NCAA Tournament Pregame Notes: Miami vs. Houston

In preparation for Friday night’s NCAA Tournament matchup between Miami and Houston, LifeWallet Sports has compiled these notes and statistics to watch out for ahead of the game.

Miami (credit to Miami Athletics):

• Miami is 5-9 all-time against Houston, losing its last meeting in a 99-93 home loss on Feb.  20, 1971.
• This is UM’s fifth-ever Sweet 16 appearance. Its last NCAA quarterfinals game was in 2022, marking the first time in program history that the Hurricanes have advanced past the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
• The Hurricanes are 1-3 all-time in Sweet 16 games.
• Miami’s only Sweet 16 win was in 2022, as it defeated Iowa State, 70-56, to advance to the program’s first Elite Eight.
• UM played one other AAC team this year, beating UCF, 66-64.
• The Hurricanes hold an all-time record of 13-11 in the NCAA Tournament.
• Miami scored a tournament-high 85 points in its Round of 32 win over Indiana.
• Against the Hoosiers, UM also set tournament highs in field goals made (34), field goal attempts (70) and rebounds (48).
• Norchad Omier grabbed 17 rebounds against Indiana, setting a UM tournament record. This feat broke Miami’s previous rebounding record of 14, which Omier totaled in Miami’s 2023 tournament debut against Drake.
• Omier’s 17 boards was also the most a UM player has had in regulation since November 2018.
• Isaiah Wong scored a personal tournament-high of 27 points against Indiana. This was also the highest-point total that a Hurricane has totaled through their first two tournament games.
• This is UM head coach Jim Larrañaga’s first game coaching against Houston head coach Kelvin Samson.
• Miami is the last ACC team left in the NCAA Tournament after Pittsburgh’s loss to Xavier in the Round of 32. This extends the nation’s longest conference Sweet 16 appearance streak of 43 years.

Houston (credit to Houston Athletics):

• This is Houston’s 14th-ever Sweet 16 appearance, including its fourth in as many years. 
• The Cougars are 7-6 all-time in Sweet 16 games.
• This is Houston’s 24th NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Houston holds an all-time record of 38-28 in the NCAA Tournament.
• If Houston defeats Miami, it would advance to its eighth Elite Eight in program history.
• Houston beat Northern Kentucky, 63-52, in its first-round game and defeated Auburn, 81-64.
• Trailing by 10 at halftime, Houston outscored Auburn, 50-23, in the second half.
• Tramon Mark scored a game-high and career-high 26 points against the Tigers.
• If it can outlast the Hurricanes, Houston would win its 34th game this season, setting a program record.
• The Cougars lead college basketball in field-goal percentage defense (36.1), scoring margin (+18.3) and rank second in points allowed per game (56.6) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4).
• Associated Press All-America First-Team guard and AAC Player of the Year Marcus Sasser is 16th all-time in Houston career history with 1,444 points. If Sasser scores 33 against Miami, he will jump to 13th on the all-time leaderboard.
• Jamal Shead, averaging a team-high 5.4 assists per game, is one of 10 players to rank among the top 30 players nationally in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio. Shead was also named the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Statistical Comparison:

Points Per Game

Miami: 79.1

Houston: 74.9

Field Goal Percentage

Miami: 48.1%

Houston: 46.1%

Free Throw Percentage 

Miami: 77.4%

Houston: 72.7%

3-point Percentage Per Game

Miami: 36.8%

Houston: 34.2%

Total Rebounds Per Game

Miami: 32.4

Houston: 36.0

Assists Per Game

Miami: 14.6

Houston: 14.7

Turnovers Per Game

Miami: 10.9

Houston: 9.5

Assist/Turnover Ratio

Miami: 1.3

Houston: 1.5

Blocked Shots Per Game

Miami: 3.2

Houston: 4.9