Moore’s foul shots lift UM to 68-66 upset of USC and into second round of NCAA tourney
The nerve-racking game was finally over, his Miami Hurricanes sealed the 68-66 upset over Southern California on a pair of free throws by (who else?) Charlie Moore to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and coach Jim Larranaga walked across the court and let out his trademark piercing whistle to get the attention of the large section of UM fans in the stands.
“Hey! Hey! We kept it close so you wouldn’t lose interest!” Larranaga screamed, as the fans laughed and cheered.
He then walked off the court toward the victors’ locker room, arms raised toward the sky, fists clenched.
It was Miami’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2016. Nobody would have predicted when this season began that UM, which was picked 12th in the ACC preseason poll, would be one win from a spot in the Sweet 16.
Up next on Sunday: No. 2 seed Auburn, which is 28-5 and rolled over Jacksonville State 80-61 in the earlier game.
Like so many Miami games this season, Friday’s came down to the final seconds. USC guard Drew Peterson made a layup to tie it 66-66 with 14 seconds to go and it looked like the game might go into overtime. But Moore, the sixth-year Hurricanes point guard, drew a foul from Ethan Anderson with three seconds to go and calmly sank a pair of free throws for the win.
Peterson launched a desperation three as time expired, but it missed.
USC coach Andy Enfield gave UM credit for battling all night but questioned the officiating.
“I thought Drew got fouled on the possession before when he tied the game, they hit his arm, and if you’re going to call it at one end you should call it at the other end,” Enfield said. “The call was made and, unfortunately, we were one possession short.
“I did think the out-of-bounds call at 2:05 was the wrong call and they gave the ball to Miami. They hit it out off the free-throw miss, it was a one-point game it should have been our ball. It was the wrong call. It was very clear, everybody saw it. I don’t know how you miss that call in a crucial part of the game in the NCAA Tournament. It went out on (Sam) Waardenburg, and it wasn’t even close.
“So, when you’re talking about a one-possession game, it’s very disappointing to lose like that.”
The Hurricanes were smaller than the Trojans and seeded three spots lower at No. 10, but they showed up at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena determined to earn respect for their team and for the ACC, which was criticized by fans and pundits all season long.
CBS sent its A-team broadcast crew to call the game from courtside — Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill — and the Hurricanes brought their A game, too.
“I thought we got off to a fantastic start, played a great 20 minutes, Isaiah [Wong] got us off to a great start and the defense was sensational forcing turnovers, but Southern Cal played a great second half and we needed to raise our level,” Larranaga said. “We could have easily let things slip away, but what I’ve come to learn about this team is they really rise to the occasion. We’ve been through this a lot this season and every game someone steps up to make big plays.”
Miami came out loose and confident, played suffocating defense, poking at every ball, and forced the Trojans into 12 first-half turnovers. Wong made four of his first five shots and scored Miami’s first 11 points. He finished with a game-high 22 points before fouling out with 3:42 remaining.
Moore had 16 points, six assists and four steals. Kam McGusty added 12, including a late-game jumper and clutch free throws.
The Canes capitalized on USC’s 18 turnovers, scoring 22 points off them, led by as many as 13 and held a 31-20 edge at halftime. Miami also took great care of the ball, turning the ball over just once in the first half and three times total by the end of the game. UM went 1-of-14 from three-point range, but it did everything else well.
Enfield challenged his team at halftime, and it responded. The Trojans opened the second half on a 17-2 run during which they shot 85.7 percent, a huge improvement over the 29 percent they shot before halftime. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, shot 14 percent during that stretch and fell behind 37-33.
Wong got UM back in the game with seven straight points, Anthony Walker had an emphatic one-handed dunk followed by another dunk by Jordan Miller to push the Canes ahead 44-42 with 10 minutes to go.
The teams traded the lead six times over the next six minutes, and the game came down to the final minutes. Waardenburg said their habit of late-game heroics paid dividends on Friday.
“We’ve played a ton of these where they come down to the last couple shots or free throws and we’re prepared, at the ACC tournament having a close one with Duke and Boston College and Syracuse before that, so we’re well-prepared for these moments and we know in March these moments do occur quite a lot so going forward we’re very confident in ourselves that if these moments come about, we’re ready for them and take it on.”
Larranaga met with his team Friday night and offered a holiday-themed motivational talk:
“I told the players that last night was Christmas Eve and today was Christmas and you’re going to get the greatest gift any basketball player growing up dreams about and that’s the opportunity to play in March Madness.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 8:33 PM.