March Madness 2022: Miami dominates No. 2 seed Auburn to reach Sweet 16

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Miami showed there's still a place for old-school basketball played by experienced players — and for the Hurricanes, that's in the Sweet 16.

The 10th-seeded Hurricanes (25-10) used a second-half surge and neutralized No. 2 seeded Auburn's Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler in a 79-61 victory for their first trip to a regional semifinal in six years.

Auburn leaned heavily on the 6-foot-10 Smith, the Southeastern Conference freshman of the year, and 7-1 Kessler, the nation's blocked shots leader, on the way to an SEC title and what figured to be a deep run in the Midwest Region.

Instead, it was Miami's smaller, older, savvier lineup that dominated.

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Miami guard Charlie Moore (3) celebrates after scoring during the second half of a college basketball game against Auburn in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Greenville, S.C.  (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

"Being small," Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga said, "has its advantages."

Especially when the group included sixth-year "super seniors" in Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty, and fearless sophomore Isaiah Wong, who are all 6-5 or shorter.

Wong had a game-high 21 points, McGusty scored 20 and Moore had 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

"We just had a great night tonight," said Sam Waardenburg, at 6-10, the tallest player in Miami's regular rotation. "It's what we can do every night."

Miami advanced to the round of 16 for the fourth time overall and third time in Larranaga's 10 seasons. The Hurricanes will head to Chicago to take on No. 11 seed Iowa State in a matchup surely no one saw coming.

"This is a dream