Jim Larranaga takes hilarious shot at Charles Barkley following upset win

After his team’s upset win over Auburn, Miami coach Jim Larranaga took a shot at Auburn-alum Charles Barkley for his pregame promise. Barkley said prior to the game that he would take his shirt off on camera if Auburn won and reached the Sweet 16, a promise that went unfulfilled thanks to Larranaga and the Hurricanes.

Jim Larranaga jokes about Charles Barkley

In a great mood after reaching the fourth Sweet 16 appearance in school history, Larranaga let everyone know that Miami had another secret reason they were motivated to win on Sunday.

“I listened to Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew if Auburn won he would take off his shirt,” said Larranaga after the game. “I thought to myself, no one wants to see that, Chuck. So we did everything possible to make it possible that he wouldn’t have to do that.”

The NBA legend and former Auburn star made his bold promise after the CBS analyst desk poked fun at Barkley, comparing him to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a former athlete for Miami. As Barkley joked that he worked as Johnson’s stunt double, he went on to promise that he would take off his shirt on camera if Auburn won the game. Luckily, or unluckily, Auburn failed to advance and the nation was denied the chance to see Barkley shed his shirt.

With their 79-61 win over the second seed in their quadrant, Miami has now upset two teams on their path through the NCAA Tournament — USC and Auburn. Their opponent in the Sweet 16 is another team shocking their way through the bracket in Iowa State, as they knocked off LSU and Wisconsin.

Larranaga on beating Auburn

After the Hurricanes’ big win, Larranaga showed up for his on-court interview with his guard Charlie Moore by his side and excitedly explained how he felt his team earned their trip to the school’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016.

“Well we started last summer putting in a new defense called the ‘Scramble’ and these guys did it to perfection today,” said Larranaga. “Turnovers and fast break opportunities coming off our defense. So, very very proud of them. Very happy moment.”

Larranaga was then asked how it felt being able to get over their disappointing season last year and making it this far in the NCAA Tournament.

“Well we were healthy,” answered Larranaga. “We weren’t healthy last year. We had six scholarship players most of the season. But now, with this guy [Charlie Moore] quarterbacking us — can I call you Chris Paul? He is for us our Chris Paul.”