Miami, NC State to meet in finale after lost seasons

Two years ago, the Miami Hurricanes, coached by Jim Larranaga, reached the NCAA Final Four for the first time in program history.

This season, however, has been a disaster for the Hurricanes (6-24, 2-17 Atlantic Coast Conference). Larranaga abruptly retired in December, leaving the team to interim coach Bill Courtney.

On Saturday afternoon, the regular season finally ends for the Hurricanes, who will host North Carolina State (12-18, 5-14).

NC State, which made a shocking run to the NCAA Final Four last year, also will be playing its season finale.

For either team to advance to the NCAA Tournament, it would take winning the ACC tournament, which begins Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. The Wolfpack won it last season as a No. 10 seed.

If Miami loses Saturday, it would represent the most losses ever by a Hurricanes team. Prior to this season, the Miami record for futility was set in 1991-92 when the Hurricanes went 8-24.

And, with a loss, a winning percentage of .194 would be the worst in Miami history.

Miami has lost six straight games, but a bright spot has been Matthew Cleveland, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard who leads the team in scoring average (17.1 points).

He has scored at least 20 points 13 times, and he posted 29 points on Tuesday in Miami's 89-74 loss at Georgia Tech.

On Thursday, Miami named Jai Lucas as its new coach. Lucas, who served as Duke's associate head coach, will leave the Blue Devils to join Miami on Monday.

"Jai is an innovative coach, a relentless recruiter and a proven talent-developer," Miami athletics director Dan Radakovich said.

Much like Miami, the Wolfpack have sunk quickly, considering NC State won five ACC Tournament games in five days last year, shocking everyone by winning its first league championship since 1987.

On the bright side, NC State is coming off a 71-63 home win over Pitt.

"We have not had a great year," Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said after that win, "but we're fighting every moment we can."

The Wolfpack have three scorers averaging double figures: Marcus Hill (11.6 points), Dontrez Styles (10.9) and Jayden Taylor (10.9).

Styles leads the team in rebounds (5.1). Michael O'Connell tops the squad in assists (3.6), and Taylor leads in steals (1.4).

--Field Level Media