Tag: Miami Basketball

Haley Cavinder unexpectedly de-committed from TCU to return to Miami alongside twin sister Hanna

Well, that escalated quickly.

In a sudden turn of events, Haley Cavinder will not be playing for TCU this season. She’s re-joining her sister, Hanna, in Miami. No, we are not joking.

If you’ve been following the story of the Cavinder twins, you might know that they retired from college basketball to pursue careers as influencers and then unretired to return to basketball. But their story took another unexpected twist on Thursday.

After Hanna Cavinder announced a return to Miami Hurricanes women’s basketball just a day ago, her twin sister, Haley — who originally announced that she was joining the TCU Horned Frogs in November — shared that she is NOT playing for TCU this season and will instead also return to Miami.

Here’s some of the rationale that Haley shared about her decision to team up with Hanna again:

“I’ve decided to return to the University of Miami and play with Hann for our final and fifth year. There is nothing more important than family and the bond I share with my twin sister. Being presented with the opportunity to play together one more time is something I cannot pass up.”

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Why Hanna Cavinder says she’s un-retiring from college basketball and returning to Miami

“I had a purpose before everyone had an opinion.”

Hanna Cavinder is un-retiring from basketball and going back to a place she knows best: Miami.

On Wednesday, Cavinder shared the news that, like twin sister Haley, she is re-joining the college basketball world. Hanna has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining and plans to return to Miami, where she spent the 2022-2023 season. During her time with the Hurricanes, she averaged 3.8 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists coming off the bench.

Hanna ultimately shared these words with her followers via social media:

“Over these past few months, I have been itching to get back to the game that I thought I lost the love and passion for. Nothing quite fills the void that this sport brings me.

With that all being said, I have decided to return for one more season. Let’s run it back, Miami. I had a purpose before everyone had an opinion.”

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The 1 women’s team from 2023’s Elite Eight that didn’t make this year’s tournament

Only one women’s team from last year’s Elite Eight missed this year’s tournament.

The 2024 women’s NCAA tournament field is set, and there are plenty of returning teams from last year’s Elite Eight.

Seven teams in total returned to contend for a national title this year, including Iowa, LSU, South Carolina, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Louisville and Maryland.

However, one team didn’t make the cut and opted not to participate in the WBIT this season, and that’s Miami.

Our Mitchell Northam named Miami as one of the three major snubs on the women’s side this year, a team that made it to the Elite Eight as a nine-seed last March.

The team lost to LSU in that tournament, who went on to win the national title.

Clemson drops but remains ranked in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll

After two losses, the Tigers have dropped spots in the latest Coaches Poll.

Brad Brownell and the Clemson men’s basketball team had a rough week, but the week wasn’t bad enough to move them out of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches poll.

Clemson (11-3, 1-2 ACC) has dropped from No. 16 to No. 22 in the latest Coaches Poll, with this week not turning out the way fans had hoped. It started with a 95-82 defeat at Miami on Wednesday, where the Tigers’ defense failed to play up to their standard. On Saturday, it was the offense that struggled as the Tigers fell to No. 7 North Carolina 65-55 on their home court.

Clemson will look to return to form as they travel to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech (9-5, 1-2 ACC) Wednesday.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 Purdue 14-1 788 —
2 Houston 14-0 762 +1
3 Kansas 13-1 754 -1
4 UConn 13-2 685 —
5 Tennessee 11-3 661 —
6 Kentucky 11-2 628 —
7 North Carolina 11-3 592 +2
8 Arizona 12-3 556 +2
9 Oklahoma 13-1 490 +2
10 Illinois 11-3 455 -2
11 Duke 11-3 446 +2
12 Marquette 11-4 428 -5
13 Memphis 13-2 410 +2
14 Baylor 12-2 378 +4
15 Wisconsin 11-3 341 +6
16 Auburn 12-2 301 +8
17 BYU 12-2 251 -5
18 Colorado State 13-2 221 -4
19 San Diego State 13-2 198 +6
20 Creighton 11-4 147 +6
21 Gonzaga 11-4 146 +4
22 Clemson 11-3 133 -6
23 Utah State 14-1 77 N/A
24 Ole Miss 13-1 77 -4
25 Florida Atlantic 11-4 58 -8

