It’s only a little bit of an act.

Deep down, Ward still plays with the anger that he’s had throughout his college career. A zero-star recruit coming out of high school, a product of a Wing-T offense, too short, too this, too that … Ward — who had his first spring game with the Hurricanes on Saturday after transferring in over the winter from Washington State — remembers every doubt that was cast his way.

“I carry all of that with me every day,” Ward said. “You’ve got to have something to keep you going. The time you get complacent, that’s the time you can let people pass you by.”

Ward has swagger, and that’s what the Hurricanes were looking for. There’s no FBS quarterback returning this season who averaged more yards in 2023 than Ward — his 311 yards per contest last year was behind only Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., Oregon’s Bo Nix and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU in the national rankings.

And of all the quarterbacks expected back in college football this fall, no matter the level, only Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel has passed for more yards than Ward. Miami’s new leader has thrown for 13,876 yards and 119 touchdowns in his four college seasons — the first two at FCS member Incarnate Word, the last two at Washington State.

“I think quickly, he earned trust,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “And he earned trust in the fact that he’s up there in the office every waking free moment that he has, and he gets there early, and he leaves late. He pulls aside the receivers and the tight ends and he watched film with them, and he takes the lineman out to eat, and he spends time with the running backs …

“Trust and confidence is earned. It’s not just given away. What he has done, he has earned — earned — the trust of the people around him because of his time invested and the fact that he’s an alpha. And your quarterback needs to be an alpha.”

It was not easy for Miami to land Ward when he entered the transfer portal last winter. Ward also was considering jumping to the NFL, thinking that would have made it easier for him to satisfy his primary goal of taking care of his parents, both diabetics who have made tons of sacrifices for him and never miss his games. And for a time, it looked like he was going the pro route.

Then one Saturday night, after a workout, Ward just made up his mind. He called Miami recruiting coordinator Stephen Field and said he’d be on campus the next day. Field thought he meant to visit. Ward told him it would be for a bit longer than that.

“I feel like this was the perfect spot where God is going to prosper me,” Ward said. “I did a lot in my journey to get here. But I feel like I still have more on the table. A lot hasn’t gone my way. I feel like that’s a good thing. All that’s going to help me now.”

Miami’s concepts on offense are consistent with what Ward likes. He studied the offensive line and saw how well it protected quarterbacks last season. And if all that wasn’t enough, one thing might have truly set Miami apart from other schools — he loves the fishing in South Florida.

Without even playing in a real game yet, Ward is already the unquestioned leader of the team. He’s taken his offensive line out to all-you-can-eat steak dinners and is looking for more places where he can bring the group. He has full command of the huddle. He throws passes to little kids after practices (and tried to sneak them some footballs, something Miami’s equipment staff didn’t think was a great idea). He’s even spoken directly with some Miami fans, making sure they know that he wants the Hurricanes to have a breakthrough season in 2024 just as badly as they do.

“We have unbelievable support here,” Ward said. “It’s family. We’re all family and they want us to be successful. They put a lot into us. We’ve got to show them it’s paying off. And winning takes care of a lot of things. If we win some football games, everyone’s going to be happy.”

Dunn is one of the biggest reasons why Cullop became a coach. So, it made sense that one day, she’d coach at Miami.

“It is a full-circle moment,” Cullop said Thursday at her introductory news conference with the Hurricanes, one coming about a week after she accepted the Miami job and ended a highly successful 16-year run at Toledo. Cullop won 353 games at Toledo, going 86-17 in the last three years.

High-major schools had come calling before over the years — Wisconsin and Michigan were mentioned as potential landing spots during Cullop’s tenure at Toledo — but no place had successfully lured her away from that program. And then Miami called. A deal got done within days.

“It was how she built the program that really stood out,” Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “She recruited well. She developed well. She scheduled tough. Her players performed in the classroom and connected with the community. She engaged the students, faculty, alumni, donors and media to create a gameday atmosphere second to none. In short, she continually delivered on the motto that drives her: to invest, improve and inspire.”

The first three recruits are already signed. Cullop announced that associate head coach Fitzroy Anthony — who is beloved by players — is returning, along with assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Lonnette Hall, and director of basketball operations Margie Gill. Miami had only 10 players take the floor this season; of those, it’s reasonable to think five or six will return as well.

Keeping Anthony was critical, Cullop said. She drove to Cleveland for the women’s Final Four last weekend not to see Caitlin Clark — but to convince Anthony to stay.

“I think I may have scared him a little bit because I was so intent on keeping him,” Cullop said.

At Miami, Cullop is replacing Katie Meier, who retired last month to end a 19-year stint where she led the program to the NCAA Tournament 10 times and guided the Hurricanes to the Elite Eight in 2023. Meier, the 2011 Associated Press Coach of the Year who had four years remaining on her contract with the Hurricanes, will remain with the university as a special adviser and ambassador for the athletic department. She was 362-208 at Miami.

Meier gave Cullop’s opening news conference high marks.

“Knocked it out of the park,” she wrote on X.

Cullop packed two bags for the move and is staying in a hotel for the time being. There’s no time to house-hunt yet — there’s a staff to finish hiring and a roster to continue filling. And she’s already picked up on one of Miami’s top selling points, that the university says it sees sunshine at least 284 days a year.

“Who can’t sell this? Any time I call recruits, all I have to do is walk outside and FaceTime or send them a couple of pictures,” Cullop said. “I mean, this is an unbelievable place.”

“I’m excited about that, just getting back to playing like myself and launching the ball downfield,” Van Dyke said Friday.

There’s no guarantee Van Dyke opens the season as the starter at his new school.

During spring practice, Van Dyke has been splitting first-team reps with Braedyn Locke, who started three games for Wisconsin in place of an injured Tanner Mordecai last season. Wisconsin’s only other quarterback with any college experience is Nick Evers, who appeared in one game with Oklahoma in 2022.

Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo described it as a wide-open competition.

“I think by the time spring ball is over or by the time we’re midway through August camp, anybody that knows anything that’s here is going to know who that guy is because he’s declared it himself with his execution,” Longo said.

Coach Luke Fickell believes the competition should accelerate Van Dyke’s growth in a new system.

“Working with a guy that’s been in the offense, that knows it like the back of his hand in Braedyn, I think that … puts a little bit more pressure on him (Van Dyke), but I think he’s done a great job,” Fickell said this week. “I think we’re going to see him kind of continue to come out of his shell, and not just as a football player, but as a leader as well.”

This marked the second straight offseason in which Fickell went to the transfer portal to find a quarterback with starting experience.

Mordecai was the Badgers’ clear-cut starter last year after throwing for a school-record 72 touchdowns at SMU from 2021-22. Mordecai ended up completing 65% of his passes for 2,065 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions in 10 games while helping Wisconsin go 7-6 in Fickell’s debut season.

Van Dyke’s track record at Miami is more of a mixed bag.

The 6-foot-4 quarterback started Miami’s final nine games in 2021 and was named the ACC rookie of the year. Van Dyke completed 62.3% of his passes for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and six interceptions.

After missing parts of six games due to a shoulder injury in 2022, Van Dyke dealt with hand and leg injuries while becoming more turnover-prone last year. His 12 interceptions in 2023 surpassed his 2021-22 combined total of 11.

After Van Dyke threw three interceptions and lost a fumble in a 20-6 loss to North Carolina State last fall, Miami opted to start Emory Williams instead against Florida State. Although he regained his starting spot once Williams suffered a season-ending arm injury in the loss to the Seminoles, Van Dyke entered the transfer portal at the end of the regular season.

“I think it was time,” Van Dyke said. “I had a lot of ups and downs at Miami. I think coming here’s a really good fresh start, especially with someone like coach Longo.”

Van Dyke’s accustomed to making new starts.

He played for different offensive coordinators each of the last three seasons at Miami. His 2021 breakthrough season came with Rhett Lashlee, who left after that year to become SMU’s head coach. Josh Gattis replaced Lashlee as Miami’s offensive coordinator but was fired after one season, with Shannon Dawson taking over.

“Learning a new offense, it’s old hat for him because he’s so used to doing it,” Longo said. “He’s done a really, really good job in a very short amount of time of understanding and learning the terminology and understanding how we run everything.”

Van Dyke noted he had his most success while playing for Lashlee, who operated more of an Air Raid type of offense. He believes that makes him a good fit for Longo’s own Air Raid attack.

He also has some familiarity with this place.

Van Dyke said he visited Wisconsin a couple of times when former Badgers coach Paul Chryst recruited him out of high school. He said growing up in Connecticut has helped him adjust to the changes associated with moving from Miami to Wisconsin.

“Totally different vibe here,” Van Dyke said. “More of a college feel than Miami was. Coming from Connecticut, it’s kind of the same type of vibe, weather-wise and living style.”

Meier, the 2011 Associated Press national coach of the year who had four years remaining on her contract with the Hurricanes, will remain with the university as a special adviser and ambassador for the athletic department. She coached at Miami for 19 seasons, going 362-208 in that span.

Her decision to retire — and it was her decision to move into a new role, an idea that she brought to the university herself — means Miami will have a new coach for only the second time in 36 years next season. Ferne Labati coached at Miami for 17 seasons before Meier was hired in 2005, and now the school will embark on a national search for a replacement.

“Nineteen years ago, I was offered my dream job to be the head coach of the University of Miami, and while I have absolutely loved living that dream, it is with a heart full of pride and gratitude that I announce my retirement from coaching,” Meier said. “Miami is an incredibly special place, and my journey here has been an honor and a privilege. Today is a day to celebrate and reflect on the amazing success that was achieved through collaboration with outstanding people.”

Meier spent 23 seasons as a head coach, the first four at Charlotte and the rest at Miami.

Among the duties that are envisioned in her new role: further help with fundraising for women’s programs, serving as a mentor and liaising with alumni. She has long been involved with fundraising at Miami, even making sizable donations herself and challenging others in the community to follow her lead to help women’s athletes at the school.

“Her list of accomplishments speaks for itself, but her legacy extends far beyond the court,” athletic director Dan Radakovich said. “She has been an incredible ambassador not only for Miami basketball but for the sport of women’s basketball and for the University of Miami. We are excited to continue working with Katie as a member of the Hurricanes family.”

Meier’s legacy is robust as both a player and a coach. Consider just her Atlantic Coast Conference accolades: rookie of the year at Duke in 1986, first-team All-ACC as a player in 1990, a member of the ACC’s 50th anniversary team, an ACC legend selection in 2006 and its women’s coach of the year in 2011.

She also went into Duke’s Hall of Honor in 2002, was named USA Basketball’s coach of the year in 2013 and became part of Miami’s Hall of Fame in 2017.

“Learning about who she is, the competitor she is, you can see why Miami was so attractive to us,” former Miami guard Hanna Cavinder said during the team’s run to the Elite Eight last season.

Under Meier, Miami made 91 appearances in the AP Top 25. As a No. 9 seed, the Hurricanes pulled off three upset wins in last season’s NCAA tournament — topping Oklahoma State, top-seeded Indiana and then Villanova, before falling to eventual national champion LSU in the regional final. It was the second consecutive season where Miami was ousted by the eventual NCAA titlist; South Carolina beat the Hurricanes in the second round of the 2022 tourney.

Meier often spoke about her upbringing and how that shaped her as a coach.

She never met her father; Gerry Meier, who played for Ray Meyer at DePaul, died in a plane crash four months before she was born. Meier’s mother eventually married a widowed man and each brought four kids into what she has called “a Brady Bunch family.”

There was personal tragedy along the way as well. Meier has worn a pin with “43″ to every game for the last decade as a tribute to the jersey number of her nephew Philip Lutzenkirchen, a tight end at Auburn who died in June 2014 in a car crash in which he was a passenger but not wearing a seat belt. The family started the Lutzie 43 Foundation in his memory, trying to inspire people to make better decisions as drivers and friends.

Jamir Watkins added 16 points and 11 rebounds, Jalen Warley added 13 points and Cam Corhen 10 for the Seminoles (16-15, 10-10 ACC), who also beat Miami 84-75 on Jan. 17.

Bensley Joseph scored 17 points and Norchad Omier had 16 points and 17 rebounds for Miami (15-16, 6-14), which lost its ninth straight. Matthew Cleveland also scored 16 points and Wooga Poplar added 12.

Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton won his 192nd career ACC regular-season game, moving into a tie for fourth place in conference history with former Maryland coach Gary Williams (1990-2011).

An 8-0 run gave Miami a three-point lead midway through the second half but Primo Spears hit a 3-pointer early in a 12-2 run that Green capped with his eighth 3-pointer and the Seminoles had an seven-point edge. Miami got as close as four but Watkins’ slam made it an eight-point lead in the final minute.

Florida State led 37-32 at halftime behind 12 points from Green despite shooting only 35%. The Seminoles had a 12-4 edge on the offensive boards and took 16 more shots than Miami.

Neither team led by more than six in the first half with baskets by Spears and Corhen to end the half giving FSU the five-point lead.

Miami was without injured Nijel Pack, averaging over 13 points a game, for the fifth time in the last six contests.

Davis poured in four straight 3-pointers during a riveting second-half stretch on his way to a career-high 42 points, and No. 9 North Carolina held off skidding Miami 75-71 on Monday night.

“I kind of felt good most of the game,” Davis said. “Came out hot. I told myself since I had a good first half to continue to stay on it. I was aggressive and shots were falling. For me to have a performance like that tonight means the world to me.”

Davis, a senior guard who set a single-game Smith Center scoring record, had 21 points in each half. He picked up the pace with a dazzling display with less than 7 1/2 minutes to play, and ended up shooting 7 for 11 on 3s.

The only player for the Tar Heels (22-6, 14-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) to score in double figures, Davis went 1 for 2 at the free-throw line with 24.4 seconds remaining to give UNC a 73-70 advantage.

“It wasn’t just his points,” coach Hubert Davis said. “I thought he was great defensively, took care of the ball. We needed every bit of his 42.”

Norchad Omier had 22 points, Bensley Joseph scored 21 and Kyshawn George added 14 to lead Miami (15-14, 6-12), which lost its seventh game in a row.

Omier missed a hook shot in the lane that could have tied it with about 45 seconds left. Then twice in the last 25 seconds, North Carolina secured offensive rebounds off missed free throws.

