McGusty, Miami beat Iowa State 70-56 in Sweet 16
By JAY COHEN
CHICAGO (AP) — Kameron McGusty scored 27 points and Miami advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time, using its swarming defense to beat Iowa State 70-56 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Jordan Miller added 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting as No. 10 seed Miami more than held its own in a matchup of two of the tourney’s most suffocating defenses. The 11th-seeded Cyclones shot 32% from the field in the second half and finished with 18 turnovers.
With Charlie Moore directing the attack in his hometown, the Hurricanes (26-10) got their first win in the school’s fourth appearance in the Sweet 16. Next up is No. 1 seed Kansas — a 66-61 winner over Providence — on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four, where Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga took George Mason in 2006.
Iowa State (22-13) rode its hard-nosed defense into the Midwest Region semifinals after it had just two wins last season. It forced 14 turnovers after Miami turned it over seven times in the first two rounds, but the Hurricanes shot 46% from the field. The Cyclones allowed 33.3% shooting over their first two tourney games.
Gabe Kalscheur scored 13 points for Iowa State, and freshman Tyrese Hunter had 13 points and seven assists. Izaiah Brockington finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Cyclones pulled within one on Kalscheur’s jumper with 16:28 left. But the Hurricanes responded with a 10-2 run. Isaiah Wong’s 3-pointer — one of nine on the night for Miami — made it 46-37 with 12:23 to go.
Iowa State made a couple charges down the stretch, but McGusty made a 3 and converted a layup to help Miami answer each time. When Sam Waardenburg connected from deep and Miller made two foul shots to make it 60-46 with 2:47 to go, the celebration was on for the Hurricanes.
Waardenburg finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Moore had nine assists.
Moore was back in Chicago after starring for Morgan Park in high school and playing for DePaul during a college career that also included stops at California at Kansas. Iowa State’s George Conditt IV also got to play in his hometown in his senior season.
Moore went scoreless in the first half, but he set up Miller for a pair of layups while helping Miami to a 32-29 halftime lead.
Conditt had eight points at halftime, including a big jam over Waardenburg and a rebound dunk.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: It was the Cyclones’ first loss in 16 nonconference games. They didn’t have enough playmakers to keep up with Miami, especially in the second half.
Miami: No stranger to March success, Larrañaga has his Hurricanes playing with poise and confidence. Their seeding is only one better than George Mason’s during its extraordinary 2006 run.
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