprising East Region champion, ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic, Saturday in Houston for a spot in the national title game.
“Here we are,” said Dutcher. “We’re making the next step and it’s something we’ve always talked about. I’m sure there were people that doubted we could do it, but we never doubted for a minute.”
With the game tied at 56-all on San Diego State’s final possession, Trammell drove toward the free throw line, elevated for the shot and was fouled. Trammell missed the first free throw but converted the second.
“I’ve been dreaming this my whole life, grateful to be here and thankful to everyone who believed in me,” Trammell said.
Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman threw the ensuing inbound pass the length of the floor. San Diego State’s Aguek Arop and Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma both jumped for it and the ball deflected out of bounds. Officials reviewed the play and determined that time had expired, and the celebration was on for the Aztecs.
Scheierman had tied the game at 56-all when he stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup with 34 seconds left.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points for the Bluejays, who went 2 of 17 on 3-pointers.
The Aztecs held the Bluejays to 23 second-half points on 28 percent shooting. Creighton shot 40 percent overall.
San Diego State shot 38 percent but got clutch baskets from Nathan Mensah, whose jumper gave the Aztecs a 56-54 lead with 1:37 left, and Arop, who made two straight shots to put San Diego State ahead, 54-50, with 3:03 remaining.
Creighton beat San Diego State in overtime in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.