OPINION: Larranaga and Miami were dancing Friday and things seemed right

GREENVILLE – Four years. Can you believe it? Friday the band played and the cheerleaders swayed and CBS legend Jim Nantz called play by play and Jim Larranaga led his Miami Hurricanes back into The Big Dance.

Everything just seemed right again. You could say that here on Friday, the nightmare of a phantom FBI investigation that derailed two recruiting classes was officially in the rear-view mirror for Miami and for Larranaga, his staff and the program in general. Larranaga told his team before it left Coral Gables that he planned to have the time of his life. And he meant it.

But quite frankly, you can’t have the time of your life and lose. No way. Ultimately this trip into Madness was going to be measured by what 10th-seeded Miami was able to do on the court Friday against seventh-seeded USC where the Hurricanes prevailed by the slimmest of margins, 68-66, on two Charlie Moore free throws with three seconds left.

“What I've come to learn about this team is they really rise to the occasion,” Larranaga said. “We've been through this a lot this season, a lot of close games, and every game, someone steps up and makes big plays. We get a great defensive rebound or a blocked shot or hit a couple of key free throws like we did today.”

It was a game between teams from a pair of schools on opposite coasts that for decades have been seen as mirror images of each other.

But there were zero similarities on the court Friday, not in the teams out there, not in the two halves that they played as USC overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to take the lead and even then another seven-point margin with 44 seconds to play before Miami found a way as it does so often to finish on top at the end of a razor-close game.

The Canes faced a USC group that was one of the biggest in the nation with seven players 6-9 or taller. Miami relies on athleticism and veteran savvy. The Canes would have to harass the living daylights out of the Trojans, fight a life and death battle for every rebound and hope to have enough left in the tank late in the game.

Fighting through foul trouble too was not part of the plan. Needing to go deep into the bench and have to count on every man to make a contribution was phenomenal, but also could not be anticipated. Miami played under the most intense pressure and forced 18 turnovers while turning the ball over itself just three times. That allowed the Hurricanes to overcome a 1-14 shooting night from the three-point line where they typically are very good.

An edge in height like the one USC brought into this game doesn’t equate to an edge in coaching and preparation. Larranaga might have been missing from March Madness the past three seasons but he didn’t forget what it takes to win on this stage. Poise. Respect for every possession. A plan.

It was fun watching the artistry on Friday, the defensive strategy, the offensive variety. Miami’s first-half pressure, before Isaiah Wong’s foul trouble kicked in, kept USC from settling into the game on either side of the court until the second half when Miami might have come out from the locker room a bit flat after its amazing first half.

Miami is not spectacular on defense, but it is great with pressure. The Hurricanes led the ACC and are No. 11 in the country in defensive steal percentage, and thus are a team that’s capable of feasting in transition. In fact, the Canes led the country in points per possession in transition, per Synergy. Moore, Jordan Miller and Kameron McGusty all average better than two steals per 40 minutes.

Larranaga was able to dial up plenty of offense too. When the Trojans were thinking about McGusty, Miami hit them with a lot of Wong. Then the Canes isolated Jordan Miller for a few drives to the basket and slid McGusty into the middle of USC’s zone and let him score a few easy baskets there to get him going. Then Moore jumped into the fray, finishing with 16 points, the second-highest total on the team. Freshmen Bensley Joseph and Wooga Poplar had just two points each, but their 14:56 and 7:15 of playing time were critical as well.

This was a total team effort and the success of the entire game plan in general allowed Miami to overcome any natural jitters from being at the dance.

Consider this: The Hurricanes’ roster had a combined 11 points in NCAA Tournament action entering the game. Nine of those were scored by McGusty, now a sixth-year redshirt senior, when the guard was at Oklahoma in 2018. The other two were scored by point guard Charlie Moore, also a sixth-year redshirt senior guard, when he was at Kansas in 2019.

That’s right, not one player who began his career at Miami had ever sniffed March Madness before, the criminality of what the nation’s top law enforcement body did to the Miami basketball program.

Larranaga understood what being here would mean to everybody and he didn’t want to see the moment get too big. So he demanded to his players that they have fun in Greenville.

The game plan of swarming USC paid off as the Trojans scored just 20 points in the first half and Miami took an 11-point lead. USC made just eight of its 27 shots. Had the Hurricanes not missed eight of their first nine shots themselves, the game might have been over by intermission.