“That was a valiant effort on our part,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said. “RJ Davis had an answer every time we made a run.”

North Carolina, with three regular-season games remaining, stretched its ACC lead to 1 1/2 games over second-place Duke.

Davis racked up the most points for a Tar Heels player since Shammond Williams scored 42 in a 1998 double-overtime win at Georgia Tech.

“He put us on his back and took over the game,” forward Harrison Ingram said. “RJ took the ball and (let’s) see what he does.”

Miami got close after trailing 64-50, even with Davis completing his outburst with four 3-pointers in slightly more than three minutes for a 13-point lead before the four-minute mark.

“I’m just locked in, just confident in myself and my shot,” he said.

Earlier in the second half, North Carolina went ahead 50-38 before Miami rattled off the next eight points.

Davis, who has scored 20 or more points in a half four times this season, propelled the Tar Heels to a 37-32 lead at the break. He scored 18 of North Carolina’s first 28 points.

Davis was coming off his second-lowest point total (12) of the season Saturday at Virginia.

“I believe in myself,” he said. “I believe in my work, and coming into this game I knew I was going to be good in terms of shooting the ball.”

The game marked the largest gap in North Carolina history between its leading scorer and second-leading scorer (Ingram had eight points).

TIP-INS

The previous arena record was 40 points by former Tar Heels All-American Tyler Hansbrough against Georgia Tech in 2006. … Miami guards Wooga Poplar and Nigel Pack weren’t in uniform because of lower-body injuries. Poplar has started 26 games this season. Pack sat out his fourth straight.

BIG PICTURE

Miami: The Hurricanes were already assured a losing conference record for the fourth time in six seasons. They fell to 1-4 against AP Top 25 teams this season.

North Carolina: Began a three-game homestand and gave Hubert Davis a victory in his 100th game (71-29) as head coach. It took time for the energy level to rise in the building, but RJ Davis made sure to provide enough thrills.

Kelly was 7 of 11 from the arc with seven rebounds for the Yellow Jackets (12-16, 5-12 ACC), who won for just the second time in seven games.

Kowacie Reeves Jr. added 15 points and seven boards and Kyle Sturdivant had 10 points including four free throws over the final 40 seconds — the Yellow Jackets’ only points over the final seven minutes when they saw a 13-point lead cut to 78-76 after Bensley Joseph’s 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining.

Joseph and Kyshawn George hit four 3-pointers apiece in each scoring 16 points for Miami (15-13, 6-11), which has lost seven straight. Wooga Poplar added 14 points and seven rebounds and Matthew Cleveland scored 10 points. Norchad Omier, Miami’s leading scorer and rebounder finished with seven points and six boards.

Georgia Tech tied a season high with 15 3s on 34 attempts. Miami made 13 of 36.

The Yellow Jackets committed six turnovers in the final four minutes and missed their final seven shots but after the Hurricanes got within three they went 1 of 7 over the final three minutes.

Tafara Gapare drove the lane for a dunk, Kelly hit a 3-pointer and Reeves had a transition dunk off a long bounce pass from Gapare that threaded the defense to open the second half as Georgia Tech outscored Miami 23-7 and lead by 12 midway through the period.

A 9-2 run capped by Poplar’s 3-pointer with four minutes left gave Miami a lead the Hurricanes took into the half, up 49-45.

Miami is at No. 10 North Carolina on Monday. Georgia Tech is host to Florida State next Saturday.

Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell each had 15 points for the Blue Devils (21-5, 12-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their fifth straight and 16th of 18.

Duke’s Tyrese Proctor returned from a one-game absence on concussion protocol and scored 12 points in 23 minutes while Caleb Foster added 11.

The Blue Devils hit 13 of 29 3-pointers for their second consecutive game with double-digit conversions from behind the arc. They made 10 from 3-point range against Florida State on Saturday.

Wooga Poplar and Bensley Joseph finished with 15 points each for the Hurricanes (15-12, 6-10) who shot 31% from the field and lost their fifth straight. It is their longest skid since a six-game slide in Febraury and March 2021.

Consecutive 3-pointers from Foster keyed a 13-0 run and put Duke ahead 29-14 midway through the first half. Roach’s 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining in the half made it 38-18.

Duke increased the lead to 54-31 on Foster’s 3-pointer 4:54 into the second half and Miami got no closer than 58-41 on Poplar’s two free throws with 15:59 remaining.

Miami was without second and third leading scorers Matthew Cleveland and Nijel Pack. Cleveland participated in pregame warmups but didn’t play because of illness while a lower extremity injury sidelined Pack for the second straight game.

BIG PICTURE

Duke: The Watsco Center had not been a friendly site for the Blue Devils lately. The win was Duke’s first on the Hurricanes’ home floor since Jan. 4, 2020.

Miami: With its NCAA tournament hopes likely limited to winning the conference tournament next month, the Hurricanes are now seeking to avoid the 10th through 15th seeds that will require the daunting task of winning five straight needed for such a run. The loss dropped Miami to 12th in the conference, a half game behind Boston College.

UP NEXT

Duke: Concludes a three-game road stretch Saturday at Wake Forest.

Miami: hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Madsen was 8-of-15 shooting, making 7 of 12 from the arc. Seven-footer Post was 7 of 13 and stepped out to hit a trio of 3s. Claudell Harris Jr. scored 15 points, including the go-ahead basket with three minutes left, and grabbed nine rebounds. Jaeden Zackery scored 11 points with seven assists and Devin McGlockton had 10 rebounds to go with six points.

Norchad Omier and Matthew Cleveland scored 20 points each, Bensley Joseph, who started in place of Nijel Pack (knee soreness), added 13 points and Wooga Poplar had 12 for the Hurricanes (15-11, 6-9 ACC), who have lost four straight.

Both teams shot 50% from 3-point range, BC (15-10, 16-8) making 15 of 30 and Miami 13 of 26. The Eagles’ advantage came on the offensive boards where they were plus-seven to outscore Miami 15-6 on second-chance points.

One of those offensive rebounds came when Harris was blocked underneath but was able to follow up for a 74-73 lead. The bucket came in the middle of a 17-4 run over the final five minutes. Madsen hit his seventh 3-pointer after Harris’ basket and his two free throws with 13 seconds left completed the run.

The game was tied at 41-all at halftime. Cleveland and Joseph had 10 points each for the Hurricanes, while Post had 16 for BC.

At halftime, Boston College retired the jersey of John Austin, the first African American to play for the Eagles (1963-66) and the first BC player to earn All-America honors. He died in 2020

BC is at Florida State on Tuesday. Miami is home against Duke on Wednesday.

Virginia (18-5, 9-3 ACC) has won seven straight games overall, the longest active streak in the conference. The Cavaliers improved to 114-2 when allowing 50 points or fewer in the Tony Bennett era.

It was Miami’s fewest points scored in any game since 1985. It was also the program’s fewest in an ACC game, with the previous low of 40 set on Feb. 25, 2014, at Virginia.

Beekman gave Virginia a double-digit lead with 4:08 remaining in the first half and Miami trailed by at least 12 the entire second half. The Cavaliers started the second half with an 18-4 run, and then held Miami to just five field goals the rest of the way.

Miami finished 14 for 49 (28.6%) from the field, including going 0 for 10 from distance in the second half.

Isaac McKneely had nine points, six rebounds and four assists for Virginia. Ryan Dunn added eight points and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers had 20 assists on 26 field goals.

Norchad Omier had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season for Miami (15-8, 6-6). Wooga Poplar added eight points.

Virginia goes on the road to play Florida State on Saturday. Miami hosts No. 3 North Carolina on Saturday.

Norchad Omier and Kyshawn George led Miami with 16 points each. Nijel Pack and Bensley Joseph added 14 each.

The Hurricanes trailed by 10 points near the 12-minute mark of the second half. A 9-0 Miami run that started with a layup from Joseph and finished with a 3-pointer by Joseph gave the Hurricanes (15-7, 6-5 ACC) their first lead in 19 minutes of play, 60-59 with 6:47 remaining.

The Hokies (13-9, 5-6) responded with a couple of free throws from Hunter Cattoor and back-to-back baskets by Sean Pedulla for a 65-60 advantage. Miami responded defensively and forced a series of turnovers by the Hokies as Pedulla had four of them and the Hokies attempted only three shots in the next 4 1/2 minutes. A dunk by Cleveland capped a 9-0 run that gave Miami a 75-67 lead with 58 seconds remaining.

The Hurricanes outscored the visitors by 11 points at the free-throw line in the first 34 minutes and the advantage grew down the stretch when Virginia Tech chose to foul four times in the final minute. Miami made 7 of 8 free throws in the final 49 seconds and was 27-for-29 in the game. Virginia Tech made 7 of 14 from the line.

Pedulla scored 21 points and Cattoor had 19 points for the Hokies. Robbie Beran and Tyler Nickel scored 10 each.

With the exception of three ties, Miami held the lead for the first 14 1/2 minutes of the game before a jumper from Lynn Kidd gave the Hokies their first lead, 24-23. After Miami went back ahead 25-24, the Hokies got a 3-pointer from Nickel and two from Cattoor to go ahead 33-25 on the way to a 35-26 halftime lead.

The Hokies outshot the Hurricanes 46.7% to 34.6% in the first half and had advantages of 11-2 in points after turnovers, 11-0 in bench points and 18-4 in points in the paint.

Miami plays at Virginia on Monday. The Hokies play at Notre Dame Feb. 10.

Out of a timeout and down 70-68 with 10.3 seconds left, Pitt’s Jaland Lowe fielded the ball in the backcourt off the inbound and drove left. Omier picked him up off a screen and deflected his flailing shot attempt as he tried to draw the foul against Omier who has a four-inch height advantage over the 6-foot-3 Lowe.

Kyshawn George made two foul shots for Miami (14-6, 5-4 ACC) with 1.8 seconds left for the game’s final margin. The Hurricanes have won two straight following back-to-back losses.

Pitt’s loss ended its two-game win streak.

George’s 3-pointer with 13:20 remaining put the Hurricanes ahead 56-37. But the Panthers began their methodical return and with 4:11 left, Blake Hinson buried a 3 to reduce the Panthers’ deficit to 64-55.

Carlton Carrington made a jump shot, Lowe made a 3 followed by one from Ishmael Leggett and Lowe made two foul shots and Miami led 68-65 with 1:23 left.

Wooga Poplar’s jumper gave Miami a five-point lead before Lowe’s 3 with 46 seconds left. Poplar missed a 3 out of Pitt’s immediate timeout after Lowe’s 3 to set up the final 10 seconds.

Nigel Pack and Poplar each scored 17 points for Miami and George scored 11.

Hinson led Pitt (12-8, 3-6) with 21 points, Lowe 17 and reserve Leggett 14.

Miami capitalized on Pitt’s 1-for-10 shooting spell in the first half and went on an 11-1 run for a 25-14 lead with consecutive 3-pointers from Poplar with 8:48 before halftime.

Pitt hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday. Miami travels to North Carolina State on Tuesday.

Omier made 12 of 14 shots that included six dunks and two 3-pointers. He added 7 of 9 from the line. Kyshawn George added 11 points and Nijel Pack and Bensley Joseph scored 10 each for Miami (13-6, 4-4 ACC).

The Fighting Irish opened the second half on an 11-2 run and took a one-point lead with 15 minutes remaining. Omier scored eight of Miami’s first 10 points of the half.

Notre Dame took its final lead at 52-49 on a 3-pointer by J.R. Konieczny with 9 1/2 minutes to go. The Fighting Irish made three baskets in the final 9 1/2 minutes.

Markus Burton scored 15 points and Konieczny added 13 for Notre Dame (7-12, 2-6). Braeden Shrewsberry finished with 10.

Burton scored eight straight points for Notre Dame to get the Fighting Irish within 26-24 with seven minutes to go in the first half. Omier then scored on three consecutive dunks and Miami closed the half with an 11-5 run for a 37-29 lead. He made 8 of 10 field goals in the half and scored 20 points.

Notre Dame wore all green uniforms in their annual Irish Wear Green game.

The Hurricanes swept the season series. They were ranked No. 8 when they defeated Notre Dame 62-49 in early December.

Miami hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday and Notre Dame hosts Boston College on Saturday. It’s a quick turnaround, as Boston College defeated Notre Dame 63-59 on Monday.

On the play, Judah Mintz got stopped on his drive to the right then threw a cross-court past to an open Copeland who buried just his sixth 3-pointer of the season. The basket equaled the largest lead of the game for the Orange.

Syracuse is (13-5, 4-3 ACC) undefeated at home (9-0) for the first time in nine seasons.

Miami (12-6, 3-4) led most of the game but never by more than eight. The Hurricanes entered having won the last three in the series by a total of eight points.

JJ Starling led Syracuse with 22 points, Chris Bell had 12 and Copeland 11. Mintz had 10 points and a career-high 13 assists and Malik Brown 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Nijel Pack had 19 points to surpass 1,500 for his career to lead the Hurricanes. Matt Cleveland had 16 with 12 rebounds and Kyshawn George had 10 as the freshman scored Miami’s last seven points.

The Hurricanes were without Norchard Omier, their leading scorer and rebounder, who was out with an undisclosed lower body injury.

Wooga Poplar hit a 3 and Cleveland followed with a dunk for a 55-48 Miami lead with 7:47 left. Starling’s 3-pointer tied the game at 59, and after a 3 by Miami’s Bensley Joseph, Bell had a 3 and Brown made a dunk for a 64-62 Syracuse lead. The Orange had not led since 21-20.

George tied it with a layup and made another after Copeland’s layup.

Starling hit his sixth 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:55 to go, but George banked in a deep straightway 3 at 1:17.

Both teams missed setting up Copeland’s heroics for Syracuse’s first buzzer-beating win since a 78-75 win over Duke on Feb. 22 2017.

Miami shot 49% but was 8 of 23 from 3-point range and just 3 of 5 from the foul line. Syracuse shot 40% but was 12 of 32 on 3s and 10 of 15 on free throws.

Cleveland hit 5 of 8 shots and scored 10 points to help Miami pull out a 31-30 lead at the half. The Hurricanes shot 51% despite going 1 of 9 from 3-point range. Syracuse shot better from long range (6 of 17) than inside the arc (5 of 15). Starling led the way, going 3 of 5 behind the arc.

