Texas seeks 1st Final Four in 20 years, Miami its 1st ever

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Texas coach Rodney Terry was not more than 20 minutes removed from a resounding win over Xavier in the Sweet 16 when he was asked about the next mammoth task during what is becoming an improbable run toward a home-state Final Four.

How do you slow down Nijel Pack and high-scoring Miami?

“You’re not going to let me enjoy this for one night, huh?” Terry replied.

He was joking, of course. Terry and his second-seeded Longhorns — the best seed left in an upset-filled NCAA Tournament — have been savoring every moment of March Madness. It began two weeks ago with a run through Kansas to the Big 12 Tournament title on the same floor inside T-Mobile Center, and with a win over the No. 5 seed Hurricanes on Sunday night, it would end with a trip to Houston and Texas’ first Final Four appearance in 20 years.

“This has been a very resilient team all year long,” said Terry, the longtime assistant who epitomized that resolve by keeping the Longhorns together after coach Chris Beard was suspended and ultimately fired early in the season.

“When you play in the Big 12,” Terry continued, “you’ve been battle-tested. There’s not really anything you haven’t faced all year long — foul trouble, an injured guy. You just keep playing and keep working.”

The latest injury for the Longhorns involves Dylan Disu, the Big 12 tourney MVP, who hurt his left foot in the second-round win over Penn State. Disu had been a revelation during the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend, but the 6-foot-9 senior had to watch most of their regional semifinal win over the Musketeers from the bench in a walking boot.

Terry called him “day to day” on Saturday, though it appears unlikely Disu will be available against Miami.

That won’t help when it comes to stopping Pack and Co.

The transfer from Kansas State, whose $800,000 deal with LifeWallet made him an early poster child for an era of name, image and likeness compensation, dropped seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points in leading the Hurricanes to an easy win over Houston on Friday night — thus eliminating the last No. 1 seed in the tourney.

Miami coach Jim Larrañaga called Pack’s performance “a joke,” one that left only his own team laughing, and it came after the Kansas State transfer scored 21 points in the Hurricanes’ NCAA opener against Drake and 12 in a second-round win over Indiana.

“I wanted to be part of something special, something great,” Pack said. “We’re doing something special right now.”

Even if the Longhorns and their own spectacular guards, Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter, manage to limit Pack’s looks in the Midwest Region final, they still have to deal with ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong, ruthless rebounding machine Norchad Omier and a group trying to reach the Final Four for the first time in school history.

“Their guard play is really good,” Terry said. “They share the basketball really well. Their interior players played really well against a really physical Houston team. Nothing but respect for Coach Larrañaga and what he has been able to do over the course of his career. His teams just win. We know we have our hands full.”