More March Madness! Miami eliminates FINAL No. 1 seed Houston 89-75…as no top-ranked team makes the Elite Eight for the first time in HISTORY
The No.5 seed Miami Hurricanes defeated the No.1 seed Houston Cougars 89-75 in a historic NCAA moment.
Houston’s loss marks the first time in NCAA history that no No. 1 seeded team has reached the Elite Eight round of the tournament.
The Hurricanes will play the winner of Xavier vs. Texas in the Elite Eight. This is the first time in three years that Houston has not made the Elite Eight.
Miami, which finished the season with a 28-7 record, became the fifth team this season to score at least 70 points against Houston, which finished the year with a 33-4 record.
The No. 5 Hurricanes reached a regional final for the second year in a row just hours after the No. 9-seeded Miami women’s team held on to beat Villanova and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time. Miami and UConn are the only schools with teams remaining in both tournaments.
No.5 seed Miami Hurricanes upset, No.1 seed Houston Cougars 89-75 at March Madness
Nijel Pack led the Hurricanes with 26 points thanks to a tremendous night of shooting
This is the first time in three years that the Houston Cougars have not made the Elite Eight.
Sophomore guard Nijel Pack was the hero for the Hurricanes the night after he led the way for his team with 26 points.
Pack put on an elite display from three-point range after shooting 7-for-10 and also shooting 3-for-4 from the free throw line.
The Cougars simply couldn’t stop a multi-faceted Miami offense led by Pack’s 3-point shooting.
Miami’s five players all scored in double figures on the night with the lowest point total coming from sophomore Wooga Poplar, who posted 11 points.
Isiah Wong’s midrange play helped get the ‘Canes off to a fast start, and he finished with 20 points. Jordan Miller hurt the Cougars with his drive and scored 13 points, and Norchad Omier was as tough as ever under the rim as he posted his 16th double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
It resulted in a heartbreaking finish for a Cougars team that was in the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight time, had won 15 of its last 16 games, and had a season-long goal of playing in next week’s Final Four in their hometown. native.
Miami coach Jim Larrañaga, to the delight of his players, performed dance moves in the locker room befitting a 73-year-old reminiscent of the disco era.
He was then joined up front by Wooga Poplar and Joseph Bensley for an impromptu line dance.
Larranaga will be looking for his first Final Four with Miami and his second overall: he took George Mason there as an 11th seed in 2006.
Miami’s starting five scored in double figures in the game, showing off their strong offense.
Miami used a 16-5 run that spanned both halves to climb double digits, with Omier’s three-point play and Jordan Miller’s short bench left hand making it 47-36 and forcing the Houston coach, Kelvin Sampson, to call a timeout less than two minutes into the second half.
Houston struggled to make it a two-point game, but then the Pack hit three 3-pointers and Miller and Poplar each hit one to fuel a 16-2 run that put the Canes ahead 70-53.
The lead grew to 17 points, and Houston was never closer to 11 the rest of the way.
There was no denying it was Miami night after Houston went on a mini run with less than five minutes left.
With the shot clock running down, Omier was forced to place a jumper just inside the free throw line. He bounced off the front of the rim, then the backboard, then the front of the rim again before falling. A minute later, Houston’s Jarace Walker missed at point blank range.
Walker led the Cougars with 16 points. Jamal Shead added 15 and All-American Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark each had 14 for the Cougars, who shot just 37% overall and 29% from distance.
Houston, which entered the game as a 7.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, found itself at the half for the second straight game after the Hurricanes played their best part of the tournament.
Miami turned the ball over just once in the first 20 minutes, turning Miami’s six turnovers into 15 points and shooting 6-of-14 from distance against the second-best 3-point defense in the country.
Pack made four of them, and they all arrived on time. His first three gave Miami the lead and his fourth broke a 31-all tie.
Miami will play the winning team from the game between Texas and Xavier in the next round
