PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Maybe it was the technical against Miami coach Jim Larranaga. Maybe it was Sheldon McClellan repeatedly yelling in the huddle: “We’re not losing this game!”
Whatever it was, Angel Rodriguez made sure the Hurricanes would play another day.
The smallest guy on the court, Rodriguez played large on Saturday. He took over after Miami blew a 21-point lead he pretty much had created, hitting a big 3-pointer with 72 seconds remaining and scoring 28 points to lead the third-seeded Hurricanes over Wichita State 65-57 on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.
“There was a lot on the line. Obviously, everybody wants to advance,” said Rodriguez, who was 9-for-11 shooting and had five assists and four steals. “I just felt good. I had a really good energy about the team, not about me.”
The Hurricanes (27-7) will play either Iowa or Villanova next weekend in Louisville in the South Region semifinals.
Miami looked like the best defensive team around, building its big lead at the outset and went into the locker room at halftime with a 32-19 edge.
“Anytime you can’t get stops, it just takes your rhythm completely for the offensive end,” Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet said. “And they were making shots, so they were ultra-aggressive, and it was just not a good combination.”
Still, with so much at stake and their fans cheering “We shock! We shock!,” Wichita State erased the daunting deficit with a gutsy, 22-4 spurt by a team that won a play-in game and then upset sixth-seeded Arizona.
A steal and slam by Shaquille Morris pulled Wichita State within a basket and was more than enough for Larranaga, who protested a call and was given a technical.
Just more than a minute later, Ron Baker’s 3 with 10:25 left gave Wichita State a one-point lead, but the coach had sent a message with his tirade and the Hurricanes regrouped behind Rodriguez. It was just the second technical for Larranaga in five years with Miami.
“The way we were playing to start the second half, we had careless turnovers, we were very tentative, very unlike the way we played to start the game,” Larranaga said.
“And as they began to whittle down the lead, instead of getting tougher-minded and fighting harder, we tended to let up.
“I think it snapped our guys out of the doldrums and got them aggressive again, which I’d have to say was good timing. We were fortunate that the players responded that way.”
Sheldon McClellan had 18 points, and Davon Reed scored 10 for the Hurricanes, who made it to the round of 16 three years ago under Larranaga.
VanVleet had 12 points, and Baker scored 11 for 11th-seeded Wichita State (26-9). Morris also had 12 points.
After Baker’s 3 gave Wichita State its first lead, McClellan scored nine points and Reed hit a deep 3 from the wing for some separation.
McClellan nearly gave it away, though, when he failed to convert a lob from Rodriguez with 2:59 left and Miami clinging to a 55-51 lead.
Rodriguez came back with a stunning hook off the glass for a 57-53 lead with 2:05 left and followed with his clutch 3 from the wing.
KANSAS 73, CONNECTICUT 61
DES MOINES, Iowa — Wayne Selden, Jr., and Perry Ellis carried Kansas on a romp to the round of 16, combining for 43 points in a victory for the Jayhawks over Connecticut to hand Kevin Ollie his first NCAA tournament loss as head coach of the Huskies.
Selden had 22 points and seven rebounds, Ellis had 21 points and eight rebounds, and the No. 1 overall seed Jayhawks (32-4) advanced to the South Region semifinals.
Sterling Gibbs had 20 points for the No. 9 seed Huskies (25-11), who fell into an insurmountable deficit that reached 24 points in the first half.
First Published March 20, 2016, 4:12 a.m.