Schools Dropped Out

James Madison (20th), Texas (22nd), Providence (23rd)

Others Receiving Votes

Texas (55), Nevada (45), Cincinnati (36), Iowa State (33), Dayton (33), James Madison (32), Grand Canyon (30), Miami-FL (24), TCU (23), Wake Forest (21), Texas Tech (18), Ohio State (12), Seton Hall (11), Alabama (9), St. John’s (8), Providence (7), Michigan State (7), Indiana State (5), South Carolina (3), Princeton (2), Villanova (1), Northwestern (1), New Mexico (1)

How to Watch/Listen/Stream: No.16 Clemson at Miami

Here is all the information you need to watch No.16 Clemson vs. Miami on Wednesday.

No. 16 Clemson is set to resume ACC play on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. (EST) tipoff against Miami at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables. 

As far as marquee matchups go for the first full week of conference play are concerned, few are as anticipated as this one. 

Clemson (11-1 overall) enters 2024 with the best overall record in the ACC. Jim Larrañaga’s Miami program, which advanced to the Final Four a season ago, is second in the conference standings with an overall 10-2 mark. 

Both teams head into their first contest of the new year fresh off dominant victories to close out 2023. Miami posted a 95-55 blowout victory over North Florida on December 29. 

That same night, Clemson defeated Radford of the Big South Conference in a 93-58 rout at Littlejohn Arena for what was the Tigers’ 600th all-time win in the arena. Joe Girard had a game-high 24 points in the Tigers’ victory that night. 

Both Clemson and Miami are 1-0 in conference play, which began with a pair of contests on the first weekend of December. The Hurricanes defeated Notre Dame back on Dec. 2 in a 64-49 victory at home. 

Clemson played its first ACC contest of the season on December 3 when Girard led the Tigers to a hard-fought road victory at Pitt with 25 points. Clemson was ranked as high as No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll after a 9-0 start to the start of the season. 

Miami enters this week’s contest unranked but were previously slotted as high as No. 8 after the first four weeks of the season. Among ACC competition, only No. 8 North Carolina and No. 14 Duke are ranked higher than Clemson in the latest AP Top 25 poll, released on Monday. 

Clemson leads the all-time series with Miami, 17-16. The two schools last met on February 4, 2023 when Miami took home a 78-74 victory at Littlejohn Arena. 

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, stream and listen to Wednesday’s game. 

 

How To Watch: 

Date: Wednesday, Jan. 3

Time: 7 p.m. EST

Where: Watsco Center, Miami, Fla. 

TV Channel: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Radio Network | Varsity App 

Broadcast Teams

ESPN: Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas 

Clemson Radio Network: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Miami’s Nijel Pack broke a sneaker and sparked a Final Four catastrophe on the bench

Shoegate became a reality for Miami’s Nijel Pack during the Final Four.

Miami sophomore guard Nijel Pack ran into quite a conundrum during Saturday night’s 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four bout with Connecticut.

During the game’s second half, Pack’s shoe fell apart, and the team wasn’t able to locate him a replacement pair fast enough to quickly get him back out on the court.

The first pair the team found him didn’t fit, so Pack had to chill on the bench until someone on Miami’s staff could locate him the proper pair.

As you can probably guess, having one of your star players lose their shoes in the middle of a Final Four game is not ideal!

Thankfully for Pack and Miami, someone on the team’s staff hustled to make sure he eventually got the right fit.

Pack wound up getting a new pair of shoes and returned to the game. While it seems absolutely bizarre for a college basketball player in such a major moment to not have a backup pair of shoes to wear, we guess stranger things have happened.

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At the very least, any sort of comeback would’ve had quite the narrative segue if Pack played a major role.

