Nijel Pack's 26 Points Leads Miami Past Houston, 89-75
The Miami Hurricanes came into the Sweet 16 game against the Houston Cougars as a 7.5 point underdog, but left with a 89-75 victory.
For the majority of tonight's contest, the underdog was the top dog.
Miami was faster to the ball, more aggressive with getting out on the break for easy dunks and layups, and flat out took it to a talented Houston team. By halftime, Miami was going into the locker room with quite an advantage in several categories, but look at the last one from this tweet in particular:
#Canes lead the #Cougars 42-36
โ All Hurricanes (@AllHurricanes) March 25, 2023
Halftime numbers for #Miami, then #Houston
FG% - 46.9
3 FG% - 42.9
FG% - 40.0
3 FG% - 41.2
Pack - 14
Most important stat: ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ๐ข ๐ก๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐.#TheU | #MarchMadness
From the outset of the second half, Miami dominated again with great ball handling, just like in the first half. Once it came down to the final moments, it was even sweeter for the Canes.
With just 2:58 to play, it was obvious that Miami was about to win. The Canes were up 80-67 and Houston just looked deflated. Miami's guards were running through Houston's defense like a knife through hot butter.
A big reason why would Miami's speed. Sound familiar? That's what Indiana looked like this past Sunday night as the Canes ran by the Hoosiers, too.
The other overall problem for Houston, Mr. Nijel Pack. He was on fire all game long and finished with 26 points. He was hot from deep, too.
Nijel Pack's seven (7!) three-pointers are the second-most by a Cane in an NCAA Tournament game.
โ Canes Menโs Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 25, 2023
Basically, you could say he's pretty good. pic.twitter.com/0Y9taLa4IZ
Late in the game, Houston tried to press Miami. Bad idea. Too fast, too quick, and the Hurricanes kept getting the basketball close to the rim and scored or went to the foul line.
Jordan Millerย knocked in a couple of free throws with 2:49 remaining and it was 82-69. Despite Houston continuing to come at Miami with drives to the hoop, the Cougars just could not guard the Hurricanes.
Keep in mind, coming into the contest, Houston was widely considered to be a top three team in defense. Miami went off despite that confidence in Houston's defensive efforts.
The evening, Miami shot 31/60 for 51.7% and Houston shot 24/64 for 37.5%. From 3-point land, Miami also went 11/25 for 44%, while Houston was only 9/31 for 29%.
Leading scorers for Miami after Pack would be Isaiah Wongย with 20, Miller with 13, and Norchad Omier with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
For Houston, star guard Marcus Sasserย was not quite himself, especially in the second half. He finished with 14 points from 4/12 shooting. The leading scorer for the Cougars would be Jarace Walker with 16 points.
The next game for Miami will be on Sunday at *****, as the Canes await the winner of the Xavier versus Texas game.
Note: Tomorrow, All Hurricanes will have an in-depth preview of matchups for the next game, and then a full game preview on Sunday.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.