Miami Hurricanes dispatch Iowa State to make first Elite Eight in program history

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Jim Larra knew the water his Miami players had doused him with was cold, but he couldn't remember the rest of the celebration.

The Miami coach asked if I danced.

McGusty mimicked Larra's moves.

WE'RE GOING TO THE ELITE EIGHT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HSUo7VbgoF

— Canes Hoops (@CanesHoops) March 26, 2022

Larra said that she did one of her dance moves from the 60s. Most of you were probably not born yet, but that was really good dancing.

Miami is dancing in the NCAA tournament and staying on the floor for longer than it has before. The 10th-seeded Hurricanes dominated play against the 11th-seeded Iowa State in the Sweet 16 at the United Center.

The first-seeded Hurricanes will face the top-seeded Jayhawks in the Elite Eight on Sunday.

Larra was the first coach to lead two different schools to the Final Four as double-digit seeds. Two other coaches have made multiple Elite Eight appearances with double-digit seeds.

Sam Waardenburg, who scored 13 points in the win, said that Coach L is the G.O.A.T.

Larra has overseen the most successful period of the program with seven 20-win seasons and four 25-win seasons. He hadn't gotten the Hurricanes past the Sweet 16 until Friday, after they lost to Villanova and Marquette in the last two years.

McGusty, who led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting and added six rebound, said that it still feels amazing. Everybody looked at us crazy three weeks into the season.

I love these guys. We have created a bond that can never be broken. I am proud that we were able to pull it off.

After defeating USC in the first round, Miami dominated both Iowa State and Auburn, winning by a combined score of 149-117. McGusty, Waardenburg, and Jordan Miller all scored in the second half as Miami surged in the final 10 minutes.

Moore, a Chicago native playing on his fourth college team, had nine of Miami's 21 assists, a season high, tying the most by a Hurricanes player in NCAA tournament history. Miami scored 18 points off of Iowa State turnovers.

If you told me before the game that Charlie and Zay were shut out in the first half, how many are we down?

Duke and North Carolina joined Miami in the Elite Eight after the Hurricanes were picked to finish 12th in the conference. There is no other league with more than one entrant. The commissioner attended the game.

The other teams in our league are very talented and have great coaches. We played a lot of games on the last possession. There is a reason for that. The opponent that we were playing was very good.

Iowa State shot just 4-of-22 from 3-point range, but both Tyrese Hunter and Gabe Kalscheur scored 13 points. After a two-win season in 2020-21, the Cyclones had overcome shaky offense in their first two NCAA tournament wins, reaching the Sweet 16 under a first-year coach.

When we signed up for this, we didn't know the results. When that final buzzer went off, it hurt a little bit, but at the same time you have to hold your head up high because you turned this program around.

Miami has a chance to make its first Final Four appearance while Iowa State leaves.

Hopefully, we can go as far as we can playing next week, but for now we want to get to the Elite Eight or Final Four to beat the team from the year before. We are usually known as a football school.

Hopefully we can get more recognition.