Despite a shocking upset loss last weekend to rival FSU, the Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball team is still in a position to do something that has only happened once before: with a win on Saturday and the ‘Canes can once again call themselves ACC champs.
It was not the way UM fans expected things to play out, but last Saturday’s loss to the rival Seminoles delayed the celebration of adding another banner to the rafters at the Watsco Center.
“We talked after the game and I just explained to them we played a great first half and then we quit defending. I don’t know if we were tired or emotionally drained or what have you," head coach Jim Larranaga said. "I told them to rest and recover, come back to work this week and get ready for Pittsburgh.”
That game against Pittsburgh is more than just the regular season finale for both teams. A win by the Hurricanes would tie the record for most regular season wins in program history and give Miami its second regular season title since joining the ACC in 2004.
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"If we win on Saturday, we’re regular season champs and we’d be the number one seed in the ACC tournament next week," Larranaga said. "We’re very happy with where we are and where we’re positioned, but we have to continue to play well.”
Saturday’s game will also be a chance for 'The U' to avenge one of its conference losses from earlier in the season, when the Panthers knocked off the ‘Canes at the last second.
“We learned from the mistakes we did against Pitt. Take it like an experience and just make sure we don’t do it again," forward Norchad Omier said. “Every game is big. We take it one game at a time. We come, we play. We didn’t come out how we wanted against Florida State. We’re looking to come against Pitt, we’re going to give it everything.”
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It was 10 years ago when the Hurricanes hoisted the first title since joining the conference – and Larranaga sees plenty of similarities between both squads.
“Both teams had a lot of chemistry. The bond between the players was very, very strong. We had an upper-class team back in 2013 and our starting lineup is older guys, experienced guys just like that 2013 team," he said.
For this year’s Hurricanes team, there isn’t much time spent thinking about the past. The goal remains simple: live in the present and bring home more hardware.
“We’ve got Coach L and the other coaches talk to us all the time about teams being here and the history about Miami basketball so we’re aware about it but we haven’t been talking about it that much,” Omier said.
“We haven’t talked about the 2013 team in a long time. Our focus has been on this season," added Larranga. “I’m just very proud of these guys because they work so hard, they’ve worked so well together. We’ve had a lot of fun but the most fun is really playing well and winning.”
