Jim Larranaga calls Miami crowd 'fantastic' in Rutgers win

The ACC took down the Big Ten in the annual challenge between the two conferences on the hardwood. Part of the reason why the ACC won is thanks to the Miami Hurricanes, who held up their end of the bargain by taking care of business at home against a pesky Rutgers team.

The Scarlet Knights lost a lot of the core that led them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, but they had just gotten one of their best players back last night and have a star big man in Cliff Omoruyi, who averages 16 points and 10 rebounds and projected as a bad matchup for Miami’s smaller front line.

Nonetheless, behind strong play from those undersized forwards — Jordan Miller and Norchad Omier, who combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds — along with great crowd support, Miami was able to pull away from Rutgers at home in the second half. After the game, ‘Canes coach Jim Larranaga was quick to praise the fans in the stands for their work that night.

“The crowd was fantastic, wasn’t it?” Larranaga marveled in the postgame presser, noting that even his wife was impressed. “After after the game my wife told me that the fans stood for like the last four or five minutes of the game.”

“That was awesome,” he continued. “And honestly, it’s been building towards that. It shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Now, it should be something we greatly appreciate and are very grateful for, the support we’re getting. The band was great, the cheerleaders, the dance team. We’re really creating a home court advantage. And they really are our sixth man.”

Whether you’re blowing into a tuba, waving pom poms or simply clapping along with the fight song, Jim Larranaga is thrilled to have you as part of an engaged in-game environment. That sort of performance from the fans is always going to lead to a better performance from the team. A fun night in South Beach as the Hurricanes cruise past Rutgers, 68-61.