There were five ties and four lead changes. Starling’s 3-pointer gave Syracuse a 21-20 lead but Pack answered that and also had a layup as the Hurricanes scored nine straight for a 29-21 lead, the largest of the game to that point. Bell and Starling drained 3’s and after Cleveland’s dunk, Benny Williams made a 3 to make it a one-point game at the break.

Florida State is at Syracuse on Tuesday, Miami is at Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Roberts and Day-Wilson both shot 7 of 14 from the field as the Hurricanes (12-5, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) built an early double-digit lead.

N.C. State (15-2, 3-2) rallied from a 14-point deficit early in the third quarter to cut it to 56-50 on Mimi Collins’ two free throws with 5:59 remaining in the fourth. But the Hurricanes responded with a 14-2 run capped by Dwyer’s 3-pointer with 2:05 left for a 70-52 lead.

“We made big plays, players had special performances and no one deferred. Their job was to finish the play,” Miami coach Katie Meier said. “I know we caught N.C. State not on their greatest game in the world but we had a lot to do with it.”

The Hurricanes were 10-1 before losing four of five to start conference play.

“The ACC is a hard league and we couldn’t hold our heads down too long over the losses,” Roberts said. “Everyone just locked in and was committed to each other. For it to all come together tonight — everybody’s hitting their shots, dialed in on defense — it was a good feeling.”

Collins scored 18 points, Saniya Rivers added 17 and Zoe Brooks had 14 for the Wolfpack.

“We’re going to get everybody’s A game,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “Although we’re probably not going to be ranked as high now, when you come in here ranked fourth in the country you’re going to get hit in the mouth a few times. And you have to respond to that and we didn’t. We didn’t play hard enough.”

Miami capitalized on the absence of 6-foot-5 N.C. State center River Baldwin by outscoring the Wolfpack 38-16 in the paint. Baldwin, who averages a team-leading 17.5 points per game, missed her third straight game because of an ankle injury.

After shooting under 20% on 3-pointers in their previous two games, the Hurricanes opened by hitting three of their first four against N.C. State. Consecutive 3-pointers by Day-Wilson and Roberts keyed a 10-0 run to end the first quarter and put Miami ahead 21-10.

The Wolfpack couldn’t counter with an extended run to overcome the early deficit.

“That’s credit to our defense,” Roberts said. “Even when we didn’t score, we were still able to keep them from scoring.”

Dwyer’s layup with 31 seconds remaining gave Miami its third 14-point lead of the second quarter at 43-29 before Collins’ 3-pointer got the Wolfpack within 11 at the break.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. State: The weeklong layoff between games perhaps affected the Wolfpack early on. They shot 4 for 20 from the field and had five turnovers in the first quarter. N.C. State used its open date Sunday after beating Virginia 93-66 on Jan. 11.

Miami: The win closed the Hurricanes’ three-game stretch against top 25 teams. They also had double-digit road losses at No. 14 Virginia Tech and No. 19 Notre Dame.

UP NEXT

N.C. State: hosts Duke on Sunday.

Miami: visits North Carolina Jan. 25.

He is believed to be the first with a ninth season granted by the NCAA. McCormick’s career was derailed multiple times by season-ending injuries, some of which earned him a medical redshirt from the NCAA, and all players who participated in college athletics in 2020 got another year of eligibility because of the pandemic.

McCormick spent the first seven of his college seasons at Oregon, transferred to Miami for the 2023 season and will keep playing in 2024.

East Tennessee State said former linebacker Jared Folks was the NCAA’s first eighth-year player when he played for the Bucs in 2021. There have been multiple athletes with seven years of college eligibility, including Isis Young — a women’s basketball player who appeared for Florida, Fordham, Syracuse and Siena over her seven seasons and decided against getting an eighth year.

But McCormick — who has undergone at least six surgeries because of football injuries — seems to be the first with nine, and certainly the first at the major college football level.

He missed most of his senior season of high school in 2015 because of an injury, then redshirted after enrolling at Oregon in 2016 and appeared in all 13 of Oregon’s games in 2017. Over the next four years, he played in exactly three games.

McCormick played in one game before a season-ending injury in 2018, missed all of the 2019 season with injury, missed the 2020 season because of injury and the pandemic, and then played in two games in 2021 before another season-ending injury.

But he made it through the 2022 season at Oregon, the 2023 season at Miami and now will try for one more year. He has played for five different head coaches and caught passes from six different quarterbacks in college; the first one he caught a pass from was Justin Herbert, who has already been in the NFL for four seasons.

Cohen made all seven of his shot attempts while Jamir Watkins scored 15 points and Deante Green scored 10. The Seminoles (11-6, 5-1 ACC) have won five straight and seven of their last eight following a four-game losing streak. The Seminoles are tied for second in the conference with North Carolina State.

Nigel Pack led Miami with 19 points, Norchad Omier and Wooga Poplar each scored 15 and Bensley Joseph 10 for the Hurricanes (12-5, 3-3). Miami has lost three of its last four.

Pack sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around a layup from Joseph in a 1:02 span in the second half to cap a 20-6 Miami spurt that reduced the Hurricanes’ deficit to 59-57 with 11:22 remaining. Miami got within 62-60 less than a minute later and 73-71 with 4:59 left but couldn’t get closer. Pack’s basket with 2:28 served as Miami’s final points and reduced its deficit to 79-75. Miami missed its last four shot attempts and final two foul shots.

AJ Casey made a layup to bring Miami within 19-17 with 12:41 before halftime. From there, the Seminoles outscored Miami 24-11 over a little more than the next 10 minutes and were up 43-28 with 2:26 before halftime. Miami closed with 7-2 run into intermission to reduce its deficit to 45-35.

Florida State opened the second half with an 8-2 run in the first three minutes and held its largest lead to that point at 53-37.

Florida State next tries to tackle Clemson at home on Saturday. Miami heads to Syracuse on Saturday.

Sean Pedulla’s 3-pointer with 21.5 seconds left pulled Virginia Tech within 74-71. The Hokies forced a turnover on the next possession, but MJ Collins missed a potential game-tying 3 with seven seconds to go.

A pair of Pedulla free throws gave the Hokies their last lead, 54-53, with 7:55 to play. The game was tied three more times, the last at 66-all with 2:45 remaining.

Cleveland and Pack shot a combined 14 of 23 from the field. Pack made three 3-pointers to go with a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. Wooga Poplar added 11 points, also making three from distance for Miami (12-4, 3-2 ACC).

The Hurricanes shot 65% (15 of 23) from the floor in the second half, hitting six 3s and 10 of 14 from the free-throw line.

Pedulla, who averaged 29 points in his last two outings, had career highs with 33 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second career double-double. Lynn Kidd added 16 points for the Hokies (10-6, 2-3).

Pedulla scored 16 of Virginia Tech’s 30 first-half points as the Hokies took a one-point lead into the break. Cleveland scored 12 points and Pack had 10 for Miami.

Virginia Tech, which beat No. 21 Clemson 87-72 on Wednesday, has now lost three of its last four games.

Miami hosts Florida State on Wednesday.

Virginia Tech is on the road against Virginia on Wednesday.

Louisville (6-9, 1-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which also ended a three-game skid overall, won its first game at Miami since 2019.

Curtis Williams made a pair of 3-pointers for Louisville to bookend a 10-1 surge that tied it 57-all midway through the second half. The game was tied five more times, the last at 71-all on Mathew Cleveland’s alley-oop dunk for Miami, with 3:28 remaining.

Louisville ended the game by making 7 of 8 from the free-throw line. Miami missed its last seven field goals.

James was 8 of 12 from the floor, with five 3-pointers, and 5 of 6 at the free-throw line. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield added 22 points and nine rebounds for Louisville. Williams chipped in three from long range and finished with 13 points.

Cleveland scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Miami (11-3, 2-1), which has lost two consecutive games since its 95-82 win against then-No. 16 Clemson. Wooga Poplar added 18 points and had four from long range.

Poplar made three 3-pointers and scored 13 points in the first half to help Miami build a 41-37 advantage. The Hurricanes scored 17 points from 11 Louisville turnovers. The Hurricanes opened the second on a 15-10 spurt for a 56-47 lead — their largest advantage of the game.

Miami, which entered shooting a nation-best 42% from distance, shot 32% (11 of 34) against the Cardinals.

Louisville hosts North Carolina State on Saturday.

Miami is on the road against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

Wake Forest (11-3, 3-0) is now 9-0 on its home court and its nine-game win streak is the program’s longest since 2008-09, when the Deacons won 16 straight games. Fresh off a 95-82 victory over No. 16 Clemson, the Hurricanes (11-3, 2-1) saw their four-game win streak end.

With the game tied at 78-78, Andrew Carr missed a jumper for Wake Forest, but Efton Reid III batted the offensive rebound toward the top of the key. Miller stretched high to snare the pass, settled and stroked the deep 3-pointer for the lead with 1:38 left. Norchad Omier hit a pair of free throws to get the Hurricanes within a point, but Hunter Sallis knocked down a 3 with :25 remaining to push the lead to four, 84-80. Omier scored at the basket, but Miller drew a foul and hit both free throws to set the final margin.

Miller hit 10 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 3 from long range, to score a career-high 27 points. Cameron Hildreth, who hit four 3-pointers in the first half to spark the Deacons to a 44-37 lead at the break, finished with 23 points, hitting 5 of 8 from deep and going 8-for-8 shooting from the line. Sallis had 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Read pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked five shots.

Freshman Kyshawn George had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Miami. Omier had 20 points, 13 rebounds and three steals. Matthew Cleveland had 17 points and Nijel Pack added 15 points and four assists.

Wake Forest plays at Florida State Tuesday. Miami hosts Louisville Wednesday.

Nijel Pack scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half in his return to the lineup after a two-week injury absence, Matthew Cleveland and Norchad Omier each added 23 and Miami beat No. 16 Clemson 95-82 on Wednesday night to improve to 9-0 at home this season.

The secret: Miami made 18 of its final 22 shots, fueling a 60-point second half against a Clemson team that came into the night giving up 69.2 per game.

“Maybe as bad a defensive half as I’ve had as a coach,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.

On the flip side, Miami coach Jim Larrañaga wondered if it was a first in his career — three players scoring at least 23 points in the same game. It hadn’t happened in his Miami tenure; there was a night in 1997 when his son Jay scored 40 and Antonio Daniels added 30 for Larrañaga’s Bowling Green team in a win over Akron.

“I think it’s the first time in 50 years with me,” Larrañaga said.

Kyshawn George and Bensley Joseph each added 12 for the Hurricanes (11-2, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who are 7-3 against ranked opponents since the start of last season. Pack scored 13 of Miami’s points in a 21-6 run that gave the Hurricanes a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left, and Clemson never caught them.

Joseph Girard III scored 18 points and PJ Hall scored 17 before fouling out for Clemson (11-2, 1-1). Chase Hunter scored 16 for the Tigers — who led by six at the half, by eight early in the second half and were seeking their first 12-1 start since the 2017-18 season.

Instead, the defense simply fell apart. Miami wound up shooting 75% — 21 for 28 — in the final 20 minutes.

“Just lost our flow, really on both ends, in the second half,” Brownell said.

And it was with a new lineup for the Hurricanes. Wooga Poplar, Miami’s second-leading scorer, missed the game with a sprained ankle. George started in his place and got all 12 of his points on 3-pointers.

Chauncey Wiggins scored 12 and Ian Schieffelin had 11 for Clemson.

BIG PICTURE

Clemson: No active player has more points against Miami than Girard, who has scored 118 in his six career appearances against the Hurricanes. He scored 100 in five games against Miami when he was at Syracuse. Girard, who is New York’s all-time leading high school scorer — his 4,763 points at Glens Falls High is about 1,800 more than anyone else in state history — considered Miami before signing with Syracuse.

Miami: Poplar’s streak of 54 consecutive games ended, and the Hurricanes used their third starting lineup of the season — matching their total from all of last season. Poplar had started 48 of 49 games in the last two seasons; the exception was last season’s home finale when Miami paid tribute to its seniors. Poplar was unfazed, making six 3-pointers as Miami won to clinch the No. 1 seed in the ACC.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Clemson has appeared in each of the last five polls and a loss on the road to a team that was ranked as high as No. 8 earlier this season likely won’t knock the Tigers out of the rankings. But the North Carolina game on Saturday will surely play a major role in the decisions of voters before the next poll comes out Monday.

Nyla Harris had 13 points — nine in the first quarter — and 12 rebounds for Louisville (12-2), Kiki Jefferson scored 12 and Olivia Cochran finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Ja’Leah Williams hit from behind the arc to give Miami a four-point lead with 6:57 to play, Russell answered with a 3-pointer 18 seconds later. She added two more 3s and a pair of free throws before Harris made a layup with 55 seconds left to cap a 13-5 run that gave the Cardinals a 73-69 lead. Lemyah Hylton made a layup, but Nina Rickards hit a pull-up jumper from the left elbow with 13 seconds left. Williams made the second of two free throws to make it 75-72 about nine seconds later and Cochran capped the scoring with two foul shots.

Hylton led Miami (10-2) with 12 points and Williams scored eight of her 11 in the fourth quarter. Shayeann Day-Wilson, Lashae Dwyer and Jasmyne Roberts added 10 points apiece.

Louisville made 28 of 56 from the field, shot 56% (5 of 9) from 3-point range and made as many free throws (16) as Miami attempted.

The teams combined for 42 turnovers and 41 personal fouls.

Louisville returns home to face Duke on Thursday. Miami plays at Boston College on Thursday.

Omier scored 14 points in the opening 10 minutes to help Miami build a 27-14 lead. Omier made his first six shots, including a 3-pointer, while North Florida started 5 of 22 from the field.

Omier finished the half with 19 points as Miami led 42-27. Seven of North Florida’s nine field goals in the first half came from behind the arc.

Kyshawn George and Bensley Joseph each made a 3-pointer during Miami’s 17-5 run to begin the second half for a 59-32 lead.

Bensley Joseph and Matthew Cleveland also had double-doubles for Miami (10-2). Cleveland had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Joseph had 11 points, 10 assists and four steals. Christian Watson added 14 points and George finished with 10. Omier reached the 1,500-point mark for his career.

