In what’s already become an upset-laden men’s NCAA tournament, No. 10 Miami (Fla.) became the latest to join in on the madness, downing No. 2 Auburn 79–61 on Sunday night.
The Hurricanes scored the first basket of the game and never trailed on their way to victory in the second round Midwest Region matchup. Jim Larrañaga’s team led by just one point at half but turned on the jets in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Tigers 46–29 in the second half.
Miami was led on offense by Isaiah Wong and Kameron McGusty, who poured in 21 points and 20 points, respectively. Sixth-year senior Charlie Moore did a little bit of everything in the win, tallying 15 points, eight assists and nine rebounds.
Although the Canes’ offense was sharp, the team’s defensive effort was the driving force behind the win. Miami played stifling defense throughout the contest, holding Auburn to just 30.4% shooting from the field and forcing 13 turnovers. Tigers star and highly-touted NBA prospect Jabari Smith scored just 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting in the loss.
After an opening round victory over No. 7 USC, Miami punched its ticket into the Sweet 16 with Sunday night’s win. Awaiting the ACC program is No. 11 Iowa State, which pulled off a second-straight upset of its own over No. 3 Wisconsin earlier in the afternoon.
