Hurricanes Begin NCAA Tournament Journey Against Buffalo
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PROVIDENCE (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Miami Hurricanes are looking to their coach as they embark on a journey of dancing.
Jim Larranaga - who coached George Mason to the 2006 Final Four - looks to conjure up some old March magic as his Miami squad returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 when it takes on Buffalo in a South Region first-round game Thursday in Providence, R.I.
The Hurricanes, the No. 3 seed in the South region, come in having won nine of their last 11, while the Bulls took the Mid-American Conference tournament championship for the second straight season.
Miami sports a balanced offense, with four players averaging in double figures - led by Sheldon McClellan (15.8 points), Angel Rodriguez (11.8) and Davon Reed (11.5), each of whom hit more than 40 3-pointers this year.
The Hurricanes are also solid defensively, holding opponents to 66.6 points on 43 percent shooting from the field.
Buffalo became the first team in 14 years to defend its MAC tournament title despite being the No. 3 seed, upsetting top-seeded Akron on Saturday.
The Bulls also feature four double-figure scorers, with Lamonte Bearden and Blake Hamilton leading the way at 13.6 and 13.1 points, respectively.
TV: 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT MIAMI (25-7): While everyone wants to go into the NCAA Tournament on a roll, more than half of the field will be coming off a loss, like the Hurricanes are after a loss to Virginia in the ACC tournament semifinals.
In fact, Larranaga wasted no time reminding his team that last year's national champion, Duke, also lost in the ACC tournament semis, so there are bigger and better things to focus on.
"Nobody's down on themselves because we have bigger things to worry about," forward Kamari Murphy told reporters. "Like Coach told us, Duke was in this exact situation last year and went on to win the title, so a tournament is a new season for us. We have to take one game at a time and hope to keep winning and compete for a national championship."
ABOUT BUFFALO (20-14): After making a trip to the Big Dance last season, Buffalo should be a little more relaxed when it takes the floor against Miami.
The Bulls weren't expected to come back to the NCAA Tournament, especially early in the season under first-year head coach Nate Oats, but the team seems to be coming together at just the right time and could give the Hurricanes a tough go.
"Nobody was predicting this back in October, November," Oats told reporters. "So I can't say enough about the character of these guys. We got hot at the right time. It's the best basketball we played all year. And we picked the right time to do it, for sure."
TIP-INS
- Miami C Tonye Jekiri led the ACC in rebounds in league play, averaging 10.9 boards.
- Buffalo freshman CJ Massinburg has been hot of late, scoring in double figures in three of his last four outings, including a game-high 18 points in the MAC tournament title game.
- McClellan has scored in double figures in 20 straight games.
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