Miami coach Jim Larrañaga offered a great comment after his Hurricanes knocked off Auburn in the NCAA Tournament.
Miami beat the No. 2-seeded Tigers 79-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. It was a big win for the No. 10-seeded Hurricanes, who also upset USC in the first round.
Larrañaga, who is in his 11th season coaching Miami, joked after the victory that he won the game to spare America from some Charles Barkley nastiness.
“I was tuned into the games before us and I listened to Charles Barkley tell the CBS crew that if Auburn won, he would take off his shirt. And I thought to myself, ‘Man, no one wants to see that Charles,'” Larrañaga joked.
Auburn is coached by Bruce Pearl, who is known for taking his shirt off, which is what Barkley was planning to do. Barkley also went to Auburn and remains a big fan of his alma mater, which explains his planned celebration. Miami just stepped in and screwed up the plan.
The Hurricanes dominated the game in transition and held Auburn to 30.4 percent shooting in the game. Auburn is now heading home after a 28-6 season. Barkley is sticking around on Turner’s March Madness programming.
Photo: November 23, 2018; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Turner Sports sportscaster Charles Barkley before The Match: Tiger vs Phil golf match at Shadow Creek Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
