Miami basketball loss pain compared to other NCAA Tournament teams
Kyle Soppe of ESPN ranked the pain of the 66 teams that have lost in the NCAA Tournament entering the national championship. The Miami basketball team had a magical run through the 2023 NCAA Tournament that ended with its first Final Four appearance. Miami defeated three consecutive higher seeds to reach the Final Four.
The Hurricanes played against the highest possible seed in each game until West Regional Champion Connecticut who was a four seed eliminated Miami on Saturday. Miami defeated 12th-seeded Drake, fourth-seed Indiana, top-seed Houston and second-seed Texas on their road to Houston.
Miami inflicted pain on the Drake fan base and team who had the 19th most painful loss according to Soppe. Indiana was 20th, Houston was 11th and Texas was 14th. Miami advanced to the first round despite having a low probability to advance in each of its four wins in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Drake had a 90.5 percent chance to defeat Miami with an eight-point lead and 5:10 remaining in the game. Indiana had a 66.1 percent chance to defeat Miami with a 43-40 lead with 17:42 remaining in the second half. Houston’s highest peak was a 90 percent chance to win with a 2-0 lead and 18:09 left in the first half.
"13. Miami Hurricanes (No. 5 seed, Midwest)“How they lost: No. 4 seed UConn defeated the Hurricanes 72-59 in the Final Four.Peak win probability: 29.4%. In a wire-to-wire UConn effort, the Hurricanes thought about a run at the 8:23 mark in the first half. It didn’t come to fruition.How much it hurt: The Hurricanes’ first and only Final Four game didn’t go the way they wanted. But UConn proved its sheer dominance, and Miami, in all honesty, never really had a chance. South Florida can take heart that this was one of the best teams in the ACC, it pulled off some unlikely upsets and it made history for the school.Still, coming within a game of the national title game hurts a lot.”"
After falling behind 14-4 to begin the game Miami went on a 15-5 run to tie the game at 19 with 8:23 remaining in the first half. Connecticut had a 70.6 percent chance to defeat Miami at that point. The Huskies closed the half on an 18-5 run to take a 37-24 halftime lead that included a three-point shot at the buzzer.
Next. Miami basketball teams have bright future. dark
Jordan Miller said the Miami basketball team used the 2022 Elite Eight loss to Kansas to motivate them in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Miami should return at least three starters in 2023-24. The Hurricanes can hopefully use the loss to UConn in the 2023 National Semifinal. Miami basketball has a bright future.