Podcast: Miami is playing its best basketball in March and what a Final Four means for UM

It was once unthinkable, but now it’s not even really unexpected: The Miami Hurricanes are in the Final Four for the first time and two wins away from winning their first national title.

It’s already an incredible feat for a program that once shut down for more than a decade. It doesn’t have to be the end, though. Miami is playing its best basketball of the season and Jim Larranaga, now in the national semifinals for the second time, should never be doubted.

Michelle Kaufman, the Hurricanes beat writer for the Miami Herald, once again joins David Wilson on the Eye on the U podcast this week to preview the Final Four and recap the No. 5-seed Hurricanes’ incredible run through the NCAA Tournament.

The reasons they can beat the No. 4-seed UConn Huskies on Saturday at NRG Stadium — and even win the national championship Monday — are the same reasons they’ve won over and over again throughout March: Their players have improved throughout the season and their defense has never been better.

Miami’s embrace of name, image and likeness (NIL) has become a topic of conversation in Houston, but the Hurricanes (29-7) are first and foremost a development program, and star shooting guards Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller and Wooga Poplar throughout the multiple seasons they’ve spent in Coral Gables. As Kaufman puts it, Miami’s in the Final Four because of “Coach L,” not NIL.

As for the defense, the Hurricanes winning it all would be unprecedented because of how mediocre their defense has been all season, but they did rally to beat the No. 2-seed Texas Longhorns, 88-81, on Sunday because they clamped down on defense down the stretch. Miami has fully embraced its high-speed identity in the Tournament and it’s benefiting the Hurricanes’ defense, too.

To close things out, Wilson and Kaufman touch on Florida Atlantic’s run, and whether the No. 9-seed Owls can follow in the footsteps of Wichita State and VCU by turning one Cinderella run into something more. Finally, they look back at the Miami women’s basketball run and what it means for coach Katie Meier’s program after years of being pesky against top-ranked opponents.

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