Sunday was a great day to be a 10-seed facing a 2-seed in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, as three 10s stunned their favored counterparts to advance to the Sweet 16. After Creighton and South Dakota won on the women’s side, it was Miami’s turn in the men’s bracket to take down second-seeded Auburn thanks to an impressive second half performance that saw the Canes run away from the Tigers, en route to a 70-58 win.
Miami led by one at the half, with Isaiah Wong leading the way, as the star guard finished the game with 21 points, with none more impressive than this vicious first half dunk on potential top pick Jabari Smith.
ISAIAH WONG GOING STRONG!
What a poster dunk for Miami #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/elMhHCzzZ3
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2022
Auburn was able to hang around in the first half thanks to some solid defense of their own, but Miami really turned up the defensive pressure in the second and got the Auburn offense out of sorts. Miami forced 12 turnovers in the game, allowing them to get out on the break and pick up some easy baskets in a game in which neither team had much of a rhythm shooting the ball. The Hurricanes shot just 3-of-15 from three-point range, while Auburn was an even worse 5-of-26. Smith had a dreadful shooting night, going 3-of-16 from the floor and 1-of-8 from three, as he simply could not find his shot and Auburn’s guards struggled to consistently create good looks for anyone else.
On the other end, it was Miami’s ability to get to the rim that became the separator in the second half, both on the break and in breaking down the Tigers defense.
.@caneshoops is opening things up! pic.twitter.com/FPztWUFJG6
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 21, 2022
MIAMI CAN FEEL IT
All @CanesHoops down the stretch #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/gMXyQV5T6u
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2022
In the end, a cold shooting night and inability to find their way to the basket proved too much for the Tigers to overcome against the experience and calm of the Hurricanes veteran lineup. Along with Wong’s 21-point, six-rebound effort, Miami had three others hit double figures — Kameron McGusty finished the game with 20, Jordan Miller added 12, and Charlie Moore had 15 points and eight assists — as the Hurricanes ran away late to a 79-61 win to punch their ticket to the second weekend where they will face 11-seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16, with the Midwest bracket getting busted wide open on Sunday night.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/miami-auburn-ncaa-tournament-video-highlights/
