Friendship will take a backseat in Villanova-Miami matchup

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Friendship takes a backseat at the NCAA tournament, especially with a berth in the Elite Eight on the line.

Just ask Villanova coach Jay Wright.

Wright has recruited and coached against Jim Larranaga for years. They grew close traveling together on Nike trips, sitting beside each other at AAU events or hitting balls on the golf course. They also have swapped ideas for basketball drills. They have spent so much time together that their wives became friends too.

Throw all of that out of the window on Thursday night – for a couple of hours at least.

Wright and No. 2 seed Villanova will square off against Larranaga’s third-seeded Miami Hurricanes in the South Region semifinal at the KFC Yum! Center.

“When you get to the Sweet 16, final eight, Final Four that kind of goes away,” Wright said Wednesday of not wanting to coach against friends or former assistants. “I don’t know why. Because you’re so focused on what you do, you’re so happy to be here. And usually, when you get to this point, it’s guys you know.”

The coaches have shared enough over the years that when Larranaga studies Villanova (31-5) he sees of lot of Miami; the Wildcats use so many ball screens and multiple defenses that it’s almost a mirror image of his Hurricanes.

“I’ve just enjoyed getting to know him and exchanging drills with him and talking basketball,” Larranaga said.

This will be the fourth game between the coaches, with Wright winning twice while Larranaga has the edge in their only NCAA tournament meeting in 2011 when he was with George Mason, according to STATS.

Now Larranaga has Miami (27-7) in the Sweet 16 for only the third time for a program that has never gone any further.

Yet.

“We definitely want to be the first group of guys to do that, and it will be a big accomplishment for us and the program,” Miami guard Sheldon McClellan said.