Despite being a regular invitee to the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Hurricane were garnered more acclaim for who used to coach there rather than its actual successes on the court.

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Tulsa's appearance in this year's tournament was no different. The Golden Hurricane were dissed by the NCAA Selection Committee with a No.7 seed and were tossed aside with the other also-rans before the games even began despite a record season.

And the only tournament talk centering on the team was if third-year coach Bill Self would follow the lead of Richardson and Smith and head for one of the bigger, more prestigious programs as soon as his team was sent packing.

However, this tiny school of 4,300 finally stole some of the spotlight for itself with an 80-71 victory over Miami to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in its history.

And like they have done all season en route to a school-record 32 victories, the Golden Hurricane did it without much flash.

"It wasn't a pretty ball game from an offensive point," said Self, who has guided the Golden Hurricane to a school-best three consecutive NCAA Tournament victories. "To be honest, I'm surprised both teams scored 70 points. But this is the way we've won all season long. We turned up the pressure defensively and had great effort."

With no true superstar, Tulsa utilizes the consummate team approach. Five of the Golden Hurricane scored in double figures, including seniors Eric Coley and Brandon Kurtz who each had 17 points. Despite being undersized up front against Miami, the 6-foot-5 Coley grabbed nine rebounds. Coley epitomizes Tulsa grit.

Self, a former assistant at Oklahoma State under Miami coach Leonard Hamilton for four years, took a page from his mentor's book. The Golden Hurricane played stingy defense and used their quickness to jump into passing lanes and throttle Miami's motion offense.

"I was especially impressed with way they fight and scratch," Hamilton said. "If they keep doing that, there's no telling how far they can go in the tournament."

The Golden Hurricanes literally came in waves as they sprinted out to a 25-10 advantage in the first half courtesy of a 16-0 run. To its credit, Miami battled back to take a brief one-point lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game, but the Hurricanes couldn't combat Tulsa's depth and quickness and simply ran out of gas.

"I have never seen a group of guys that play together as well as they do," Miami point guard Vernon Jennings said.

Tulsa's resume is as impressive as any team's that remains in the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Hurricane are tied with Iowa State for most wins with 32. And only seven of those victories have been by less than 10 points. Only two teams can claim to have beaten Tulsa, Fresno State (three times) and Oral Roberts. And all four of those losses were on the last possession of the game.

Still, the skeptics continued to size up Tulsa for its glass slipper. It'll continue as long as that No.7 seed appears next to its name.

Tulsa's Eric Coley celebrates as time runs out in the South Regional semifinal win against Miami.(AP)

"I could really care less what tag they put on us," Self said. "I just care that we're still playing. In a lot of ways we are a Cinderella team. You can put Cinderella label around it, but I think they can play with anybody."

The Golden Hurricane have proven that they can play with any team in the country. They knocked off Cincinnati and a solid Miami team to reach the Elite Eight -- an accomplishment that not even former Tulsa bosses Smith nor Richardson lay claim to.

"Hopefully the guys are not satisfied," Self said. "We need to come back on Sunday and continue to do anything we can to get this thing moving along further.

"It's a great feeling being one of the final eight and do something that's a first around here. The more we're successful in the NCAA Tournament, the more the national recognition will come."