When the pairing popped up on the screen, Emese Hof felt her jaw drop momentarily.
While the Hurricanes entered Selection Monday feeling safe in the knowledge that they’d again earned a berth in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, it was their first-round matchup that left them all a little bit surprised.
Miami, which is making its fourth straight tournament appearance, earned a No. 8 seed in the tournament and will open play Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut against ninth-seeded Quinnipiac, the same team that stunned the Hurricanes in last year’s tournament, ending Miami’s season on its home floor.