Miami comes back from double-digit deficit against Texas to reach first Final Four in school history

Miami is on to the Final Four for the first time in school history after battling back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat Texas on Sunday. In a game that came down to the final minute, the Hurricanes made several clutch free throws down the stretch to come away with a 88-81 victory.

Texas led by as many as 13 points in the second half before Miami battled back to take a 73-72 lead with 5:32 remaining on an and-one play from Norchad Omier. That completed a 13-2 run for the Hurricanes as the Longhorns were held without a field goal for nearly four minutes.

From there, the teams traded scores as the game was tied three more times. However, Miami scored six straight points on free throws to take an 85-79 lead with 24 seconds left and pull away for good.

Jordan Miller scored 26 points, four of which came on late free throws, to lead the Hurricanes in the win. He didn’t miss a shot the entire game to finish 7-of-7 from the floor and 13-of-13 from the free throw line. Omier finished just one rebounds shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine boards.

All five Miami starters finished with double figures as the team shot on efficient 29-of-49 (59.1%) from the field and 28-of-32 from the foul line. The Longhorns were equally efficient, going 30-of-60 on their shots.

Miami got off to a 9-2 start before Texas scored nine straight to take its first lead. Things remained tight throughout the first half before the Longhorns ended on a small 12-6 run to take a 45-37 lead into halftime. That included a pair of 3-pointers from Aterio Morris and four straight points from Marcus Carr to end the half.

Texas continued to build upon its lead to start the second, jumping out to 62-49 advantage, its largest of the game, by the 14:26 mark after a 3-point shot from Sir’Jabari Rice. However, they melted down over the final 10 minutes of the game and let the win slip out of their hands. Carr led the Longhorns with 17 points and six assists in the loss.

It was still a great season for Texas, which made its first Elite Eight appearance since 2008. The Longhorns overcame the midseason firing of coach Chris Beard to make their run through March Madness and win the Big 12 Tournament title.

As for Miami, the Hurricanes avenged last season’s Elite Eight loss to reach the Final Four. There they will face No. 4 seed UConn in a game set to tip off at 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday in Houston.