CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse are basketball schools. But the ACC institution home to five football national championships?
A University of Miami student brought a sign claiming the same for The U on Tuesday night, and he might not be far off.
You guys saw this photo earlier from others. Is this possible? #Canes @caneshoops pic.twitter.com/TXpF5kCeGV
— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) December 3, 2014
The 15th-ranked Hurricanes remained undefeated with a 70-61 victory over No. 24 Illinois at BankUnited Center as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
With the win, Miami improved upon its best start since 2009. The same team chosen to finish 10th of 15 schools in the basketball-rich league is 8-0, two years removed from shocking the college basketball world with ACC titles and a Sweet 16 berth.
It's Dec. 3, and the Hurricanes find themselves in the polls at this point in the season for the first time in program history.
"I think it's a very positive step for us to play another top-25 team and get a W," head coach Jim Larranaga said. "We beat Florida early on when they were eighth in the country, and now we've beat Illinois when they're 24th in the country. That ends up giving you confidence when you're playing against other top-25-type teams."
This success isn't going unnoticed amongst the UM faithful, fans in dire need of an escape from the social media firestorm surrounding the football program.
Students -- a record 2,003 of them, including members of the football team -- lined up to enter the arena more than an hour before tip-off. That was nearly 300 more than the previous mark. When they got inside, they donned ugly Christmas sweater UM t-shirts and orange Santa hats. In total, 6,086 fans showed up.
When junior center Tonye Jekiri leapt in the air and snared a pair of defensive rebounds so the Hurricanes could milk more of the clock late in the game, the crowd erupted.
When junior guard Sheldon McClellan put down an alley-oop, the decibel level reached impressive proportions.
"It definitely felt like a basketball school," said McClellan, who scored 14 points and recorded nine rebounds. "Students came out to support us, and we thank them for that. We'd like to have them come out every game like that, but that was a big boost for us. It kind of gave us energy and positive things to feed off of."
Seven Miami players scored, and three finished in double figures. The bench outscored Illinois by 12. This balanced attack features eight guards, meaning the team can find the bucket any number of ways.
Each time the Illini pulled within striking distance, including 10 unanswered points to begin the second half, the Hurricanes responded. Rather than panic, the players trusted in each other and stayed focus. UM led by as many as 13 and for 37:09 of 40 minutes.
"Coach always lets us know the game is about runs," said redshirt freshman guard Deandre Burnett, who scored a team-high 19 points. "We expect the team to make a run, but it's how you respond."
Tuesday's win represents another step forward for the program Larranaga is trying to build in Coral Gables. Illinois isn't a pushover as a Big Ten team with an appearance in the rankings 19 of the last 22 seasons.
Two areas of concern -- rebounding and defense -- took steps forward on Tuesday. Though Illinois gathered 16 offensive rebounds, Miami matched the overall total (44). The Illini entered the game fourth in the nation with 90 points per game, but fell 29 shy on 33.3 percent shooting..
"It's definitely a great start, we just got to stay focused," McClellan said. "Look at the next team, which is Wisconsin-Green Bay, and not look at any other game except Wisconsin-Green Bay. We just got to go the boards and practice gym and get ready for them and stay focused and not get caught up in all the hype and rankings and continue to improve each game."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
