Live Game Thread and Preview: Miami Basketball At Notre Dame
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 2024
WHERE: South Bend, IN, Purcell Pavillion
TIME/TV: 7:00 PM EST/ESPN2
LIVE AUDIO: 790 WAXY
MIAMI: Official Website | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
NOTRE DAME: Official Website | Schedule | Roster | Stats | Twitter
LINE: MIAMI -4.5
Miami (12-6, 3-4 ACC) lost to Notre Dame 72-69 in its last game.
Notre Dame (7-11, 2-5 ACC) lost to Boston College 63-59 in its last contest.
Series History
This will be the 30th overall meeting between the two programs, with Notre Dame holding the narrow 15-14 advantage in the all-time series. When playing in South Bend, Miami is 6-7 against the Fighting Irish and is seeking its second straight victory in Purcell Pavilion. Miami is 3-2 in the last five games played against Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion.
The Hurricanes and the Fighting Irish met earlier this season, with Miami coming away with a 62-49 victory in Coral Gables. Forward Norchad Omier posted a double-double effort, tallying 13 points and 13 rebounds in the game. With a win, Miami will have beaten Notre Dame twice in the same season for the fifth time in history.
Last Game
Miami fell to the Syracuse Orange at the buzzer on Saturday as Quadir Copeland poured in a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Orange the 72-69 victory in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Fourth-year junior Nijel Pack poured in 19 points for the third straight game to lead all Miami players. Junior Matthew Cleveland tallied his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and a team-best 12 rebounds on the afternoon.
Notable Miami Statistics
Pack eclipsed the 1,500-point mark in his career on Saturday with 19 points against Syracuse. The guard has recorded 1,516 points in his career, making him one of 85 active Division I players to reach the 1,500-point plateau. Pack is averaging 19 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in his last three contests. In January, Pack leads the Hurricanes in scoring (17.2) and assists (2.8).
Miami is one of 16 Division teams (one of 3 ACC teams) with two active 1,500-point scorers, as Omier sits at 1,587 career points.
Omier currently ranks 17th in the nation in field goal percentage at a 62.4 percent clip. The Hurricanes are 21-3 (.875) when Omier has a double-double since he joined the team (2022-23).
For the second time in his career, Cleveland played 40 minutes, never leaving the court at Syracuse. Cleveland recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Orange. The other instance came against Virginia on Jan. 14, 2023, and the guard also recorded a double-double in that game (10 points, 10 rebounds).
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, the Hurricanes started a pair of freshmen as Kyshawn George and Michael Nwoko were part of the starting lineup against Syracuse. The last time two freshmen started was on Feb. 8, 2020, against Florida State (Harlond Beverly and Isaiah Wong).
Only two Division I teams have four players averaging 14.0 points or more this season, and Miami is one of those two teams (Omier, Pack, Cleveland, and Wooga Poplar). Four Hurricanes sit above 14.0 points per contest through 18 games this year, and three are above 15.0 points. The other school is fellow ACC team, Wake Forest.
Miami is seeking its second true road win of the season at Notre Dame, having defeated Virginia Tech earlier this month. Miami is 1-3 on the road this year, falling at No. 12 Kentucky, in overtime at Wake Forest and on a buzzer-beater at Syracuse.
Miami is 279-414 all-time in road games and 157- 254 since the program's rebirth in 1985. Under Coach Jim Larranaga, Miami holds a 71-71 record on the road.
Miami has battled the injury bug of late, as three of Miami's five regular starters have missed games over the last month. Since Dec. 21, Miami has only had its regular starting lineup in three of eight games.
Additionally, per Coach L, in the last 19 practices since mid-December, there has not been a single practice where the regular starting five have all practiced, which “makes it really challenging to prepare.”
Among ACC freshmen, George ranks first in 3-point field goal percentage (.437), eighth in assists (1.8), and ninth in scoring (7.3).
The guard is one of nine ACC freshmen who have tallied a 20-point game and was the first Miami freshman since Isaiah Wong scored 27 against Virginia Tech on Feb. 19, 2020.
Freshman Nwoko earned the first start of his career on Saturday, playing 33 minutes and going a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.
Nwoko added five rebounds and a block to his stat line and finished third in plus/minus in the game (-2).
Cleveland eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark against Virginia Tech, pouring in 21 points to bring his career total to 1,010.
Miami is one of 39 Division I teams with three 1,000-point scorers on the roster. However, only 14 of the 39 (Miami included) have a true junior as one of the scorers.
The Opponent
Notable Notre Dame Statistics
Like Miami, Notre Dame enters Wednesday’s game having dropped back-to-back contests. Notre Dame’s ACC wins have come over Georgia Tech and Virginia.
Markus Burton is the only Notre Dame player averaging double-digit points this year, leading the Irish at 16.3 points per game. Kebba Nije leads the team on the boards at 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Miami Athletics and Notre Dame Athletics Contributed to this report
Talk with Canes Fans about the game on Inside Canes Hoops
Talk with Miami fans on Canes Talk, Inside Canes Hoops, and Canes on the Diamond
• Subscribe to the Storm Tracker Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Spotify
• Subscribe to the Canes County YouTube Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @Canes_County, @BenjaminRivals, @TheCribSouthFLA, @AnthonyYero1, and @MichaelYero
• Follow us on Instagram: @Canes.County
Follow us on Facebook