The first game of Saturday's second round action in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, No. 3 Miami's meeting with No. 11 Wichita State, pits one of the great mid-majors of the decade against the coach who orchestrated the first mid-major Final Four run.
Jim Larrañaga is a decade removed from that magical George Mason run in 2006, but he has perhaps his best Miami team yet, and the Hurricanes represent the toughest test yet for the resilient Shockers. Angel Rodriguez and Sheldon McClellan can both be destructive from distance, and while Rodriguez's consistency leaves plenty to be desired, when he's on, the Hurricanes are among the nation's finest teams. He wasn't on for the entire game against Buffalo in the first round, but he did enough to score 24 points and propel Miami to a 79-72 win.
Of course, Wichita State is one of those nation's finest teams as well. The Shockers have also been about as battle-tested over the course of the careers of seniors Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet, and Evan Wessel as can be, experiencing every level of the NCAA Tournament except the national final and compiling a 9-3 record over that span. This year, the Shockers romped against Vanderbilt, 70-50, in a First Four contest, then routed Arizona in a not-as-close-as-the-score-suggests 65-55 win that snapped a 40-game streak of 60-plus point performances in the NCAA Tournament by the Wildcats.
The winner of Saturday's game will meet the winner of No. 2 Villanova and No. 7 Iowa in the Sweet Sixteen.
Game time: 12:15 p.m. ET
How to watch: CBS
How to livestream: March Madness Live
How to listen: Westwood One Sports
* * *
Watch No. 11 Northern Iowa stun No. 6 Texas with this amazing buzzer beater from half court
Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more