NCAA Tournament Matchup Preview: Scouting Miami

In reacting to his team's NCAA tournament draw Sunday, USC coach Andy Enfield noted that he knows Miami coach Jim Larranaga well -- and that they share some similar history.

Both coaches elevated their careers on the back of taking small mid-major programs to new heights in the NCAA tournament.

Enfield, of course, led Florida Gulf Coast to tournament history in 2013 when it became the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16. Larranaga, meanwhile, led George Mason to the Final Four in 2006, becoming just the second No. 11 seed and first school from the Colonial Athletic Association to advance that far.

RELATED: Watch USC coach Andy Enfield and players react to the Trojans' NCAA tournament draw

Enfield parlayed his tournament spotlight into the USC job a couple days after FGCU's run ended, while Larranaga stayed at George Mason through the 2010-11 season before taking the Miami job.

"Coach L is a Hall of Famer. He's been around the game a long time, won a lot of games, been very successful wherever he's been. It was great to see him at George Mason because I had a similar situation at Florida Gulf Coast, taking a smaller school, a mid-major school into the NCAA tournament and winning a few games. He went to the Final Four and then has had a great career at Miami," Enfield said. "Their assistant coaches I know very well, so it will be a very friendly game before the game and hopefully our guys will be ready to play. But Coach L has done a terrific job. He's been doing it a long time."

That said, neither Enfield nor the Trojans knew all that much about the Hurricanes as a team when the matchup was announced that No. 7-seeded USC would meet No. 10 Miami on Friday in Greenville, S.C.

"Haven't seen them play a lot, so we have a lot of video to watch, but we have a lot of time to do it," Enfield said.

Said forward Isaiah Mobley: "I saw them play Duke and beat them. But it looks like they have another Isaiah. But they’re a good team. I don’t know if they have any crazy, like one star player or anything. It should be a good matchup. I don’t think any game should be a cake walk."

Record: 23-10 (14-5 ACC)

Recent NCAA tournament history: Miami is making its first tournament appearance since 2018, which capped a run of three straight NCAA tourney berths for the Hurricanes. The program has never been past the Sweet 16, advancing that far three times (2000, 2013 and 2016).

Best wins: 76-74 over Duke (Jan. 8), 85-57 over North Carolina (Jan. 18), 78-75 over Virginia Tech (Jan. 26) -- all NCAA tournament teams

Worst losses: 95-89 to UCF (Nov. 13), 76-60 to Dayton (Nov. 25), 96-64 to Alabama (Nov. 28)

Leading scorers: Senior G Kameron McGusty (17.6 PPG), sophomore G Isaiah Wong (15.2), senior G Charlie Moore (12.6), junior G Jordan Miller (10.2)

Matchup notes: Miami has some size to match up with USC inside as the Hurricanes are anchored down low by 6-foot-10 forward Sam Waardenburg (8.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG) and 6-foot-9 Anthony Walker (5.2/2.4). That said, neither has been particularly productive and their leading rebounder is 6-foot-7 guard Jordan Miller (6.1 per game), so the Trojans should look to work the ball inside to 6-foot-10 Isaiah Mobley (14.3 PPG/8.5 RPG) and 6-foot-9 Chevez Goodwin (11.0/6.5). Also, defense is not Miami's strong suit in general, as it ranks 227th nationally in giving up 71.0 points per game. In comparison, USC ranks 77th at 65.9 PPG -- but 12th in field goal percentage defense (38.89%). Offensively, the Hurricanes are tied for 76th nationally in scoring offense at 74.8 PPG, while USC is 138th at 72.6. McGusty, who started his career at Oklahoma, shoots 37.3 percent from 3-point range (57 of 153).

More on Larranaga: He has now coached three different programs for at least a decade each. After two seasons as head coach at American International, Larranaga spent 11 seasons at Bowling Green, 14 at George Mason and now 11 seasons at Miami. He won four Colonial Athletic Association regular-season titles and three CAA tournament titles during his time at George Mason from 1997-2011. At Miami, his best season so far was his second when he led the Hurricanes to a 29-7 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. He got back to the Sweet 16 in 2016, but Miami hasn't been out of the first round since then. His teams posted losing records each of the last three years before a rebound this season.