Miami Hurricanes vs. Indiana Hoosiers Pick & Prediction MARCH 19th 2023
Ethan Wilson
If Indiana can make it to the Final Four for the first time in over two decades, it will need more performances like the one All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis delivered on Friday.
The Hoosiers (23-11), a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region, face a stiff challenge to those hopes on Sunday night when they take on No. 5-seeded Miami (26-7) in an NCAA Tournament second-round game at Albany, N.Y.
A lot of attention will undoubtedly be paid to the matchup between Jackson-Davis and Miami's Norchad Omier, who returned to action on Friday during the Hurricanes' 63-56 comeback win over Drake.
During a 71-60 win over Kent State in the first round, Jackson-Davis became the first player to have at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game since blocks became an official NCAA stat in the 1985-86 season, according to OptaSTATS.
"I finally got a little bit of a groove and had a big play, an energy play," Jackson-Davis said. "Whenever that happens, my teammates try to get me the ball and they put me in great positions."
Jackson-Davis played 35 minutes, shooting 10 of 17 from the field. Indiana led for most of the game but had its lead cut to 56-48 with 9:16 remaining. Jackson-Davis then delivered a pair of dunks and scored six consecutive points to help the Hoosiers pull away for good.
Indiana held Kent State to 31.9 percent shooting overall.
"They hit some tough shots, and sometimes that's going to happen, especially in March," Jackson-Davis said. "But overall, I thought our defensiveness and our connectedness as a group was really good tonight."
Miami will have to shoot much better than its 30.4 percent output against Drake, which it overcame thanks to a defensive clinic during the final six minutes of the game. The Hurricanes, who advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history last season, put together a 16-1 run to overcome an eight-point deficit.
Nijel Pack led Miami with 21 points and two of the Hurricanes' seven steals. Three of those takeaways came during that final stretch as Wooga Poplar and Jordan Miller had the other two.
"We were able to pressure them and get some steals and kind of put them on their heels," Pack said. "We kind of got the ball rolling, and we were able to get to a tie game. Then we had to make a big shot and get a stop."
But one of the big keys for Miami was having Omier back after a right ankle injury against Duke in last week's ACC tournament. Omier struggled early but finished with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Hurricanes will need more of that from Omier against Jackson-Davis.
"We have spent endless hours in the training room getting treatment," Omier said. "I wanted to help my teammates. They come out here, work hard. I just wanted to be there, support them, and have their back."
--Field Level Media
Miami Hurricanes vs. Indiana Hoosiers Recap MAR 19TH 2023
Isaiah Wong scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Miami Hurricanes to an 85-69 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday night in a second-round game of the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament at Albany, N.Y.
The fifth-seeded Hurricanes (27-7) secured back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history and will face the region's top seed, Houston, on Friday in Kansas City, Mo., in the region semifinal.
Miami is the final team remaining from the Atlantic Coast Conference in this year's tournament.
Fourth-seed Indiana (23-12) came up short on its bid to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016 despite 23 points, eight rebounds and five blocks from All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The Hoosiers appeared ready to take control of the game early in the second half when they used a 13-0 run that carried over from the closing moments of the first half to erase a 10-point Miami lead.
But the Hurricanes used their pressure defense to force turnovers that led to multiple transition scores and led to an 18-4 run, giving them a 65-53 lead with 7:27 left.
The Hoosiers cut the deficit to 77-69 on a pair of 3-pointers by Jalen Hood-Schifino, who totaled 19 points, with 2:26 to go. Race Thompson added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Hoosiers.
But Miami answered quickly with back-to-back buckets from Wong and Nijel Pack, who finished with 12 points.
Jordan Miller collected 19 points, five rebounds and two blocks for Miami as well and delivered an emphatic dunk on another fast break score in the closing seconds to punctuate the win.
"Our guys were disappointed about the way they played Friday, so they were eager to show this is Miami basketball," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said after the game on the TNT broadcast. "They're really hard to guard."
Norchad Omier finished with a game-high 17 rebounds to go along with seven points, which helped Miami outrebound Indiana 48-31, including 20-12 on the offensive glass.
--Field Level Media
- NCAAB