Wooga Poplar, Miami’s leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, played just 15 minutes after appearing to injure an ankle. The Hurricanes were also without starter Nijel Pack (back).

Chaz Lanier scored 12 points for North Florida (7-8). The Ospreys attempted 45 3-pointers and made 17 2-pointers.

Miami hosts No. 18 Clemson on Wednesday.

The victory gave the Scarlet Knights (7-6) their first winning season since 2014, when they went 8-4 in their inaugural Big Ten season.

The Scarlet Knights opened this season 6-2 but stumbled in November, losing four straight conference games by an average of 20 points.

Miami (7-6) has dropped five straight bowl games.

Rutgers took the lead for good at 21-17 after Trevor Yeboah-Kodie blocked a Miami punt that Timmy Ward recovered in the end zone.

Hurricanes quarterback Jacurri Brown scored on a 1-yard keeper with 27 seconds to play to draw Miami within seven at 31-24, and then the Hurricanes recovered the onside kick, but the rally fell short when Miami turned it over on downs with seven seconds left near midfield.

Brown, who hadn’t taken a snap in 2023, was the only healthy scholarship quarterback on the Miami roster. Tyler Van Dyke entered the portal and transferred to Wisconsin.

BIG PICTURE

Miami: The Hurricanes are optimistic that Brown will be a reliable QB to replace Van Dyke next season. Brown, a dual threat, completed 20 of his 32 passes for 181 yards on Thursday. Brown’s backup, Emory Williams, passed for only 470 yards this season before suffering a broken arm in week 10 against Florida State.

Rutgers: Monangai announced on Monday that he would return to the Scarlet Knights for his final season of eligibility, foregoing the NFL draft, and immediately elevating the Rutgers’ offense for 2024. The Big Ten’s leading rusher (1,099 yards) is the eighth player in Rutgers’ history to gain at least 1,000 yards in a season.

That someone was Greg Schiano.

They hit it off quickly, Cristobal marveling at Schiano’s work ethic, Schiano raving about Cristobal’s willingness to learn. They’ve been close ever since — and now, they’ll go head-to-head in Thursday afternoon’s Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium, with Miami (7-5) seeking its first bowl win since 2016 and Rutgers (6-6) seeking its first winning season since 2014.

“He gave me my start, was the best mentor I’ve had in this business, always a great friend,” Cristobal said. “I know on game day we’ll be trying to knock each other out. Aside from that, certainly him and his family from the moment I got in the coaching industry, he was a reason why it was able to actually happen.”

They have remained close. When Schiano left Miami to become head coach at Rutgers for the first time before the 2001 season, he took Cristobal with him — no small feat prying a Miami native and Hurricanes alum out of South Florida.

Here they are, together again, trying to make sure their teams end 2023 the right way while building toward, they hope, better things in 2024.

“We’ve kind of grown together, right?” Schiano said. “We’ve been through some tough times, some good times. I knew when I got him, he was the best coach on my coaching staff at whatever he was, 25 years old, 26 years old. I trust him blind. There’s not a lot of people I trust in this world. That to me is the biggest thing. … In life you meet people and you can probably count on one hand the people that you truly trust, truly admire. Mario Cristobal is one of those guys.”

CITY TOUR

Among the bowl-week stops for both teams: a trip to the Sept. 11 memorial at Ground Zero, and being on Wall Street when the New York Stock Exchange opened on Wednesday — both the Hurricanes and Scarlet Knights taking part in the ceremonial ringing of the bell.

Schiano and Cristobal were both at Rutgers on Sept. 11, working that morning when the world changed.

“Our players need to understand that that is a day in history that forever we have to remember, honor those that unfortunately fell that day,” Cristobal said.

TEAM CHANGES

Neither team will be exactly the same as it was when the regular season ended. Miami will start QB Jacurri Brown — who hasn’t taken a snap in 2023. Brown is the only healthy scholarship quarterback on the Miami roster and got the call for the Pinstripe Bowl because now-former starter Tyler Van Dyke entered the portal and transferred to Wisconsin.

Rutgers seems to have much more continuity. Most of Rutgers’ defensive starters are expected to play Thursday, as is 1,000-yard rusher Kyle Monangai.

THE SERIES

Miami is 11-0 all-time against Rutgers, winning those games by an average score of 46-10. The former Big East rivals played annually from 1993 through 2003, didn’t play before that stretch and haven’t played each other since.

PINSTRIPE HISTORY

It’s the third time in the bowl game for Rutgers, the second appearance for Miami. Rutgers beat Iowa State in 2011 and lost to Notre Dame in 2013, while Miami lost to Wisconsin in 2018.

A bad sign for Miami — Atlantic Coast Conference teams have lost each of the last six Pinstripe Bowls, while Big Ten teams are 7-1 in the game.

QUOTABLE

Miami linebacker Kiko Mauigoa on playing in Yankee Stadium: “It’s just special. You don’t get a lot of opportunities to do that, and I’m excited.”

Norchad Omier finished with 23 points and Matthew Cleveland had 14 for the Hurricanes (8-2). Nijel Pack was Miami’s fourth double-figure scorer with 11.

Poplar, who averages a team-leading 15.6 points, landed awkwardly on his left foot after an unsuccessful dunk attempt late in the first half. He immediately limped off the court but returned for layup drills before the second half.

“I don’t want to say scared but I was hoping that I was okay,” Poplar said. “I tried to dunk and it slipped out of my hand. Then I saw the ball not going out and I tried to rebound, stopped and my ankle just twisted. I’m good now.”

The injury scare didn’t deter Poplar. He scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting in the second half.

“I was just trying to end the business and get the W for us,” Poplar said.

Khalil Brantley scored 23 points and Daeshon Shepherd added 15 for the Explorers (8-3).

The Hurricanes shot 52% from the field and outrebounded the Explorers 26-18, including 13-7 on the offensive end.

“Expectations for us are so high,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “We’re a Power 5 team in a Power 5 Conference trying to play Power 5 basketball with a very undersized team. It really takes a total team effort for us to get where we want.”

La Salle rallied from an 18-point deficit early in the second half and got within 71-67 on Andres Marrero’s 3-pointer with 4:24 remaining. Miami responded with six unanswered behind two free throws each by Poplar and Omier, along with a layup by Omier.

“We don’t have a lot of margin for error. We need to make everything we can when we’re at the rim,” Explorers coach Fran Dunphy said. “I thought our fight was good. We didn’t give up but they’re a good team. Grateful that we had a chance to come here and play against this program.”

Miami outscored La Salle 15-7 in the final 6:26 of the first half and led 45-33 at halftime. Omier scored six consecutive points during the run. Two jumpers and a dunk from Poplar in the first 3:03 of the second half increased Miami’s lead to 53-35.

Cleveland scored eight points during a game-opening 21-10 run. Cleveland’s layup with 12:06 remaining in the first half capped the spurt for Miami’s first double-digit lead.

“He really got us off to a great start,” Larrañaga said. “He was pushing it on the break. Very helpful when he does that.”

After missing their first seven 3-point attempts, the Explorers got within 30-26 on consecutive deep 3s by Rokas Jocius and Marrero.

RECENT DOMINANCE

The win was the Hurricanes’ sixth straight over the Explorers, giving them a 10-9 edge in the series. LaSalle last beat Miami 97-77 in 1970-71. Following the season, Miami suspended men’s basketball and restored the program in 1985-86.

BIG PICTURE

La Salle: The Explorers finished 1-3 in nonconference road games. They will return home for three consecutive games before opening their Atlantic 10 road schedule at Fordham on Jan. 6.

Miami: After committing 20 turnovers in the 90-63 loss against Colorado on Sunday, the Hurricanes limited their mistakes to four in the first half. They had four in the opening five minutes of the second half and finished with 10 miscues.

UP NEXT

La Salle: Hosts Rosemont College on Thursday.

Miami: Hosts Stonehill on Thursday.

Leonard, who helped the Blue Devils start the season with a stunning 28-7 victory over then-No. 9 Clemson, entered the transfer portal after his team’s 7-5 season.

He announced his intention to play for Notre Dame on social media, writing “A dream come true. Go Irish,” with a shamrock image at the end.

Riley is expected to take over the starting job that ex-Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman had for the Fighting Irish this season. Hartman joined Notre Dame this past season after five seasons with the Demon Deacons.

Leonard played in 27 games for Duke the past three seasons, throwing for 4,450 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He played in just seven games this season after sustaining an injury late in a 21-14 loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 30.

Leonard wasn’t the only quarterback from an ACC school to announce a new destination Thursday.

Former Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke announced on social media that he has committed to Wisconsin.

Van Dyke threw for 7,478 yards and 54 touchdowns at Miami while starting 28 games over the last three seasons. He completed 65.8% of his passes for 2,703 yards with 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. His best season came in 2021, when he threw for 2,931 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Purdue receiver Deion Burks said on social media he’s committed to Oklahoma. Burks posted, “Took me a SEC but it was gone happen SOONER or later #BOOMER.” The Sooners are headed to the Southeastern Conference next season.

Burks had 47 catches for 629 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

Michigan State quarterback Noah Kim has also announced his transfer destination and tight end Maliq Carr entered the portal.

Kim, who spent four seasons with the Spartans, will play for Coastal Carolina, he said on social media. Kim started the first five games this season before being replaced. He finished the season with 1,090 yards, six touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Chanticleers quarterback the past four seasons, Grayson McCall, and his backup, Jarrett Guest, have both entered the portal.

Ex-Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum has committed to Kentucky. He also announced his choice on social media.

Trayanum was the Buckeyes second-leading rusher this season with 373 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught nine passes for 53 yards.

The Wildcats had success this season with a transfer portal tailback, getting Ray Davis from Vanderbilt. Davis ran for 1,066 yards and seven TDs this season.

KJ Simpson scored 20 points while Luke O’Brien scored all 13 of his points during the game-ending 47-17 run for Colorado (7-2). J’Vonne Hadley, Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Julian Hammond III all added 11 points apiece.

The Buffaloes won without star freshman guard Cody Williams, who is day-to-day with a wrist injury.

Matthew Cleveland scored 17 points, Norchad Omier had 12 points and Wooga Poplar added 11 points for Miami (7-2), which lost a homecoming for coach Jim Larranaga, who was born in the Bronx and graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens.

The Buffaloes held a trio of eight-point leads and never trailed in the first half, but Miami pulled within 37-36 by heading into the locker room on a 10-3 run fueled by Cleveland. The junior opened the surge with a 3-pointer and capped it with an old-fashioned 3-point play with fewer than two seconds left.

Nijel Pack opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give Miami its first lead. The Hurricanes went ahead 46-43 on a layup by Bensley Joseph with 15:46 left but Colorado scored on 10 of its next 12 possessions and took its first double-digit lead at 62-50 on a 3-pointer by O’Brien with 10:05 left.

BIG PICTURE

Miami: The Hurricanes’ interior defense continued to struggle, allowing Colorado to score 52 points in the paint.

Colorado: The Buffaloes, who entered Sunday ranked among the top 12 nationally in field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage, shot just 35% from beyond the arc (7 of 20) but made 70% of their 2-point field goals (30 of 43) while shooting 9 for 11 from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT

Miami: Hosts La Salle on Saturday.

Colorado: Hosts Northern Colorado on Friday.

The Hurricanes (7-1) were never threatened after they scored 21 straight points to start the game and led 53-18 at halftime. Omier had nine points and Wooga Poplar and Nijel Pack hit consecutive 3-pointers during Miami’s early surge.

Poplar finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and Pack had 13 for the Hurricanes, who scored 21 points off turnovers in the first half. Freshman reserve Kyshawn George also added 13 points.

During its dominant first half, Miami outscored LIU 17-0 in transition.

“Coming into this game we knew we had some things to work on, especially on the defensive end,” Pack said. “We made it a huge focus the last few days of practice and I thought we made some improvements today.”

It was the Hurricanes’ largest margin of victory since they beat Western Carolina 92-43 in November 2016.

“We defended, we rebounded — but yes, they were a little bit overmatched tonight,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said.

LIU (1-7) missed its first six shots and committed seven turnovers before Tai Strickland’s 3-pointer broke the scoring drought 7:37 into the first half.

Poplar’s jumper with 6:06 remaining in the half increased the lead to 42-12.

With the loss, LIU completed the first half of a six-game road trip. The Sharks will have a 48-day gap between home games before they face UAlbany on Dec. 28 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

LIU has been outscored by an average of 21 points in its seven losses.

Strickland and Andre Washington finished with 14 points apiece for the Sharks. Strickland is the son of second-year LIU coach and former NBA guard Rod Strickland.

“I like the group,” Rod Strickland said. “We have some growing pains happening, guys trying to figure it out. We’ve had some good moments and some really bad moments.”

BONUS TIME

The lopsided margin at halftime enabled Larrañaga to give his second unit extended minutes in the second half. George played 20 minutes and shot 4 of 6 from the field. Christian Watson logged 16 minutes, while AJ Casey and Michael Nwoko each played 13.

“What players tend to think is it’s all about playing time, where it’s really about performance,” Larrañaga said. “Play really well and then you’ll earn playing time. We tried to give them enough playing time so they can show what they’re capable of.”

BIG PICTURE

LIU: The Sharks had an extended South Florida stay on their trip. LIU began a two-game set in the Miami area by losing 74-59 to Florida International on Saturday.

Miami: For the second consecutive game, Omier played a foul-free first half. Omier, the team’s lone interior presence in the starting lineup, had been getting into foul trouble until he limited his infractions Saturday against Notre Dame.

UP NEXT

LIU: Will visit UMass Lowell next Tuesday.

Miami: Will face Colorado in the NABC Brooklyn Showcase in New York on Sunday.

Matthew Cleveland scored 14 points, Norchad Omier and Nijel Pack each added 13 and the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame 62-49 on Saturday in the ACC opener for both teams.

It was the first time Miami (6-1, 1-0) held a team under 50 points since a 46-44 loss to Virginia on March 4, 2020. And it was only the sixth time in its last 355 games that Notre Dame (3-4, 0-1) was held under 50 points, going back to Feb. 9, 2013.