UConn’s Jordan Hawkins and the 6 best NBA draft prospects playing in the Final Four

UConn’s Jordan Hawkins is a ready-to-play movement shooter perfect for the NBA.

This is a fascinating Final Four in the NCAA men’s tournament, especially because we may only have one first-round draft pick playing in either game.

Between the two matchups, UConn vs. Miami is the game to watch if you want to see likely future NBA players. Even if there aren’t many players selected in the first round, there are several who could find their way onto your favorite pro team.

Before the two games have their tipoffs in Houston on Saturday, these are the top NBA draft prospects you should keep your eyes peeled for whenever they are on the court.

NOTE: UConn’s Donovan Clingan would also make this list if he decides to declare for the 2023 NBA Draft.

The best takes and the sharpest bets on all the hoops storylines you need to know. Sign up for our Layup Lines newsletter, hitting your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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Report: Texas to offer head coaching position to Rodney Terry

Rodney Terry is expected to be the head coach of the Texas men’s basketball program.

Rodney Terry is expected to be the head coach of the Texas men’s basketball program. Reports circulated Sunday night that the Longhorns are expected to extend an offer to Terry following a strong season.

Texas finished the year 29-9 after advancing to its first Elite Eight in around 15 years. Three NCAA Tournament wins all but solidified Terry as the top candidate for the program.

We discussed the strong likelihood of his return last week. I called Terry the coach of the present and the future despite outside clamor over the lack of a contract extension for the new head coach. The athletic department looks to be silencing the noise.

The toughest season, and offseason for that matter, will likely be the first for Terry. Texas is set to lose Marcus Carr, Sir’Jabari Rice, Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop. The team could also lose Dylan Disu.

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The Longhorns need to win the transfer portal once again. It will likely take adding an impact guard and at least two post players. It appears Terry will get his shot. Now he must pass the next test.

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Texas interim coach Rodney Terry was moved to tears talking about how much he loved his team

Texas interim coach Rodney Terry clearly loves his team.

Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry became overwhelmed with emotion when he talked about how much it meant to him to coach this group of Longhorns.

After No. 2 Texas lost to No. 5 Miami, 88-81, on Sunday in the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight, Terry poured out his heart while talking about his love for this year’s Texas squad.

After taking over the program in December following the suspension and eventual firing of Chris Beard, Terry guided the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and to the Elite Eight of this year’s tournament. It was the school’s first Elite Eight berth since 2008.

It is currently unknown if Terry will assume permanent duties over the program, and he made sure during the postgame press conference to talk about how much he loved his players.

“I’m gonna love them for the rest of their lives,” an emotional Terry said after the game. “I’ll be at their weddings. I’ll be, you know, talking to those guys when they have their first born.”

Per KHOU-TV reporter Daniel Gotera, Texas guard Sir’Jabari Rice expressed his support for Terry being named the Longhorns’ permanent coach.

San Antonio Express-News columnist Mike Finger reported Terry’s comments on his future with the school and if the coach expects this will be known soon.

Miami ends Texas’ NCAA Tournament run, wins 87-81

A lackadaisical effort ends a terrific season for Texas basketball.

Miami is going to the Final Four. They do so at the expense of the Texas Longhorns.

Texas had an abhorrent day on both sides of the ball with lackadaisical ball security and low intelligence defensive play. Longhorn players got lulled to sleep defensively and Miami made them pay.

The Longhorns held as much as a 13-point lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game. From there, the team posted the most passive second half performance of the year.

Miami outscored Texas by 20 points in the final 12:37 of the game. Hurricanes guard Jordan Miller shot a scorching 7-for-7 from the field plus 13-of-13 from the free throw line to allow for consistent scoring. From there, Hurricanes star guard Isaiah Wong closed out the game.

In a rare occurrence, Texas head coach Rodney Terry got out-coached by his counterpart, Jim Larranaga. With that, the Longhorns’ impressive 2022-23 basketball season comes to an end.

Texas finishes with a 29-9 record on the year. Miami advances to face the Connecticut Huskies in the Final Four.

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