Jim Larrañaga says Miami sticking to its game plan is 'the whole key' against Houston

Playing against the Houston Cougars and the suffocating, physical defense that Kelvin Sampson’s squad displays is often enough to get opponents off their game. Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga knows his squad can’t afford to do that in the Sweet Sixteen.

Nursing a lead over the Cougars late in the first half, the Miami head coach told CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson that playing the game on their terms is key. If Miami plays to its strengths better than Houston does its own, Larrañaga seems confident they can get the win.

“Well I think that’s the whole key. We gotta execute our game plan better than they execute their game plan. So, so far it’s a great battle,” Larrañaga said.

And with the score and tempo favoring Miami, 36-31, at the under four media timeout in the first half, Larrañaga has some proof of concept to bolster his team at halftime.

And with a six-point lead at the half, Larrañaga was pleased with the overall performance from his team.

The Cougars hound teams defensively and love to attack the rim with kickouts to shooters on offense. But the Hurricanes racked up 42 first-half points against the second-best scoring defense in the country, which allows just a shade over 56 points per game, and shutdown looks at the rim.

“Yeah, we did a good job. They made some really nice 3s, and that’s a challenge for us. And we’re trying to keep away the twos, you’re going to give something up,” Larrañaga said to sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson right before the half. “But I’m happy with the way we defended them, rebounded with them. And we executed pretty well on offense.”

At the half, Houston has a better shooting percentage from 3 (7-for-17 or 41.2%) than it does from inside the arc (12-for-30 or 40%). The Cougars also have four turnovers the Hurricanes none.

To boot, Miami has been blistering from deep like the Cougars, making 6-for-14 (42.9%) but while also making a lot more shots around the rim. Miami went 15-for-32 on twos in the first half (46.9%).

The task of slowing down Miami’s offense wasn’t a secret to Houston, as Cougars guard Jamal Shead explained ahead of the game.

“They’re really good at what they do,” pointed out Shead. “They’re a really good offensive team. Everybody on their team can score the ball in a variety of ways. They can really shoot the ball. Like I said, they’re a really good offensive team. They offensive rebound. They get out and run.”

“Everything that they do? They do it at a good pace,” Shead said. “And they know how to play with each other. They play well together.”