“There’s been so much preseason hype because of the last two seasons,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “There’s been high expectation, which is great, but that’s on paper. It doesn’t win any games. You’ve got to play the game and you’ve got to play the opponent. I knew this game would be a much slower pace, much lower scoring.”

The Hurricanes — the only men’s team in the country to make the Elite Eight in both 2022 and 2023 — got 13 rebounds from Omier, seven assists from Pack and finished with a 16-0 edge in fast-break points.

J.R. Konieczny scored 14 for Notre Dame (3-4, 0-1). Tae Davis finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who missed their final 10 shots — but held Miami 24 points below its season average.

“It’s all positive,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “There ain’t no moral victories, I can tell you that much. … There aren’t any. We’ve got to learn from this and we’ve got to keep getting better.”

With former Hurricane standouts like Bruce Brown — in town with the Indiana Pacers to play the Miami Heat — and Davon Reed sitting courtside, Miami held Notre Dame to 29% shooting, 19% on 3-pointers.

Miami’s Bensley Joseph drew the primary defensive assignment against Notre Dame freshman Markus Burton, who was averaging 16.3 points entering Saturday. Burton scored just six on 3 for 11 shooting, 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

“That’s the game,” Larrañaga said. “We won by (13), we held him 10 or 11 points below his average.”

Braeden Shrewsberry’s 3-pointer with 7:25 left in the first half put Notre Dame up 20-19. But Miami — in what has been a calling card for the Hurricanes this season, the big spurt — took the lead right back with a 12-0 run, with five different players scoring during the burst that started when Kyshawn George hit a 3-pointer.

It was the eighth time already this season that Miami had a run of at least 10-0 during a game. This one put the Hurricanes on top to stay, though the game remained relatively close until the end.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: It was Notre Dame’s 21st consecutive loss in true road games against ranked teams, a stretch that started with a 79-70 loss at Miami on Feb. 3, 2016.

Miami: The Hurricanes are off to a 6-1 start for the second consecutive season. It’s the first time Miami has done that since 2015-16 (6-1) and 2016-17 (7-0).

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami will remain in the AP Top 25 for a 19th consecutive poll when the latest version is released Monday, extending its school record. The 95-73 loss at No. 12 Kentucky earlier in the week will almost certainly cost the Hurricanes a few spots.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Host Western Michigan on Tuesday.

Miami: Host LIU on Wednesday.

Sheppard came off the bench, drained a 3 for his first basket and finished 5 of 9 from long range and 8 of 13 overall. The freshman also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 30 minutes, filling a void after starting point guard D.J. Wagner left late in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.

“I just go out and try and do what I need to do, whatever I can to help my team win and make the right play,” Sheppard said. “With these dudes around me, it’s really, really easy doing that. We were hitting shots left and right and everyone was moving the ball, passing and having fun.”

Reeves was 7 of 12 from the field. Tre Mitchell had 14 points and seven assists, Rob Dillingham scored 14 points and Justin Edwards had 11 points for Kentucky (6-1).

Norchad Omier scored 20 points and Wooga Poplar had 19 for the Hurricanes (5-1), who shot 44.1% from the field but were no match for Kentucky’s nearly flawless offensive performance.

“I said the first team to 80 would win, but we didn’t score,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “We played totally out of character on offense and that impacted our defense, which, unfortunately, is a weakness of ours.”

The Wildcats made their final three shots to lead 42-37 at halftime before sinking their first six of the second half and 10 of 11 overall for a 67-43 advantage with 14:15 remaining. Kentucky ended up converting 20 of 30 after halftime and 37 of 62 overall (59.7%) to dominate a matchup between two of the country’s highest-scoring teams.

Kentucky led by as much as 29 points and finished 9 of 21 (42.9%) from 3-point range.

UNSELFISH PLAY

Kentucky had 26 assists, the fourth consecutive game it has dished out 24 or more. The Wildcats entered the game tied for seventh with 20 assists per contest, but posted this total against by far their strongest opponent since losing to then-No. 1 Kansas. Kentucky had 14 assists in that game.

BIG PICTURE

Miami entered the game ranked 12th in scoring at 89 points per game and for a while seemed intent on setting the pace. The Hurricanes built a 29-23 lead with an 18-2 run, but it didn’t last.

Kentucky picked up where it left off after scoring 118 points against Marshall, a John Calipari-era record. The Wildcats outscored Miami 38-23 in the paint and 23-7 on the fast break, hitting a few transition 3s in the process. They were outrebounded again (35-29), but scored 16 points off 15 turnovers while committing just eight.

“Defensively, we were saying make the 3 hard, make them take tough 2s,” Calipari said. “They can beat you with 3s. And they also beat you with the turnover because they unbelievably finish at the rim. And we just didn’t turn it over that much.”

UP NEXT

Miami hosts Notre Dame on Saturday in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

Kentucky hosts UNC Wilmington on Saturday.

In a social media post, Howard thanked Kansas State coach Chris Klieman, his teammates and the Wildcats’ fanbase before concluding: “I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life and in the possibilities that lie ahead.”

Van Dyke also made his announcement on social media. “I have created lifelong friendships and memories, which I will always cherish. I am deeply appreciative of the opportunities and experiences that have shaped me during my time here,” he wrote.

Howard led the Wildcats to the Big 12 title last season and another bowl game this season. Kansas State running back Treshaun Ward also announced his plans to enter the portal Monday.

Most teams wrapped up regular seasons this past weekend, leading some to declare their intent to transfer. Howard, Ward and Van Dyke are among those who are graduate transfers, meaning they could enter the portal and become immediately eligible, while players who have yet to graduate must wait until Dec. 4 to make their announcements official.

Howard emerged as the Wildcats’ starter last year after injuries to Adrian Martinez, and he led them to an upset of eventual national runner-up TCU in the Big 12 title game. Howard was the clearcut starter entering this season, though he was pushed at times by freshman Avery Johnson, and threw for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdown passes and eight interceptions.

Howard, who will have one year of eligibility left, had tears in his eyes as he walked off the field after his final game at Kansas State on Saturday. He accounted for two touchdowns in a 42-35 loss to Iowa State in a game played in heavy snow.

Howard’s departure means that Johnson, one of the nation’s best dual-threat quarterbacks coming out of high school, will likely start for the Wildcats (8-4, 6-3 Big 12) in their bowl game. Johnson threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns but may be even more dangerous on the ground — he took over for Howard against Texas Tech and ran for five TDs in a 38-21 victory.

Miami’s situation is not as clear at quarterback for its bowl game. Van Dyke — who had 11 games of at least 300 yards in his career — lost his starting job earlier this month to freshman Emory Williams, who got hurt late in Miami’s loss to Florida State. Van Dyke started the final two games of the regular season.

His departure means Miami has just one healthy scholarship quarterback on its roster, that being Jacurri Brown — who did not throw a pass this season.

The Hurricanes — who also saw running back Don Chaney Jr., defensive lineman Jahfari Harvey and linebacker Corey Flagg announce their decisions to enter the portal on Monday — will look to be busy in using the pool of transfers to make quick roster upgrades for 2024.

“It’s the wild, wild West,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said earlier Monday in his weekly appearance on WQAM-AM. “It really is. It’s like completely out of control. And the NCAA, rightfully so, has taken a hard-line stance. If people are messing around and tampering, they’re going to slam you. They really are. … But you need to be ready to upgrade right away.”

Van Dyke was the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rookie of the year in 2021 under then-offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, now the coach at SMU. He leaves Miami second on the school’s all-time list in completion percentage (63.7%), fourth in touchdown passes (54), fourth in completions (581) and sixth in yards (7,469).

Ward, who arrived at Kansas State from Florida State, is transferring again after ceding playing time to D.J. Giddens throughout the season. He ran for 643 yards and five touchdowns while adding two touchdown receptions.

Another veteran QB hitting the portal Monday was Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, who threw for 12,315 yards in four seasons with the Bulldogs; three of those seasons came while he was running the late coach Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense.

Rogers posted on social media before a season-ending loss to Ole Miss in the Battle for the Golden Egg that he would transfer.

Notre Dame wide receiver and running back Chris Tyree, along with offensive lineman Zeke Correll, also entered the portal. Each of them have played at least 40 games for the Fighting Irish.

That’s when the Hurricanes turned to Xavier Restrepo.

Tyler Van Dyke lofted a pass down the middle of the field, Restrepo dove to haul it in, and Miami punched it into the end zone three plays later to put the game away and beat the Eagles 45-20 on Friday.

“You can always trust X,” said Van Dyke, who was 23 for 36 for 290 yards and two touchdowns. “I mean, he’s always going to find his way open. You’ve just got to get him the ball and he’ll make the play for you.”

Restrepo caught six passes for 117 yards – giving him 993 receiving yards for the season – and Miami snapped a three-game losing streak. Henry Parrish Jr. ran for 111 yards and a pair of scores for the Hurricanes (7-5, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos ran for 130 yards and a touchdown but only completed 15 of 25 passes for 151 yards and a TD. After a touchdown on the opening drive, the Eagles (6-6, 3-5) gave up 28 unanswered points and didn’t get in the end zone again until they converted to make it 28-14 after Van Dyke’s fumble on Miami’s first possession of the second half.

The Hurricanes got the ball back at their own 8 and advanced to the BC 35 before Mark Fletcher was stopped for just 2 yards on third-and-6. Coach Mario Cristobal went for it, and Van Dyke found Restrepo for a play that effectively clinched the victory.

“The man just gets open,” Fletcher said. “He’s not the fastest guy. He’s not the biggest guy, but he knows how to get open. That’s what makes him so effective. That man’s very clutch.”

Miami was 6 of 13 on third down conversions and 3 for 3 on fourth.

“They were just critical plays and executed at a really high level,” Cristobal said. “They had the opportunity to make plays, and they made them.”

NO MIRACLE THIS TIME

The game on the day after Thanksgiving even featured a Hail Mary — 39 years after Doug Flutie’s miracle pass to win in Miami and clinch the Heisman Trophy.

But Castellanos’ desperation pass at the end of the first half was picked off in the end zone and returned 55 yards before offsetting penalties negated the play. Castellanos was intercepted twice — once on a ball that was tipped at the line, and again on BC’s final possession.

GOOD STARTS

Boston College moved easily down the field to score in its opening drive, but then the Miami defense took over. The Eagles managed three straight three-and-outs and a four-and-out before finishing the half with the failed Hail Mary.

Miami scored touchdowns on four of its five first-half possessions. After the Eagles forced a fumble to start the third quarter, they scored on Castellanos’ 21-yard run to make it 28-14.

But Restrepo’s 28-yard reception on fourth down set up a 4 yard pass from Van Dyke to Jacolby George that gave Miami a 35-14 lead.

“It started well. I thought we executed at a high level coming out on that first drive,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said. “We had a chance to stop them several times to get them to fourth down. They made more plays than we did. We had opportunities to get off the field and we didn’t.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami, which won its first four games of the season and rose to No. 17 in The Associated Press Top 25, had lost five of its next seven. The Hurricanes still have a chance to reach eight wins for the first time since Manny Diaz led them to the Cheez-It Bowl in 2020.

Boston College finishes with a .500 record with the hope of a bowl game victory that would give them seven wins for the first time since 2018.

“Getting the bowl game was really good, but I feel like that’s when we really like stopped at,” Castellanos said. “We kind of got complacent. We got over our heads and we didn’t keep our head on and keep fighting. I feel like once we got the bowl game guys kind of laid off, and said: ‘Ah, we’ve got a bowl game now.’”

UP NEXT

Both await their bowl assignments.

The Jayhawks stayed at No. 1 and Miami climbed to No. 10 to replace a tumbling Florida Atlantic in the only major change at the top of the rankings.

Kansas (3-0) rallied from 14 down to beat Kentucky in last week’s Champions Classic, led by a huge game from transfer big man Hunter Dickinson in its lone game of the week. That helped the Jayhawks pick up an additional first-place vote from last week, topping 52 of 61 ballots.

The Hurricanes (5-0) offered the only change to the top tier of the poll after beating Kansas State to win the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. They climbed two spots to crack the top 10 for the first time since spending four weeks there early in the 2017-18 season.

Miami replaced Florida Atlantic, which opened the year at No. 10 after last year’s Final Four run but fell nine spots to No. 19 in the week’s biggest fall after a home loss to Bryant.

There’s the potential for much more change next week with Thanksgiving holiday tournaments. The loaded Maui Invitational field includes five of the top 11 teams in Kansas, No. 2 Purdue, No. 4 Marquette, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Gonzaga.

THE TOP TIER

Arizona checked in at No. 3 and reigning NCAA champion Connecticut was No. 5, followed by No. 6 Houston, Tennessee, Creighton, Duke and Miami.

ON THE RISE

Colorado had the week’s biggest jump, rising seven spots to No. 18 to extend the program’s first stay in the poll since the end of the 2020-21 season.

North Carolina was next by jumping six spots to No. 14, followed by No. 17 Alabama (five spots) and No. 15 Texas (four).

In all, nine teams moved up from last week’s poll.

ON THE FADE

There were multiple big slides in the poll behind the Owls.

No. 23 USC fell seven spots after a home loss to UC Irvine, while No. 20 Arkansas tumbled six spots after losing to UNC Greensboro at home.

No. 21 Michigan State was the fourth and final team to fall from last week, sliding three spots after a loss to Duke in the Champions Classic. The Spartans rebounded with big-margin wins against Butler and Alcorn State.

STATUS QUO

Ten teams stayed in their position last week, including the Zags.

WELCOME

No. 24 Virginia and No. 25 Mississippi State were the week’s new additions, with the Bulldogs cracking the poll for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

FAREWELL (FOR NOW)

Villanova (No. 21) and Illinois (No. 23 fell out of the poll.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Southeastern Conference led the way with six ranked teams, including No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 16 Kentucky. The Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences were next with four each.

The Pac-12 and Big East conferences each had three ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten with two. The American Athletic Conference, Sun Belt and West Coast Conference rounded out the field with one each.

Norchad Omier scored 23 for the Hurricanes (5-0), who are essentially assured of tying a school record by being in the AP Top 25 for the 17th consecutive week when the new poll comes out Monday. Miami also had a run of 17 consecutive appearances in the 2015-16 season.

Wooga Poplar and Matthew Cleveland each scored 15 for Miami.

