© William Purnell, USA TODAY
Longhorns Fall in Elite Eight Thriller After Miami Rallies Late
KANSAS CITY, MO. - The Texas Longhorns entered Sunday's Elite Eight matchup against the Miami Hurricanes at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City one win away from heading back to the Lone Star State to compete in the Final Four for the first time since 2003.
After a strong offensive showing in the first half, Texas had kept momentum going in the second and held a 64-51 lead with 12:37 to play, appearing just a few more buckets away from making it to Houston.
Instead, the Longhorns faltered in the closing stages in one of the biggest games in program history, eventually falling to Miami, 88-81 in a March Madness thriller.
"These guys more than any group I've worked with in 32 years of coaching have really embodied in terms of staying the course and being a team," Texas interim coach Rodney Terry said. "These guys were incredible teammates all year. They were so unselfish as a team,and they gave us everything they had."
With the game tied 75-75 with 3:57 left, the Hurricanes would go on to score all of their final 13 points from the foul line while the Texas offense became stagnant, leading to a painful loss and an end to a magical season.
"It was very upsetting," said Texas forward Brock Cunningham, who finished with seven points and eight rebounds. "This team dealt with a lot of trials and tribulations. It's just the family that we are. You want to keep playing with your brothers for as long as possible. Unfortunately, there's only one happy team at the end of it."
The Longhorns were led by Marcus Carr, who posted 17 points and six assists in the final game of his collegiate career. Timmy Allen sees his college career come to an end as well, totaling 16 points in the loss. Sir'Jabari Rice also played his final game of college, tallying 15 points off the bench.
Hurricanes guard Jordan Miller was sensational for Miami, leading all scorers with 27 points. He played a "perfect" game by making all seven of his field goal attempts and going 13 of 13 from the foul line.
"I've said it all season long, he's the most underrated player in the country because he's good at everything," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said of Miller.
All five Hurricane starters reached double figures in scoring. Norchad Omier posted 11 points and nine rebounds, while Isaiah Wong (14 points), Wooga Poplar (16 points, six rebounds) and Nijel Pack all had game-changing efforts, as the Miami bench only had five points.
Things were looking sweet from the Canes right off the bat, as they took a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes.
But Texas responded in a blink.
The Longhorns' defense stood strong, causing multiple misses at the rim in the handful of possessions to follow. This helped spark a 11-2 run, which was highlighted by a catch-and-shoot triple and one-dribble jumper from Rice. The Longhorns had taken an 11-9 lead with 14 minutes to play.
Then, Allen started to take over.
After Carr hit a triple to put Texas up 23-21 with 7:53 to play, Allen scored the next eight points for the Longhorns, getting to his spots in the mid-range and inside, pounding his chest in the process.
Miller stayed busy though, finding Wooga Poplar for a corner triple before punishing his way to the rim once again for his 12th and 13th point of the first half.
But then Texas freshman guard Arterio Morris, who had gone scoreless in the first three games of the tournament, came off the bench and hit back-to-back triples to give Texas a 39-35 with 1:18 to play in the half.
Texas headed into the half with a 45-37 lead.
The Longhorns started the final 20 minutes with a bang, as an alley-oop from freshman Dillon Mitchell highlighted the opening points of the half before Texas took advantage of back-to-back Miami turnovers to build a 6-0 run, taking a 53-41 lead.
The Canes responded with a mini 6-3 run to bring it back to single digits at 56-47, but another triple from Carr gave Texas a 12-point lead again.
After two more points from Pack at the foul line, Rice, who had been wincing in the Texas huddle with a wrap around his thigh, came in and hit his third triple of the game, giving the Longhorns their biggest lead of the game at 62-49 with 14:26 to play.
Miller and Poplar responded with back-to-back dunks while Texas went a bit cold from the field. After a few Miami free throws, the Canes had brought it back to a single-digit game at 67-58 with a little under 10 minutes to play.
Mitchell got on the highlight reel again with an emphatic alley-oop dunk after a long lob from Carr. Texas seemingly had all the momentum, maintaining a 70-60 lead
But after a quiet first half, Wong started to get his jumper going. After the Mitchell dunk, he and Poplar combined for Miami's next eight points, as the Canes went on a 13-2 run to take a 73-72 lead with 5:26 to play.
Hunter responded with a big catch-and-shoot triple to put Texas back in front, but Wong hit another bucket from mid-range to tie the game up again at 75-75 with 3:57 left.
Both sides went back-and-forth, as the game remained tied at 79-79. But after Pack missed a 3 that bounced high off the rim, Omier and Cunningham simultaneously went up for a rebound.
The two fell hard to the floor, as Omier was originally called for his fifth foul that would've sent him to the bench. However, after discussion, the officials changed the call as the foul went on Cunningham. Omier went to the foul line as a result and nailed both free throws with a minute left. Miami took an 81-79 lead that it didn't surrender for the remainder of the game.
The Longhorns had their chances.
However, the Hurricanes could hardly miss at the foul line in the closing minutes while Texas couldn't buy a bucket. This ultimately is how the game slowly ended, as the Longhorns saw their Final Four hopes slip from their fingertips.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here to Subscribe to the Longhorns Country Newsletter
Want even more Texas Longhorns? Check out the SI.com team page here
Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.
Make sure to subscribe to the Longhorns Country Podcast today! Click here To Listen.
