Angel Rodriguez, Miami knock Wichita State out of NCAA Tournament (+videos)

Eleven minutes of uncharacteristically bad basketball started the end of Wichita State’s NCAA Tournament run and the history-making, bracket-busting careers of senior guards Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.

The next 29 minutes, turning a 21-point deficit into a brief lead, came painfully close to extending those careers.

VanVleet ended the day red-eyed and sad, eloquently explaining his emotions, his love for his teammates and pride in the past four seasons. Miami point guard Angel Rodriguez smiled and explained his hot start to the game, his killer finish and the sweet feeling of moving on.

With Rodriguez, not VanVleet, serving as the game’s defining figure, third-seeded Miami held off the 11th-seeded Shockers 65-57 on Saturday at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Turnovers (an uncharacteristic problem) and poor shooting (a familiar weakness) combined to doom WSU. Those issues allowed the Hurricanes to escape WSU’s defensive clutches with an ease few teams managed.

“Rodriguez pretty much kicked my butt and outplayed me to start the game,” VanVleet said. “He set the tone early and got it going. If you give a great player a start like that, it’s going to be a long night.”

Wichita State (26-9) ends its season after winning Tuesday in Dayton and Thursday in Providence and putting in many air miles with little sleep in between. Miami (27-7) advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2013. It will play either second-seeded Villanova or seventh-seeded Iowa on Thursday in Louisville, Ky.

The loss concludes what arguably is the most successful era in Shocker history, one that started when Baker arrived as a redshirt freshman in 2011 and took off the next season when Baker and VanVleet played important roles in the 2013 Final Four. They followed that with 35 straight wins and a No. 1 seed in 2014 and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015.

It’s over and it took a career day by Rodriguez, who scored a career-high 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He committed seven turnovers while ultimately coming out on top of the high-risk, high-reward calculation by directing Miami to 21 baskets on 38 shots. He also recorded four steals, leading Miami’s defense that forced 15 turnovers and scored 23 points off those turnovers.

“He just owned the place,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said.

The Hurricanes started with overwhelming defense and finished with a scoring burst. In between, they helped the Shockers rally with risky passes and quick shots. That is their style, however, and it carried the day with 55.3-percent shooting, 58.3 percent from three-point range, and a five-point edge at the foul line. Both percentages are season-highs against the Shockers, who defeated Vanderbilt and Arizona with dominant, aggressive defense on their way to the second round.

Miami presented the Shockers with a tougher challenge, skilled and experienced guards who could handle the ball against pressure, make big shots and create dunks out of turnovers.

“They scored too easily early,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “They made everything. They looked really fresh and bouncy and shots were going in.”

VanVleet scored 12 points and Baker 11 in their final games, both making 4 of 12 shots and committing four turnovers. VanVleet had five assists. Center Shaq Morris added 12 points and six rebounds.

Rodriguez opened and closed for the Hurricanes, scoring 16 first-half points to knock the Shockers off course. He scored Miami’s final 10 points, all in 2:05, to end WSU’s final rally.

He started by throwing in a bank shot, off the wrong foot and on the move, with the shot clock running down for a 57-53 lead.

“We were still down four, but … he hit that crap and basically … kind of the dagger,” WSU forward Markis McDuffie said.

“It explained his night,” WSU forward Rashard Kelly said. “Nine for 11. Sixteen in the first half, 7 for 7. Man, hat’s off to him as a great player, but if he had misssed two or three of those shots I think it’s a different game.”

After VanVleet missed a three-pointer, Rodriguez sank a stepback three-pointer over Baker that made it 60-53 with 1:14 remaining. He added five free throws in the final 43 seconds.

“I just felt good,” Rodriguez said. “I told Ivan (Cruz Ucedea) in the warmups, I was like, ‘Man, today I just feel different.’ I had a really good energy about the team. I just seemed to come out on fire.”

Miami threatened to make it a laugher twice, leading 27-6 in the first half with an overwhelming show of defense. The Shockers, using a zone defense, made it 32-19 at halftime. Miami extended its lead to 38-21 on a dunk by Kamari Murphy early in the second half. Pushed to the edge, the Shockers rallied with their defensive punch.

Zach Brown’s three made it 38-24. VanVleet deflected a careless pass by Davon Reed, grabbed the ball and swished a corner three to cut the lead to 11 points. Baker snuck behind Reed near halfcourt and deflected his dribble, leading to a WSU possession and a timeout. Morris’ bank shot cut Miami’s lead to 38-29. The Shockers kept coming, with their press and zone defense rattling the Hurricanes. Morris’ shot, after a Miami turnover, cut the lead to 40-32. A McDuffie three made it 42-35 and signaled the comeback for real.

“We had careless turnovers, we were very tentative, very unlike the way we started the game,” Larranaga said. “Instead of getting tougher-minded and fighting harder, we tended to let up.”

After a basket by VanVleet, Marshall hunched over and clapped. The Shockers asked the crowd for noise when Miami called timeout. They got it after Morris stole another bad pass near the three-point line and dribbled the rest of the way for a dunk.

A three by Baker gave the Shockers a 43-42 lead with 10:26 to play. It didn’t last long. Murphy blocked a shot at the rim by Kelly, leading to a lob from Rodriguez to Sheldon McClellan to start a 6-0 run.

“We came back and took the lead, and then they made a good basketball play after that,” Kelly said.

The final minutes belonged to Rodriguez. Wichita State rarely wins when VanVleet isn’t the player in control of the game’s pace and emotion. On Saturday, Rodriguez led those battles from start to finish.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 1:25 PM with the headline "Angel Rodriguez, Miami knock Wichita State out of NCAA Tournament (+videos)."