“It was so much fun for me,” Pack said. “We all came out ready to play. It was a really good game for us.”

Cam Carter scored 28 points — 24 in the second half — and Arthur Kaluma had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Kansas State (3-2), which fell to 0-2 against ranked opponents this season. The Wildcats started the year with a loss to then-No. 21 USC in Las Vegas.

Tylor Perry and David N’Guessan had 10 apiece for Kansas State, which trailed by as many as 24 early in the second half but outscored Miami 30-16 over the final 6 1/2 minutes.

“That’s the character of our team,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said. “I’m very, very proud of them for the second half.”

The difference was 3-point shooting — Miami was 12 of 24 from beyond the arc, Kansas State just 4 of 28. Pack’s seven 3’s tied his best in a Miami uniform; he had eight on two occasions while playing for the Wildcats.

“I think everybody knows that Nijel was probably extremely well motivated because he had been a player for the Kansas State Wildcats,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said.

Pack spent his first two college seasons at Kansas State, averaging 15.3 points and 2.9 assists in 53 games there. He transferred before last season, helped the Hurricanes reach the Final Four and is now three makes shy of 100 3-pointers at Miami.

“He was always a really good player. … I thought we did a better job on him in the second half, but first half, he was pretty special,” Tang said.

Pack’s seventh 3-pointer on Sunday gave Miami a 73-51 lead with 7:17 left. That cushion got cut down considerably in the next few minutes.

Kansas State outscored Miami 19-4 over a 4-minute stretch of the second half, getting within 79-70 on a jumper by Carter with 2:48 remaining. Carter had 11 of Kansas State’s points during that spurt.

But Miami would hang on. Cleveland had a putback tip-in to give Miami an 11-point lead with 2:26 left and Omier had the next eight points for the Hurricanes — who matched their best start since the 2018-19 season. It’s the fifth time in Larrañaga’s 13-year tenure at Miami that the Hurricanes have opened a season 5-0 or better.

“I’m most pleased that we’re 5-0,” Larrañaga said. “The teams we’ve played are good.”

BIG PICTURE

Kansas State: The Wildcats had won eight consecutive games against Division I teams from the state of Florida until last March, when they lost to Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight — and now, they’ve lost to Miami as well. Their next game against a team from the Sunshine State is Jan. 6, when they open Big 12 play against UCF.

Miami: It was the first game of the season in which the Hurricanes didn’t have a run of at least 10 consecutive unanswered points. They didn’t need one — a pair of 7-0 runs in the opening minutes built a 15-4 lead, and an 8-0 run early in the second half pushed Miami’s edge to 57-33.

NEXT YEAR

The tournament announced the field for the 2024 Baha Mar event. It’ll be Virginia, Baylor, St. John’s and Tennessee.

UP NEXT

Kansas State: Host Central Arkansas on Wednesday.

Miami: Visit Kentucky on Nov. 28 in the ACC-SEC challenge.

Jack Plummer threw three touchdown passes, the last of them a 58-yarder to Kevin Coleman with 4:17 remaining, and No. 9 Louisville hung on at the last second to clinch a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game by beating Miami 38-31 on Saturday.

Coleman ended up wide open after Miami defenders Te’Cory Couch and Jaden Davis collided at full speed as the play was developing, and he went down the right sideline with the go-ahead score for the Cardinals (10-1, 7-1 ACC, No. 10 CFP). It’s the first ACC title game berth for the Cardinals, who’ll play Florida State in Charlotte on Dec. 2 for the league crown.

“This is a big win,” said Louisville coach Jeff Brohm, who returned to his alma mater after taking Purdue to the Big Ten Conference title game a year ago. “To come down to Miami and win a game with a lot riding on it, it’s a great feeling.”

Plummer finished 24 of 37 for 308 yards for the Cardinals, those catches getting made by 12 different receivers. Offensive lineman Trevonte Sylvester had a touchdown catch, as did Nate Kurinsky.

“We’re trying to find any way possible to score,” Plummer said.

Isaac Guerendo had 93 rushing yards and a score for Louisville, and Evan Conley — a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a pass since 2021 — came in to score on a keeper for the Cardinals.

There were 176 voters in the ACC preseason poll, and none picked Louisville to win the conference.

“Nobody expected us to be here,” Louisville cornerback Quincy Riley said.

Mark Fletcher rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns for Miami (6-5, 2-5 ACC). Van Dyke, back in the starting role after freshman Emory Williams got hurt in last week’s loss to Florida State, completed 24 of 39 passes for 327 yards.

The last 45 of Van Dyke’s yards came on the game’s final play, when his Hail Mary from midfield was batted around and ended up in the hands of Xavier Restrepo — who was tackled at the 5, with no time left.

Restrepo finished with eight catches for 193 yards, by far a career best. Miami also had a 4th-and-goal from the Louisville 3 with 1:29 left, but Van Dyke’s pass sailed just out of Jacolby George’s reach in the end zone.

“Close isn’t good enough,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “Credit to their offense. They did some things that were very challenging. We’ve got to find a way to get better.”

The added bonus for the Cardinals: possession of the new Schnellenberger Trophy, a bronzed pair of actual cowboy boots that Howard Schnellenberger — who coached both Miami and Louisville — wore during his career. Brohm accepted the trophy from Beverlee Schnellenberger, the wife of the coach who died in March 2021.

“He gave a lot to our university, gave a lot to Miami, gave a lot to a lot of other places,” Brohm said of Schnellenberger, whom he both coached for and played for. “Because of him, all these programs are relevant.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Louisville: The Cardinals were the second FBS team this season to miss a field goal of closer than 30 yards and an extra point in the same game; Kansas State did it against UCF on Sept. 23. Louisville kicker Brock Travelstead missed a 24-yarder, then had a PAT blocked, both in the second quarter. Nick Lopez came on in the third quarter and kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 23-21 lead.

Miami: Kam Kinchens, an All-American last season after intercepting six passes, got his fifth interception of the year on Saturday. The 11 interceptions in Kinchens’ career tie for eighth-most in Hurricanes history and are the most by a Miami player since Sean Taylor had 14 picks from 2001 through 2003.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Louisville likely needs a lot of help to get into the College Football Playoff, but the Cardinals still have hope. A rivalry game next week and then the ACC title game will give Louisville two more chances to make a serious impression.

UP NEXT

Louisville: Host Kentucky on Nov. 25 to end regular season.

Miami: Visit Boston College on Friday in ACC finale.

Cavinder posted a series of three photos on Instagram that showed her sitting on a throne-like chair wearing a TCU uniform and holding a silver basketball with the school’s logo. She captioned the post “the last rodeo #committed” and listed her location as Fort Worth, Texas, the home of the campus.

That came exactly a month after Cavinder wrote in another Instagram post “see you next season” without saying then where she planned to play in 2024-25.

Cavinder and her twin sister, Hanna, played at Miami last season and helped the Hurricanes reach the NCAA Elite Eight. Haley Cavinder had told The Associated Press last season that she planned to play one more college season; Hanna Cavinder said she was likely done playing. The twins announced in April they would not be playing this season.

Haley Cavinder has 2,065 career points after leading Miami last season with 12.2 points per game and 65 made 3-pointers.

The twins, who have 4.5 million followers on TikTok, had transferred from Fresno State in April 2022 with hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament.

TCU was 1-17 in Big 12 games last season before former Oregon associate head coach Mark Campbell was named the new head coach. The Frogs have won their first three games with all five starters being transfers brought in by Campbell, including three from the Pac-12 and another from Baylor.

Matthew Cleveland scored 23 points, Bensley Joseph and Wooga Poplar each added 18 and No. 12 Miami rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to beat neighboring FIU 86-80 on Monday night.

Nigel Pack scored 17 points and Norchad Omier had 11 rebounds for the Hurricanes (3-0).

“Very proud of our guys for hanging in there,” Miami coach Jim Larrañaga said. “And very impressed with FIU.”

Anyone who was watching would likely have said the same, after a game with some wild ebbs and flows. Consider:

— Miami started the game on a 28-11 run over 10 minutes.

— FIU answered with a 42-13 run over the next 14 minutes.

— Miami immediately came back with a 19-0 run over the next four minutes.

The Panthers fell to 0-25 all-time against ranked opponents — but made the nine-mile drive back to their campus knowing they nearly changed that.

“Had we won tonight, it would have been glorious,” FIU coach Jeremy Ballard said. “But we weren’t going to be cutting nets down. We weren’t going to be getting any trophies. We weren’t going to be getting any invitations to the big dance. So right now, it’s all about growth. And as a coach, we definitely prefer to grow through winning and that’s certainly going to be our aim going forward.”

Arturo Dean scored 19 for FIU (0-3), while Dashon Gittens added 14 and Javaunte Hawkins had 11 for the Panthers — a 21 1/2-point underdog according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

But it wasn’t decided until just about the very end. George Pridgett Jr. made a 3-pointer with 1:49 left to get FIU within 80-76, only to see Poplar hit a 3 on the next Miami possession to help seal the win.

“Being able to battle back when a team is hot like that and weather the storm … it’s really good to see,” Cleveland said.

It was the first official meeting between the programs since 2008, in part because FIU and Miami refused to play each other in any sport for years as part of the fallout from the football brawl between the schools in 2006. The brawl — which had one player swinging a helmet, another swinging a crutch and more than a few kicking opponents on the ground, led to 31 players being suspended.

Over time, relationships between FIU and Miami were restored. The schools met in women’s basketball in four consecutive seasons from 2015 through 2018, Miami going 4-0 and winning by an average of 26.8 points. The baseball teams have faced each other annually since 2017, except for 2020 because of the pandemic. And most famously, the Panthers’ football team topped the Hurricanes in 2019.

“This game is a big deal,” Ballard said. “We want it to be a big deal. We would love to play this game every year.”

BIG PICTURE

FIU: It was the second-closest game FIU played against a ranked opponent. The only one closer was an 85-81 loss to then-No. 25 Charleston on Feb. 13, 1997. Every other game against an AP Top 25 team had been decided by 10 or more points, and the average FIU margin of defeat is now 26 points in those matchups.

Miami: The 3-pointer saved the Hurricanes. Miami was 13 for 21 from beyond the arc, part of a night where the Hurricanes shot 58% from the field.

UP NEXT

FIU: Visit Houston Christian on Wednesday.

Miami: Face Georgia at Nassau, Bahamas on Friday.

Williams suffered the injury — one so severe that some onlookers had to turn away — in the final minutes of Miami’s 27-20 loss to No. 4 Florida State on Saturday. Williams’ arm was placed in an air cast before he was taken to a Tallahassee hospital for further assessment.

“Very proud of him for his effort,” Cristobal said. “I’m very proud of him for the way he handled everything.”

Williams’ injury means Tyler Van Dyke — who has been Miami’s starter for much of the last three years — will be back in that role Saturday when the Hurricanes (6-4, 2-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) play their home finale against No. 9 Louisville (9-1, 6-1).

Williams completed 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns against the Seminoles. He became the first quarterback in nearly a full year to have multiple TD passes against Florida State; the most recent before Saturday was Anthony Richardson, who had three scoring passes for Florida against the Seminoles on Nov. 25, 2022.

The right-arm-throwing Williams got hurt with just under three minutes left, scrambling to his left and diving to barely get a first down on fourth-and-2 to extend Miami’s final drive and keep hopes of the upset alive. He could be heard immediately screaming in pain after the play.

“I thought he played his tail off and I thought he battled,” Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson said. “He really, really showed a lot of fight.”

Van Dyke already being declared the starter eliminates Miami having a second consecutive week of quarterback speculation. But Cristobal said Jacurri Brown — who appeared in eight games last year but has yet to throw a pass in a game this season — will get work this week as well and compete for time.

Van Dyke lost the starting job to Williams for the Florida State game, then came in for the remainder of the final series following the injury. He was 2 of 7 for 29 yards, throwing an interception on Miami’s final play — his 12th of the season, tied for fourth-most in the country and one more than he had in his first three seasons with the Hurricanes combined.

The Seminoles (10-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), like they have several times this season, rallied in the second half to win their 16th consecutive game. This one wrapped up the program’s 10th perfect mark in ACC play.

Miami (6-4, 2-4) controlled both lines of scrimmage and played turnover-free football for most of the game. It still wasn’t enough to overcome FSU, which has won three in a row in the series and 10 of the last 14.

Adding to Miami’s woes, freshman quarterback Emory Williams suffered a significant injury to his left arm in the waning minutes while running for a first down. Williams started in place of struggling junior Tyler Van Dyke.

Van Dyke came off the bench with the Hurricanes trailing by a touchdown but threw an interception on a fourth-and-10 play with 40 seconds remaining.

Heisman Trophy hopeful Jordan Travis threw for 265 yards and his 20th TD pass of the season, a 6-yard fade to Coleman that gave the ’Noles a little breathing room in the final quarter. Three plays earlier, Travis delivered a dizzying 7-yard run in which he broke several tackles and prompted a “Jor-dan Tra-vis” chant across a sold-out Doak Campbell Stadium.

Coleman, returning after sitting out last week’s game at Pitt, set up the score with a 57-yard punt return. The big special teams play — always a part of this rivalry — looked like it might be the turning point.

But Miami answered when Williams found Jacolby George down the sideline for an 85-yard score. George finished with five catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns, beating Fentrell Cypress on both scores.

Williams completed 8 of 23 passes for 175 yards. He got the nod over Van Dyke, who has now thrown 11 interceptions since the start of October. It’s by far the most in major college football. Williams started in place of an injured Van Dyke three weeks ago against Clemson and led the Hurricanes to a 28-20 victory.

He looked like he might do it again when Miami pulled ahead 13-10 in the third behind a steady ground game led by Donald Chaney. It was the fourth time this season Florida State trailed in the second half. Coach Mike Norvell’s team responded much like it did against LSU, Clemson and Duke.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Seminoles, who are fourth in the CFP rankings, are expected to stay at No. 4 in the next AP college football Top 25 poll.

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Hurricanes probably would have stuck with Williams for the rest of the season. The 6-foot-5 freshman from Milton wasn’t great but he showed promise. Now, though, it looks as if they will have to turn back to Van Dyke.

