Jim Larranaga addresses if Miami is now a 'basketball school' after both teams advance to Elite Eight

The Miami Hurricanes advanced to the Elite Eight in men’s and women’s basketball and Jim Larranaga addressed if it turned into a basketball school.

Miami had its struggles on the football field in 2022 but basketball did not miss a beat on the men’s side the last two years. Larranaga led the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight for the second straight year and the women made it for the first time.

But Larranaga would not declare Coral Gables a basketball hub.

“Here’s what I would tell you, I’ve heard people describe schools as football schools, basketball schools, whatever,” Larranga said. “My opinion is we’re a great academic institution. We’re one of the top 50 schools in the country. It’s a private school with an absolutely awesome campus. I was in the lobby last week with our cheerleaders and dance team. They were all studying. They’re great students. These guys are all students. We’re graduating all our guys.”

However, Larranaga did not declare Miami a basketball school despite the success and his off the court praise of the university.

“So I don’t look at it that way,” Larranaga said. “Our football team has won five National Championships. Our baseball team has won four. I think we’ve got a great athletic department and great leadership in the administration. Our AD Dan Radakovich, the administrators in the president’s office, they do a great job of providing us the resources to be competitive.

“And I’m so proud of Katie Meier and her staff because they did an amazing job. They not only beat Indiana, they beat Indiana at Indiana, the Number 1 seed. So hats off to both men’s and women’s basketball programs.”

Miami knocked off Houston, a No. 1 seed, to advance to the Elite Eight. Njiel Pack led the team in scoring with 26 points and added four rebounds and two assists.

The 89-75 win was pretty controlling for the Hurricanes. They led 42-36 at halftime and kept their foot on the gas in the final 20 minutes.

The women’s team took down Villanova in the Sweet 16 70-65 and get LSU Sunday in the Elite Eight. Ironically, the teams play at the same time and could very well both win a national title at this point.

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Miami takes on Texas in the Elite Eight Sunday.