By MIKE McCURRY
Miami went a long way toward solidifying an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament on Monday, rallying from nine points down to win at No. 18 Virginia, 54-48 in overtime.
Freshman Bruce Brown scored a team-high 14 points, including a three-pointer that put Miami ahead for good with 23.8 seconds left in the extra session.
CANES in OT!
Freshman Bruce Brown's only 3 of the game put @CanesHoops ahead of #18 UVA ?#MustSeeACC pic.twitter.com/nANgansqCJ
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) February 21, 2017
Making the Hurricanes’ win all the more impressive is that they were once again without Ja’Quan Newton, who was serving his third and final game of a suspension for a violation of team rules.
Miami went 3-0 without Newton, the team’s second-leading scorer (15.0 PPG) and leader in assists (3.6), previously collecting wins over Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Shortly after the victory, the junior point guard issued a contrite apology via his private Twitter account.
Ja'Quan Newton just Tweeted this: @HeraldSports @MiamiHerald @CanesHoops pic.twitter.com/vyAluZjPGK
— Michelle Kaufman (@kaufsports) February 21, 2017
It’s a sincere and classy gesture by Newton, who should be playing with a chip on his shoulder come Saturday when Miami hosts tenth-ranked Duke (4:00 p.m. ET, CBS).
The Hurricanes entered the day as a projected No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The win over Virginia gives them a second RPI Top-25 win, with the other coming in a home victory against UNC back in January.
Barring a collapse of epic proportions, Miami will be in the field for the second consecutive year.
Afterward, head coach Jim Larranaga joined his guys in the locker room for a little celebratory dancing, a likely precursor to what they’ll be doing next month. Presumably with one of their top players, Newton, back in the mix.
Locker room is lit. pic.twitter.com/8uN6NDQP1q
— Canes Hoops (@CanesHoops) February 21, 2017
Photo: AP