Florida State: The Seminoles already have locked up a spot in the ACC title game but have another in-state rivalry game in two weeks at Florida. They will want to play better on both lines to avoid more late-game restlessness.

UP NEXT

Miami hosts No. 11 Louisville next Saturday.

Florida State hosts lower-division North Alabama next Saturday.

Go back about six decades. Larrañaga is playing on the freshman squad at Archbishop Malloy High School, his team off to a 7-0 start when it hit the Christmas break. And that’s when he got called into the office of varsity coach Jack Curran, who delivered grim news.

“Larry, your coach quit,” Curran said on that December day.

Curran had Larrañaga serve as one of two player-coaches to finish the season. The team won the city championship. Larrañaga’s career was off and running — and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. The latest celebration of his coaching life comes Friday night, when No. 13 Miami (1-0) will unveil its Final Four banner from last season before taking on UCF.

“I look forward to practice every day,” said Larrañaga, who also took George Mason to the Final Four in 2006. “Practice is my favorite time of the day. And being around the players, whether it’s on the court or off the court, is very enjoyable. Winning is good. Losing is so hard on everyone.

“So, as long as we can keep competing at a high level and winning our share of games and these players continue to enjoy playing for me — I think they feel like I’m not antiquated and I haven’t lost touch yet – and as long as we win, that’s basically it.”

It’s not like Larrañaga, who turned 74 last month and is under contract at Miami through the end of the 2026-27 season, doesn’t have other ways he could be spending his time. He has a grandson who’s in eighth grade and already dunking. He has a son who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers. He could be watching all their games, enjoying the Florida lifestyle with his wife, be unburdened by any schedule.

Nope. He’s still coaching, just landed Miami’s best recruiting class in years and is the only coach to have reached the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons — even though at least one of his players doesn’t seem to realize that he’s been at this much, much longer than they’ve been alive.

“I just think he’s a great coach,” Miami forward Norchad Omier said. “He’s been doing this longer than I … I’m 22, he’s probably been coaching more than my age. … He always figures out the right way, the right words to say to each player. He has it under control.”

The victory for the Wolfpack (6-3, 3-2 ACC) is the first over the Hurricanes (6-3, 2-3 ACC) since 2008. The win was also the 78th for Dave Doeren as N.C. State’s head coach, making him the winningest coach in program history.

Devin Boykin sealed the win for N.C. State when he intercepted Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke with under 4 minutes to play. Aydan White, Brandon Cisse and Davin Vann also came up with turnovers for the Wolfpack. Offensively, MJ Morris completed 11-of-21 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown for N.C. State.

Miami’s attack was paced by Mark Fletcher Jr., who rushed 23 times for 115 yards.

When Miami entered Wolfpack territory on Saturday, it was plagued by missed opportunities and met by N.C. State’s stifling defense. The Hurricanes scored just once out of the three times it was in the red zone. Miami also missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.

In the fourth quarter, Miami turned the ball over downs at the 3, capping a fruitless 12-play drive that chewed more than 7 minutes off the clock. The Wolfpack responded with an eight-play drive that ended with Kendrick Raphael bouncing off a Miami defender on his way to scoring on a 31-yard touchdown run, which pushed the Wolfpack lead to two possessions. Miami’s next two drives ended in interceptions thrown by Van Dyke.

THE TAKEAWAY

N.C. State: The Wolfpack defense was the difference and arguably put forth one of its best efforts of Doeren’s tenure. It’s the first time in Doeren’s 11 seasons that N.C. State held an ACC opponent to less than seven points. Linebacker Payton Willis again led the Wolfpack defense, racking up 16 tackles, two pass breakups and two quarterback hits.

Miami: The Hurricanes had some success moving the ball, but couldn’t break through N.C. State’s defense when it really mattered. Miami was 4-of-17 on third and fourth down conversion attempts and came away with just three points in three trips to the redzone. It was also the second straight game that Van Dyke tossed multiple interceptions and failed to score a touchdown.

UP NEXT

Miami: The Hurricanes travel to rival No. 4 Florida State next Saturday.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack face Wake Forest next Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Fletcher’s 11-yard rush — his first touchdown since Week 1, after he missed more than four weeks with a foot injury — ended overtime and the Hurricanes rallied past Virginia 29-26 on Saturday. It was the second consecutive OT win for Miami, which got a last-play stop to beat Clemson 28-20 last week.

This time, it was the offense that delivered at the end — and it was all Fletcher in the extra session. Miami ran three plays, giving the ball to the freshman for all of them, and rushes of 9 and 5 yards preceded the gamewinner.

“Feels great to be back, and to make an impact like that,” Fletcher said.

Miami also became bowl eligible. The Hurricanes went 5-7 last season, and have now surpassed that win total.

“Progress,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said, “and a long way to go.”

Andy Borregales kicked three field goals for Miami (6-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which needed OT to beat Virginia for the second consecutive year. The Hurricanes topped the Cavaliers 14-12 in four OTs last year, a duel where Borregales and Will Bettridge — a pair of South Florida natives — each kicked four field goals.

Bettridge kicked four more on Saturday, including one to cap the first possession of overtime, but it wasn’t enough for Virginia (2-6, 1-3). Borregales forced OT last season at Virginia by making a chip shot with no time left, and had a pair of game-tying kicks — from 50 and 48 yards — in the fourth quarter Saturday.

“Thank God for Andy Borregales,” Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke said. “I think without him, we would have lost the game.”

Tony Muskett threw for 239 yards and Mike Hollins — who was injured in the shooting that killed three Virginia players last year — ran for two scores for Virginia (2-6, 1-3), which outgained Miami 377-276 and didn’t commit a penalty.

“It’s a hurting football team,” Virginia coach Tony Elliott said. “They care. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t show up every single week. You think about kind of the world they live in, especially everything that happened last year, a lot of people probably would tell them ‘Why would you?’”

Ajay Allen hurdled a Virginia defender on the way to the end zone on a third-quarter TD run for Miami, and Kam Kinchens ran back an interception for a score 7 seconds later for the Hurricanes.

Hollins — who has five TDs in his last two games, the first three coming in last weekend’s win over North Carolina — opened the scoring for Virginia, and his second TD run came late in the third to put the Cavaliers up 20-17. Bettidge made a tie-breaking field goal in both the fourth quarter and OT.

“We just respond,” said Muskett, who was 24 of 38 passing with 12 of those completions — for 152 yards — going to Malik Washington. “We’ve done it all season. If things don’t go our way, we come right back.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Virginia: It was the third time this season — all on the road — that the Cavaliers had a double-digit lead before the opponent got on the scoreboard. They’re now 0-3 in those games. Virginia led Maryland 14-0 before falling 42-14, and led Boston College 14-0 before falling 27-24.

Miami: Van Dyke has seven interceptions and five touchdown passes in his last three games. He had eight interceptions (with 34 TD passes) in his last 17 games played entering this stretch. He was 20 of 30 for 163 yards, no TDs and two interceptions Saturday. “Obviously, I did not play well at all,” Van Dyke said.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Miami was fourth in ‘also receiving votes’ last week behind Florida (which lost 43-20 to No. 1 Georgia), Liberty (moved to 8-0 with a 42-29 win over Western Kentucky on Tuesday) and Kansas State (moved to 6-2 with a 41-0 win over Houston).

ANOTHER CLOSE ONE

It marked the sixth consecutive instance of a Miami-Virginia game being decided by eight points or less. Miami was an 18.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

UP NEXT

Virginia: Host Georgia Tech on Nov. 4.

Miami: Visit N.C. State on Nov. 4.

These are key issues when almost half of a team’s roster hails from Toronto.

For these Hurricanes — Lemyah Hylton, Lashae Dwyer, Shayeann Day-Wilson and Latasha Lattimore — Thanksgiving is in October, the Raptors are the hometown NBA team and what Floridians call “freezing” is nothing more than a pleasant day outside to them.

Dwyer, Day-Wilson and Lattimore all hail from Toronto; Hylton is from the suburb of Mississauga, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) west of Toronto. The Hurricanes have only 11 players on the roster this season — and having four from Toronto is basically a happy coincidence.

“Honestly, I have no idea how this happened,” Hylton said. “And I think a lot of people thought that we had some kind of plan or some kind of mechanism behind it, but we really didn’t. It just kind of happened and it happened for the right reason.”

Having four international players from basically the same city on a U.S. college team is rare. But having Canadians on basketball rosters in the U.S. right now is increasingly common.

And basketball is booming right now north of the border. There were a record 26 Canadians on opening night rosters in the NBA this week, the reigning men’s college player of the year — Purdue’s Zach Edey — is from Toronto, Canada’s men’s program will play in the Paris Games next summer to end a 24-year Olympic drought and a record 53 Canadians were part of last season’s NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments. Jamal Murray is the point guard for the NBA champion Denver Nuggets; he’s from Kitchener, about 90 minutes west of Toronto. All-NBA guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, he’s another Toronto guy.

Yes, hockey is still the official winter sport of Canada. But basketball — founded by a Canadian, Dr. James Naismith — is thriving, and seems to only be getting better.

“I feel like Canada is still underrated when it comes to basketball,” Lattimore said. “There’s so much talent, amazing talent in Toronto right now and Canada in general. I guess now American schools see a lot of Canadians coming over, so they’re going to see if there’s more talent. And there’s a lot more talent, a lot more exposure, a lot more AAU teams and all that is part of it.”

All four of the Canadian Hurricanes took different paths to Coral Gables. Dwyer is the only one of the four who signed with the Hurricanes coming out of high school. Day-Wilson spent the last two years at Duke, the first of those as the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year as selected by coaches and then starting 29 games last season. Lattimore is in her second season at Miami after starting college at Texas, and Hylton played last season at Arizona.

“I’m the recruiter,” said Dwyer, who finished high school ball in Tennessee and hasn’t lived in Canada for several years now — but still calls it home. “It’s cool because we can all relate. Me, Tasha and Shaye, we all grew up basically 10 minutes from each other. Just having each other around, it makes you not want to say that you miss home because we have each other.”

They’ve all been opponents in the past, all been teammates as well — and clearly prefer being teammates. And with only 11 players on the roster, odds are high that there’s going to be at least one Canadian on the floor in just about every lineup for a revamped Miami squad that lost three starters from a team that went 22-13 last season.

“We lost a lot but we didn’t lose everything,” Miami coach Katie Meier said. “I love what we’re returning and I love what we’ve added.”

Hylton is missing Tim Hortons, the go-to coffee place for many Canadians. Lattimore is craving those ketchup chips. Dwyer and Day-Wilson would love to find a poutine spot.

But for now, they’ll just focus on helping Miami — coming off the first Elite Eight run in the program’s history — get through another difficult schedule, the rigors of ACC play and, they hope, back to the NCAA tournament.

“There’s no better feeling than us ending up at the same school,” Day-Wilson said. “We get the opportunity to represent and show Canadians can hoop, too. We have each other’s back, we’ve known each other for a long time, we’ve been competitors and now we’re on the same team again. It just happened this way and it feels really good.”

It paid off.

Matthew Cleveland — who hit a deep desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to help Florida State pull off the comeback of the year and beat the Hurricanes in Coral Gables last season — is wearing a Miami uniform now. He will join returning starters Norchad Omier, Nigel Pack and Wooga Poplar for a team that opens the season No. 13 in the AP Top 25.

“It was very difficult because I love Florida State, still kind of do love Florida State because I was there for two years,” Cleveland said of his transfer decision. “But I had to do what was best for me in a business decision. I feel like the biggest thing they showed to me is their success with transfers … how much of a jump they make.”

Larrañaga and assistant coach Bill Courtney went to Tallahassee twice to court Cleveland. They didn’t actually recruit on Florida State’s campus. Instead, they met with Cleveland basically just across the street from the school.

“We did that not once but twice to make sure that Matt knew he was our highest priority in the portal,” said Larrañaga, who guided Miami to a 29-8 record and its first Final Four appearance last season. “You look at a lot of different people, but you have to prioritize who you think is the best fit — and Matt was.”

Larrañaga values players who can deliver at the end of games. Miami went 12-6 last season in games decided by seven points or less, thanks in large part to departed starters Isaiah Wong (the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year last season) and Jordan Miller.

Cleveland more than showed he can fill that void. Florida State was down by 23 at halftime last season before stunning Miami 85-84 when he connected from deep as time expired. Division I men’s teams that trailed by more than 20 at halftime last season went 1-574 — and Cleveland provided that lone win.

“He’s a great guy,” Omier said. “He’s a little funny to us. We love Matt. He’s a great addition to the team, and he’s going to be a special guy this year. We’re just lucky to have him.”

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Wong (16.2) and Miller (15.3) were Miami’s two top scorers last season, and their 22 shots a game are now available to players like Pack (13.6 ppg), Omier (13.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and Poplar (8.4 ppg). Poplar — who has a big-time pullup jumper — is the player Larrañaga thinks has the best chance at breaking out, with a game that he expects could have him in the NBA as early as next season.

THE RUN

Miami started 13-1 last season, then went 3-4 in its next seven games before getting red-hot once again for the stretch run. The Hurricanes were the top seed in the ACC tournament, earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament — then beat fourth-seeded Indiana, top-seeded Houston and second-seeded Texas on their way to the Final Four, where they lost to eventual national champion UConn.

ELITE, AGAIN

Miami is the only team that has made the Elite Eight in each of the last two NCAA tournaments. The Hurricanes are 7-2 over the last two seasons in NCAA tourney games; only Kansas (7-1) has as many wins in that span.

TOURNEY ODDITY

The Miami men and Miami women have each reached the last two NCAA tournaments. In 2022, the men lost to Kansas, and the women to South Carolina. In 2023, the men lost to UConn, and the women lost to LSU.

The four teams that beat the Hurricanes in those NCAA contests went on to win the national titles.

SCHEDULE

The opener is Nov. 6 against the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Hurricanes will play Georgia and either Kansas State or Providence in the Bahamas Nov. 17 and 19 and visit Kentucky for the ACC-SEC challenge on Nov. 28, The six teams Miami is facing twice in ACC play are Florida State, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina and Notre Dame. The Hurricanes play host to Duke in their only meeting of this regular season, and Cleveland’s return to Tallahassee would be in the regular-season finale on March 9.

No, Miami is not back.

But this might be a night the Hurricanes remember for a long time.

