Postcards from Tulsa
Thursday, March 16, 2017
TULSA, Okla. – The Miami Hurricanes tipped off practice back in October with a goal of getting back to the NCAA Tournament.
Miami officially accomplished that feat this past Sunday night when CBS revealed the tournament bracket. But today is when it finally felt tangible.
The Hurricanes made their first visit to the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa for a press conference and an open practice. March Madness signs, decals and mic flags were visible throughout the arena, signaling it’s officially tournament time.
Watch practice at the BOK here – https://youtu.be/Gcw1bnSxZNY
“Now we are in March Madness,” guard DJ Vasiljevic said. “It’s great to be here.”
For freshmen like Vasiljevic, Bruce Brown and Dewan Huell, this is new territory. But they can lean on veterans like Kamari Murphy, Davon Reed and Ja’Quan Newton, who were key components to Miami’s Sweet 16 run a season ago.
“I just have to mold these young guys that we have now and just kind of tell them what it’s going to be like, the atmosphere,” Murphy said. “Coach (Jim Larrañaga) also did a good job trying to explain what it’s going to be like as far as officiating and teams are going to go on runs in the tournament as well. Everybody is going to bring their best game in the tournament so we’ve just got to stick together.”
The eighth-seeded Hurricanes (21-11) face ninth-seeded Michigan State (19-14) tomorrow night in the finale of four first-round games in Tulsa. The Spartans’ 14 losses are the most they’ve had since 2011, but six of those losses were to ranked teams.
“Michigan State is historically a great program, led by a great head coach in Tom Izzo,” Reed said. “They like to rebound the ball. They like to run the ball up the floor in five seconds to get a quick layup. They have a ton of set plays on offense. So we’ll have to do a good job of taking care of all those things and keeping them off the foul line because they like to get fouled as well.”
Much has been made of the youth on both rosters. The aforementioned Miami freshmen all play significant minutes, as do sophomores Anthony Lawrence, Jr., and Ebuka Izundu. Meanwhile, Michigan State starts three freshmen (Miles Bridges, Nick Ward and Joshua Langford) who collectively average nearly 37 points per game.
But Larrañaga knows the Hurricanes wouldn’t be in Tulsa preparing for the Spartans without the leadership provided by his two senior captains, Murphy and Reed.
“I think it’s the reason we’re here,” Larrañaga said. “Davon and Kamari are two of the best leaders I’ve ever had and they’ve done it by example, by how hard they practice every day, the consistency of their effort and execution.”
The Spartans will provide a tough test but the Hurricanes have been tested all season. The ACC leads all conferences with 13 teams in the top 100 of Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, including 11 in the top 50, seven in the top 30, six in the top 25, and three in the top 20.
“Playing in the ACC, we’ve been battled tested all year,” Reed said. “The league through and through is tough, night in and night out. So I think we’re ready to play against anybody in the tournament.”
Miami’s band and cheerleaders joined the Hurricanes for the open practice, which the team capped with a crowd-pleasing halfcourt shot contest. After signing autographs on their way to the locker room, Miami headed back to the University of Tulsa for another practice, their last full practice before tomorrow night’s game.
The game will tip off at approximately 9:20 p.m. Eastern, with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Reggie Miller and Dana Jacobson on the call for TNT. Top-seeded Kansas squares off against UC Davis in the preceding game. The winner of Miami-Michigan State will face the winner of the Jayhawks-Aggies game in Tulsa on Sunday.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
TULSA, Okla. – The Miami Hurricanes have settled into the Sooner State to prep for their latest NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Hurricanes will face perennial Big Ten power Michigan State in the Midwest Region’s 8-9 matchup Friday night. The game will tip off at approximately 9:20 p.m. Eastern on TNT.
Miami held a two-hour practice session at the University of Tulsa this afternoon, their first since arriving yesterday. Tomorrow the Hurricanes will get their first look at the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, just a stone’s throw from the Arkansas River. Miami’s 40-minute practice session is sandwiched between those of New Mexico State and Baylor. The BOK sessions are open to the public.
This is Miami’s ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and third under head coach Jim Larrañaga. Michigan State, meanwhile, is making its 20th consecutive tournament appearance — the third longest active streak in the nation.
The Hurricanes’ last game before Selection Sunday was an ACC Tournament quarterfinal matchup against North Carolina. Larrañaga sees some similarities between the Tar Heels and Miami’s opponent Friday night.
“If I had to compare them to anybody, they’re very, very similar to North Carolina,” Larrañaga said. “They have very specific things that they do. When I talked to my team about preparing for North Carolina I said the very first thing you have to do is prevent the five-second layup. There are two programs that pride themselves on scoring — even right after you score within the first five seconds. And the two best in the country in my estimation are North Carolina and Michigan State.
“Michigan State is also recognized as one of the best rebounding programs in the country. Normally they lead the country in rebounding. That has been a trademark of all of Tom Izzo’s teams.”
Izzo owns a 14-5 record in the NCAA first round. Also of note with Miami as the eighth seed in this matchup – Izzo’s teams are 13-10 in the NCAA Tournament when Michigan State is the lower-seeded team. Those 13 wins are the most all-time in NCAA Tournament history.
The Spartans are one of seven Big Ten teams in the bracket, although Purdue, seeded fourth in the Midwest, is the highest-seeded team from the conference. The ACC snagged a conference-record nine bids, including a No. 1 seed (North Carolina), two No. 2 seeds (Duke, Louisville) and a No. 3 seed (Florida State).
This is just the second meeting between Miami and Michigan State. The first was a big one – the Hurricanes defeated the Spartans 67-59 on Nov. 28, 2012, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Coral Gables. Many UM observers will tell you that was the game that signaled the 2012-13 Hurricanes were going to make some noise. The season ended with an ACC regular season championship, an ACC Tournament championship and a Sweet 16 appearance.
