Kiwi basketballer Sam Waardenburg has stamped his mark on the NCAA Tournament in the US, rejecting an attempted dunk by the projected No.1 NBA draft pick and helping University of Miami to an upset victory over Auburn.
Waardenburg scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots as No.10 seed Miami neutralised second-seeded Auburn in a 79-61 victory to reach its first Sweet 16 in six years.
The 23-year-old former New Zealand high school champion had a quiet first half but came alive in the second as Auburn's star frontcourt featuring top prospect Jabari Smith and 216cm centre Walker Kessler began to tire.
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Waardenburg's defence helped stifle the projected NBA lottery picks to a combined 12 points on 3-22 shooting.
He credited the team's effort to pressure the ball handler and limit the passing lanes to Smith and Kessler in the post.
"Jabari's a very talented kid, you can see why he's a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft, but we had a gameplan. He's a great catch-and-shoot guy and we felt like if we got him to put the ball on the ground we were at our best there," Waardenburg said.
"We had a great night tonight. It's what we can do ever night and I'm super proud of these guys."
Miami advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years and just the fourth time in the school's history.
They head to Chicago to take on No.11 seed Iowa State, with the winner advancing to the Midwest Regional Final.
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