Ajay Allen got the go-ahead score on a 3-yard run in the second overtime, and shorthanded Miami ended the game on a fourth-down stop to stun Clemson 28-20 on Saturday night.

“It validates a lot,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “And it increases our appetite to go get more.”

Emory Williams, playing in place of injured Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke, completed 24 of 33 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown for the Hurricanes (5-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). The biggest hit Williams — who wasn’t sacked — took in the game actually came after the game, when Van Dyke exuberantly wrapped his arms around him as a reward for engineering two late scoring drives to erase a 17-7 deficit and, maybe, save the season.

“Right now,” defensive lineman Rueben Bain said after Miami held Clemson to 31 rushing yards on 34 carries, “I feel like I’m on top of the world.”

Cade Klubnik connected with Jake Briningstool on a pair of touchdown passes for Clemson (4-3, 2-3). The Tigers turned the ball over three times in the first half, and paid for those blunders.

“They found a way to win,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said, “and we found a way not to win.”

After the go-ahead TD, Allen also got the 2-point conversion to put all the pressure on Clemson in the second OT. On the game’s final play, needing no more than a yard for the end zone, Klubnik faked a handoff and rolled left — only to have no chance of getting past Miami linebacker Corey Flagg, who made the tackle and the Hurricanes sprinted onto the field in celebration.

“Everybody talks about my touchdown,” Allen said. “Corey really won the game, if you want to know the truth.”

Van Dyke walked with a slight limp when he entered the stadium, and it became clear about an hour before the game that he wasn’t going to play. And Williams struggled mightily for much of the game, getting only 31 yards on his first 10 completions.

But he stepped up at the end, as did Miami’s defense, and the Hurricanes’ two-game slide is over.

“Obviously very proud of our players, very proud of our program, for showing just a ton of resiliency and toughness,” Cristobal said, noting that Miami remembered last year’s game with Clemson — a 40-10 loss where the Tigers tacked a touchdown on with 16 seconds remaining.

Williams found Colbie Young from 11 yards out with 8 minutes left in regulation to get Miami within a field goal, and Andy Borregales hit a 35-yarder to tie the game with 1:51 left.

Field goals capped each team’s first overtime series; Jonathan Weitz kicked a 31-yarder for Clemson, Borregales connected from 35 yards for Miami to tie it at 20 and send the game to a second overtime.

The loss means Swinney has to wait at least one more week before becoming the school’s outright leader in wins. He remains tied with Frank Howard for the most in Tigers history with 165.

“We didn’t deserve to win the game,” Swinney said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Clemson: This was a deviation from the norm for so many reasons. Clemson had been 16-3 in the Swinney era in regular-season games following a bye week, 47-10 in night games since the start of the 2015 season — and had blown out Miami in each of the last four meetings between the schools by a combined score of 178-30.

Miami: The Hurricanes were 0-5 in home ACC games since the start of last season. That matched the longest home losing streak in conference games — going back to the Big East days as well — in program history. The Hurricanes also dropped five straight ACC games at home during a stretch spanning 2007 and 2008.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Clemson was second in the “also receiving votes” department of last week’s AP Top 25, though it’s hard to believe any voters would have the Tigers on their ballot this week. Miami — which fell out after last week’s loss to North Carolina — might have set itself up for a return to the poll at some point.

WHOOPS

The teams fumbled at the goal line on back-to-back plays in the first quarter. Will Shipley lost the ball on what could have been a Clemson TD, Miami recovered in the end zone, and on the Hurricanes’ first play after the touchback Brashard Smith took off an 80-yard run — but he, too, lost the ball. Jacolby George recovered and the Hurricanes took a 7-0 lead.

UP NEXT

Clemson: Visit North Carolina State on Oct. 28.

Miami: Host Virginia on Oct. 28.

“His presence is a game changer,” coach Mack Brown said.

Walker caught three of Drake Maye’s four touchdown passes and UNC took over after halftime to beat No. 25 Miami 41-31 on Saturday night, extending what has been the program’s best start in 26 years.

Walker had 132 yards on his six catches in his first start for the Tar Heels (6-0, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), with that start having been delayed after a long eligibility fight with the NCAA.

The Kent State transfer didn’t play the first four games when the NCAA wouldn’t grant a waiver for immediate eligibility, citing tougher restrictions on athletes regarded as two-time transfers, before unexpectedly reversing itself last week.

Walker had six catches for 43 yards in a last-minute rush of preparation to get on the field last week against Syracuse. This time, he had a full week of practice to be fully integrated into the offense, then showed his ability as a game-breaking downfield threat for the Tar Heels’ star passer.

“I was able to have a full week to prepare … (getting) some of that chemistry back we had in the spring,” Walker said.

Omarion Hampton scored two short TDs — one on the ground, one through the air — to go with 197 yards rushing for the Tar Heels, including a 60-yarder with UNC working on the clock in the fourth quarter with a two-touchdown lead. Maye threw for 273 yards and overcame early pressure from Miami’s defensive front.

The Tar Heels trailed 17-14 at the break after a penalty-filled half, but ran off 24 straight points in the third quarter to push ahead for good.

Tyler Van Dyke threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns for the Hurricanes (4-2, 0-2), with two of those scores going to Xavier Restrepo. Jacolby George and Brashard Smith also had TD catches for Miami.

But a week after a crushing last-second loss to Georgia Tech, Miami struggled badly in the third quarter, both in moving the ball and slowing down the Tar Heels. Miami managed just 32 yards in the third, which included Miami losing a fumble on a low snap and Van Dyke throwing an interception.

“That tilted the momentum,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. “We found ourselves trying to catch that momentum back, and never did.”

Walker got loose on a deep route over the middle for an 18-yard touchdown grab in the first quarter. He struck again on Maye’s perfectly placed deep ball — flying over the outstretched arm of Jaden Davis — that hit Walker in stride for a 56-yard TD in the opening minutes of the third.

Walker’s third came when Maye hit him for a 34-yarder that had him cutting through the middle of the Miami defense and breaking into the clear for a 28-17 lead.

“We were 4-0 without him,” Brown said. “Obviously we have a chance to be much better with him.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Miami: The Georgia Tech loss was a disaster, from a late playcalling mistake that Cristobal took the blame for to giving up the last-second touchdown. The Hurricanes talked this week about showing the ability to bounce back, and they did that through a first half that had them making UNC’s high-powered offense working for yards even while losing a fumble at the goal line with a chance for an early touchdown. But the game got away in the third quarter, and they spent the fourth quarter largely chasing their own improbable comeback.

“We’ve got to be better, honestly,” Van Dyke said, adding: “Too many critical situations, turnovers, making mistakes — we’ve got to fix all that stuff.”

UNC: The Tar Heels are off to their best start since winning the first eight games in 1997, which was the final year of Brown’s first coaching tenure at UNC before leaving for Texas. Last week’s blowout of Syracuse was a complete-game performance, while this one showed off the potential of an offense that has finally has Walker fully integrated to go with Hampton’s ability to carry the load on the ground.

“It’s nice to have him out there,” Maye said with a grin.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

UNC made its case for top-10 consideration in Sunday’s next AP Top 25 release, while Miami seems likely to fall out after barely staying in the poll this week.

PENALTY PROBLEM

The biggest concern in this one for Brown was easy: 14 penalties for 147 yards.

“We didn’t play well enough for us to start walking around with our chest stuck out,” he said. “You can’t have that many penalties.”

UP NEXT

Miami: The Hurricanes host Clemson next Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels wrap a three-game league homestand by against Virginia next Saturday.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the portal decision was not announced publicly. Cavinder posted on social media Friday that she plans to return to play — “see you next season” she wrote on Instagram — but did not say where.

It would also be possible for her to return to Miami, if she chose, though entering the portal suggests she may have a new destination in mind.

Cavinder and her twin sister Hanna played at Miami last season and helped the Hurricanes reach the Elite Eight. Haley Cavinder had told the AP last season that she planned to play one more college season; Hanna Cavinder said she was likely done playing. The twins announced in April they would not be playing this season.

Haley Cavinder ended last season with 2,065 career points, which was 19th-most among all active Division I players. She averaged 12.2 points per game last season, a team best for Miami — and her 65 makes from 3-point range was another team high, by a wide margin.

The twins transferred from Fresno State to Miami in April 2022 with hopes of playing in the NCAA Tournament and probably exceeded even their own expectations by helping the Hurricanes fall just short of reaching the Final Four.

The twins have 4.5 million followers on TikTok, part of their enormous footprint in the social media space. When the NIL era started on July 1, 2021, and NCAA rules began allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, the Cavinders were among the first stars: Boost Mobile signed them immediately, touting the deal with a giant advertisement in New York’s Times Square, and many other deals followed.

“What started as us playing basketball 16 years ago turned into something bigger than we could ever imagine,” the twins said in April in the statement where they announced they weren’t playing this season.

The 25th-ranked Hurricanes are ready to play, too, just to move past a jaw-dropping loss.

The game was nearly a matchup of unbeaten teams before Miami (4-1, 0-1 ACC) lost to Georgia Tech after an improbable sequence of events. There was the Hurricanes losing a fumble in the final minute on a running play instead of taking a knee to kill clock, then surrendering the go-ahead touchdown with 1 second left on a long pass play.

Coach Mario Cristobal has taken the blame for not calling a kneeldown. The Hurricanes have since tried to move forward.

“That’s the only choice that we have in this program,” Cristobal said. “That’s something I think is important for us here at Miami, the ability to bounce back strong, to make that tradition again. That always used to be a very strong part of our tradition. This is a great opportunity to go forward … and play our best football going forward.”

That was the day-after focus for center Matt Lee, who was in a viral video showing his emotional disbelief on the sideline last weekend.

“You know you can’t dwell on it at all,” Lee said. “That goes for the whole team. That goes for the whole coaching staff. … And that’s what we’ve done, I think we’ve done a great job of that this week.”

The Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0) are in a much different mindset coming in after blowing out Syracuse, which extended the program’s best start in 26 years. UNC racked up 644 total yards while surrendering just 11 first downs, the fewest in a game for the Tar Heels’ defense since 2012.

“Kids will respond, they’ll all pull together,” UNC coach Mack Brown said of Miami. “Usually when there’s more criticism, they pull together harder. Miami will come in here well coached and excited about playing the game.”

RECENT HISTORY

UNC has won all four meetings since Brown’s return for a second coaching stint in Chapel Hill. Three of those wins came by three-point margins, including in 2019 with Brown’s first home game of his second tenure.

SEASON STARTS

The Tar Heels are off to their best start since winning the first eight games in 1997, which was the final season of Brown’s first tenure before going to Texas. Before the Georgia Tech game, Miami was off to its best start since going 10-0 in 2017.

TOP QBS

The game will pair two of the country’s most productive quarterbacks in UNC star Drake Maye and Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke.

Van Dyke is sixth in the Bowl Subdivision ranks with a 178.8 efficiency ranking, which is best in the ACC. Maye is 26th at 158.8. Van Dyke is 12th in completion percentage at 72.6%, while Maye is 14th at 72.1%.

And Maye is third in FBS in total offense at 360.6 yards per game.

KEY MATCHUP

Miami’s defense will present a tough test for UNC’s high-powered offense.

The Hurricanes rank ninth in FBS by allowing 268.4 yards and 12th by allowing 14.6 points per game. The Tar Heels rank ninth nationally by averaging 500 yards per game to go with 36.6 points (18th).

Notably, the Tar Heels are second nationally by converting 56.6% of their third downs.

TEZ’S PREP

UNC didn’t have much time to get receiver Devontez Walker ready to play in the Syracuse win after the NCAA’s unexpected reversal of its denial of his transfer-eligibility waiver. The Tar Heels have had more time to integrate him into the offense for Miami.

Walker was projected to be the top target for Maye when he transferred from Kent State. He had been working with the scout team in practices before getting limited work in the Syracuse game, finishing with six catches for 43 yards.

“We did get a ton of reps for him in the spring and fall camp,” offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said. “So I’m very familiar with the things he does well and maybe some of the things that other guys do. … I just think from my standpoint, it’s where does he fit in teh flow of the offense?”

“I made the wrong call,” Cristobal said.

Miami led Georgia Tech 20-17 and could have been in victory formation — taking a knee to essentially end the game — when a running play was called. Don Chaney fumbled the ball with 26 seconds left, and Georgia Tech took over on its own 26-yard line.

It took the Yellow Jackets four plays — an incompletion, a 30-yard gain, a spike to stop the clock and a 44-yard pass with 2 seconds left — to find the end zone and win 23-20, handing Miami (4-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) its first loss of the year.

“What we did at the end was the wrong decision,” Dawson said. “I called it. It is what it is. I wished we would have done something different, but we didn’t. Got to live with it. … I’m not going to sit here and go through the process with you guys. What’s said on the headsets is between us, and ultimately, I called the play. And I can live with it. It was the wrong thing to do.”

Cristobal said immediately after the game that he should have stepped in and called for a kneel-down, and did not blame anyone else Monday — saying he takes “complete ownership.”

Miami fell eight spots to No. 25 in the AP Top 25 after the loss, and Cristobal was asked how the team would recover in time to prepare for a trip to play No. 12 North Carolina this weekend.

“You do it with honesty and transparency, go and fix all the things we can do better and realize the opportunity in front of us,” Cristobal said. “Football is very much like life. We owe it to ourselves and to our players, to our entire organization like we do our very own families to look each other right in the eye and demand the best, the absolute truth from each other so we can go forward.”

Miami has asked the ACC for an explanation about why Chaney was not ruled down, and why the play wasn’t overturned on review. Cristobal said the league has not given Miami an answer yet.

Commentators and those on social media have, predictably, not been kind to Miami in recent days for the blunder of not kneeling down — and for how Georgia Tech receiver Christian Leary got behind two defenders, including All-America safety Kam Kinchens, for the winning score.

Cristobal said players have responded the right way, which is all he can ask. He also told Chaney, Kinchens and any other players who were on the field in the final 26 seconds that they were in no way responsible for the final events that led to the loss.

All the blame, he insists, goes to him.

“You go through things and sometimes you’re not prepared for things and sometimes you still have conflict, but family stays together,” defensive coordinator Lance Guidry said. “And that’s what we preach around here.”