Jim Larranaga shares emotions of loading bus to Final Four

Miami‘s Final Four berth is 12 years in the making for head coach Jim Larranaga. His teams typically hold their own in the ACC and in the NCAA Tournament, but it never worked out until now.

With the Hurricanes’ first-ever Final Four looming, Larranaga reflected on the long journey while the team was loading the bus before heading to NRG Stadium for the ‘Canes first practice ahead of Saturday’s game against UConn.

“What has happened through my 12 years [mat Miami] is that everything has grown in the right direction. We’ve got greater support for the program. We’ve got greater fans coming to go to the [games]. More people are aware of us,” Larranaga said on Thursday. “We’re in the great ACC. It’s a great conference. And so the students really got behind us very early. And that’s just grown and grown.

“Now, in the community of Coral Gables, we have 5,000 tickets sold to come to Houston. 12 years ago, that wasn’t even possible. But now everybody’s behind us. We’re going to have great support come Saturday night.”

Larranaga knows the type of impact a Final Four can have on a program and its fanbase, program and university. His 2006 George Mason Patriots made the national semifinals as an 11-seed, a run which set the tone for all Final Four Cinderella’s in the years since.

The Final Four run saw an 800% increase in traffic to George Mason’s official website, an increase in admission inquiries by 350% with out-of-state applications increasing by 40%, and nearly $1 million worth of sales in the 10 days leading up to the Final Four at the university bookstore. Every player on Larranaga’s roster that season completely bought into his teachings, and the fanbase was with them every step of the way — that’s true for Miami now.

That’s the same environment Larranaga has brought to Miami, and it has only been reaffirmed after leading this program to its first Final Four as well. George Mason’s run might have ended in the Final Four, but Miami’s dreams lie beyond — they want to be national champions. Now, the Hurricanes are just two wins away from that ultimate goal.

Larranaga’s experience in the Final Four gives Miami the edge in that aspect, but UConn is a program that has always been built for March and is expected to take down the ‘Canes as they head into the weekend as a 5.5-point favorite in Vegas. The over/under total is set at 149.

CBS’ coverage for the highly-anticipated matchup between the Hurricanes and Huskies will begin immediately following the conclusion of Florida Atlantic and San Diego State, which is set to tip-off at 6:09 p.m. ET on Saturday.