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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Finally, a regional final for Tulsa.
The Golden Hurricane found their first success in the second
week of the NCAA Tournament Friday night, advancing past the round
of 16 for the first time in school history with an 80-71 victory
over Miami in the South Regional.
"You can put Cinderella on us if you want to, but our players
and teams have shown through the years that they can play with
anyone," Tulsa coach Bill Self said.
Although Tulsa will play in the a regional final for the first
time Sunday, the Golden Hurricane are no stranger to the later days
of the NCAA Tournament.
Tulsa (32-4) has advanced to the Sweet 16 three times since 1994
but had never advanced farther. To get there this time it took a
second-round victory over second-seeded Cincinnati.
Tulsa will play eighth-seeded North Carolina, which beat Tennessee, 74-69, on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
"We haven't been in many close games, we needed an experience
like Cincinnati," Self said. "Miami outplayed us until the
eight-minute mark, but they ran out of gas."
Thanks to a group effort by Tulsa.
Brandon Kurtz, at 6-foot-10 the only Tulsa player who could
match up with Miami's size, scored all of his 17 points in the
second half and provided the key steal and dunk that snuffed
Miami's only lead with about 10 minutes left to play.
Eric Coley also scored 17 points for Tulsa and Greg Harrington
had 14, Marcus Hill 13 and Tony Heard 11.
"I have high expectations for myself," Kurtz said. "We spread
the floor, opened it up and my teammates found me."
Miami (23-11) had never made it this far in its three previous
tournament appearances and was noticeably nervous in the opening
minutes.
Johnny Hemsley, who averaged 22 points in Miami's two tournament
victories, slammed the ball at midcourt before pregame
introductions, sending it high into the air.
His teammates were just as tight as the Hurricanes turned it
over 13 times in the first half as Tulsa built a 25-8 lead.
Despite giving up the size, Tulsa outrebounded Miami 41-37 and
gave the Hurricanes no second chance points in the first half.
Tulsa had won 25 games this season by double-figure margins and
appeared on the verge of another rout.
"I haven't seen a group of guys play together as they do,"
Miami's Vernon Jennings said. "They just didn't let us get into
doing what we wanted to do."
Miami recovered in time to close the gap to 31-25 at halftime on
Hemsley's 3-pointer.
The Hurricanes hit 10-of-17 from the arc and Jennings' 3-pointer
give Miami its first -- and only -- lead at 46-43 with 10-35 to play.
It lasted all of 45 seconds. Tulsa answered with Hill's jumper,
and Kurtz intercepted Jennings' pass and finished a fast break with
a dunk to retake the lead at 47-46.
Kurtz scored six more as Tulsa built the lead to 61-50 on
Heard's two free throws with 5:21 to play. Miami never again cut it
below eight.
"I thought we were a step slower tonight and you can't have
that against a team like Tulsa," Miami coach Leonard Hamilton
said. "They are probably the fastest team we faced all year ... I
think our team was worn out."
Hamilton, who hired Self as an assistant at Oklahoma State in
the late 1980s, hugged his former protege at midcourt when the game
ended. Miami (23-11) finished one victory short of a school record.
"I'm very proud of what these guys accomplished this year,"
Hamilton said.
Jennings and Mario Bland led Miami with 17 points each. Hemsley
had 13 on 4-of-10 shooting before fouling out in the final minute.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Tulsa NCAA Team Report
Miami NCAA Team Report
Chat: NCAA Tourney
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Coach Bill Self talks about the "Cinderella" label being put put on his team.
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Leonard Hamilton was impressed with Tulsa's effort.
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