Miami basketball opens NCAA Tournament versus Drake Friday

The Miami Basketball team will begin NCAA Tournament play on Friday at 7:25 PM in Albany versus Missouri Valley Tournament Champion Drake on TBS. There has been no update on if post Norchad Omier will be available on Friday. Omier rolled his ankle after playing one minute on Friday versus Duke.

Playing on Friday instead of Thursday will provide Omier with one extra day of rest.  Miami head coach Jim Larranaga said he preferred to play in Orlando. Larranaga was more concerned with location than the Miami seed. Miami is seeded fifth versus 12th-seeded Drake. This is the highest seed for Miami since 2016.

Miami was three seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament and lost in the South Regional Semifinal to eventual National Champion Villanova. This will be the first meeting between Miami and Drake. Drake won three MVC Tournament games by an average of 17 points. Drake is 22-7 overall and finished 15-5 during the regular season.

Drake was second in the MVC during the regular season one game behind Bradley and beat them in the title game. This is the second straight season Miami has earned an NCAA Tournament bid. Miami earned consecutive NCAA Tournament bids from 1998 through 2000 under Leonard Hamilton and in 2017 and 2018 under Larranaga.

The Miami basketball team previously advanced to the regional semifinals in 2000, 2013, 2016 and 2022. Miami has advanced to six NCAA Tournaments in 12 seasons under Jim Larranaga. The winner of Drake and Miami plays either Indiana or Kent State in the second round. This will be the first time Drake and Miami play.

The Miami women’s basketball team will open in the NCAA Tournament versus Oklahoma State in Bloomington, Indiana on Friday with the time to be announced. All women’s games are played on ESPN networks. If Miami defeats Oklahoma State they will play either Indiana, Monmouth or Tennessee Tech.