But Wong took over the game while waiting for his teammates to warm up. By the 12-minute mark of the first half, Wong had all 10 of Miami’s points and he finished the first half with 13.

For much of the past couple seasons, Wong was Miami’s best pure scorer. He took a step back this year to let McGusty command the stage and McGusty responded by making first-team ACC. But this moment here in Greenville was built for Wong against a bigger, slower team that couldn’t handle his game. USC made a run to the Elite Eight last year, but struggled late in the year with losses in three of the last four games - falling to Arizona at home 91-71 and at UCLA, 75-68, to close the regular season. And after beating Washington in the Pac-12 quarterfinals, 65-61, the team lost again to UCLA, 69-59.

So it seemed Miami was off to the races with its 11-point halftime margin. But the second half did not start well.

The Trojans scored the first five points, and seven of the first nine points of the second half to cut into the Miami lead. Wong picked up a third foul early and USC’s best player, Isaiah Mobley, got hot from the three-point line. Before Miami knew it, USC had put together a 15-2 run to take the lead.

Larranaga had to go back to Wong earlier than he wanted and Wong didn’t disappoint, pouring in point after point as Miami pulled even at 40. But with 11:50 to play and Wong sitting at 22 points for the game, he was called for his fourth foul.

The Canes were going to need a group effort if they were going to survive. Moore stepped up his game on both ends, making steals and brilliant passes. Anthony Walker ran the floor for a spectacular dunk. Jordan Miller got more engaged.

All the hundreds of hours of individual player development were paying off. With a timeout at the 7:12 mark, Miami led by one. The Hurricanes led by three with 3:49 left. And then at the 2:07 mark, Wong picked up his fifth foul.

“It was just like an up-and-down emotion,” Wong said. “Coming into the game, I started off hot. Then I got in foul trouble and sat the bench. I just need to keep my mindset healthy. Just coming in the game, I just kept on playing, and the team helped me through that. Then I got in even more foul trouble, and I just tried to stay focused. At the end, I had to put my whole trust in the team when I fouled out, and they finished the game. I appreciate them for that.”

McGusty took over, hitting two free throws and nailing a three. Miami surged to a seven point lead with 44 seconds left.

But then All Pac-12 player, Drew Peterson, nailed a pair of three-pointers and now Miami led by just one with 25 seconds left.

USC immediately fouled Waardenburg, who made the second of two free throws to put the Canes up by two.

After the Trojans tied the game on a Peterson layup, Moore drove to the basket with three seconds left and was fouled. He made both free throws.

“I just wanted to give 100 percent effort for my teammates,” Moore said. “I saw we needed to make some plays. I wanted to get involved, make my teammates better, make shots when needed. I was just trying to instill my will to win to help my teammates.”

Peterson can be a difficult matchup. The is 6-9 and makes 41 percent of this threes. USC is 11-0 when Peterson scores 15 or more points. He had 17 Friday. So as he got the ball in his hands with three seconds left, USC did have a chance. But Peterson’s desperation shot from half court caromed off the rim.

“We've played a ton of these, and they've all kind of come down to the last couple shots there or at the free-throw line,” Waardenburg said. “We've been prepared the last few games as well, from the ACC Tournament, having a close one with Duke and a close one with Boston College, before that with Syracuse.

“So we're well prepared for these moments, and we know in March that these moments do occur quite a lot. Going forward, we're very confident in ourselves that, if these moments come about, we're ready for them, and yeah, we'll take it on.”

Now Miami has to play second-seed Auburn, a very athletic and talented team that unquestionably will be the best Miami has faced this year. Sunday will be Miami's toughest day of the season for sure.

It’s enough to stress out the best of coaches. But Larranaga went to bed Friday night thinking only of how much fun he is having right now, with this team, heading into the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“I'm one of those guys that's very optimistic but also very realistic,” Larranaga said. “When I'm laying down late at night in bed, I visualize how we're going to play, and when I do that, we win every game. We don't miss any shots. We don't turn the ball over. We have some spectacular dunks and everything.

“Then when I wake up in the morning and start to realize, oh, we actually have to play the game, then I start to worry that I don't know how we will play against this particular opponent. But it is a roller coaster. For a coach, you're up, you believe and you're confident in your team, but then you look at the opponent, and you're like, oh, my God, these guys are really good.”