The University of Miami men’s basketball team defeated Providence, 74-64, Saturday evening at Mohegan Sun Arena in its first game of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
The victory marked the 700th of Miami (4-0) head coach Jim Larrañaga’s illustrious career. The win, in which his team led for 30-plus minutes against the reigning BIG EAST champions, came against his alma mater.
Some Larrañaga highlights:
- Larrañaga is the 53rd NCAA coach, at any level, to reach 700 victories, including the 35th with Division I experience and the 34th with at least five years of experience at that level.
- Just seven prior individuals with ACC head coaching experience have hit the 700-win mark: Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams, Dean Smith, Cliff Ellis, Lefty Driesell and Rick Barnes.
- Larrañaga is the fourth person to reach 700 wins while an active ACC head coach, following Krzyzewski, Williams and Smith.
- The victory over Providence marked the first for Larrañaga against his alma mater, as he lost his prior two such outings, once at Bowling Green (11/25/89) and once at Miami (12/22/14).
