Miami Beats Former Big East Doormat, aka Rutgers, 68-61

Dec 1, 2022 - 3:10 AM

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The Miami Hurricanes Men’s Basketball squad beat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights tonight, 68-61. Jordan Miller led the Canes with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Norchad Omier also had 17 points, along with 9 rebounds. Isaiah Wong chipped in with 16 points and a team-high 4 assists. Clifford Omoruyi led Rutgers with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Miami improves to 7-1 on the season, while Rutgers falls to 5-2.

Below are some random thoughts from the game.

Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

This game was a roller coaster

I had one random thought heading ready: Miami’s lack of size hasn’t been a factor..yet Well, it was a big factor tonight, especially in the second half. Rutgers killed the Canes on the offensive boards, bringing down 14 for the game. It wasn’t just straightforward rebounding either, the loose balls after missed shots seemed to go Rutgers’ way as well. Lack of size is Miami’s biggest concern for this season. My next random thought heading was: Nijel Pack didn’t show up tonight For a while, I was correct. He missed his first eight shots. He got benched for a time in the second half. However, right after I typed the heading, Pack had a couple good defensive plays. He then made his first shot of the game, a big three-pointer. Later, he hit the dagger three with less than thirty seconds left in the game. Ice in his veins! It was great to see Pack keep his confidence in the second half.

Rutgers played out of their ass tonight

The State University of New Jersey was fired up to be in South Beach in late November. So much so that it was annoying to watch. I don’t know a ton about Rutgers basketball, but this had to have been their best performance of the season, considering Miami was the first Power Five team they’ve faced in 2022. Their big guys were draining three-pointers, they got seemingly every loose ball, and they played intense defense. Keep it up Scarlet Knights! For Miami’s sake, I hope they win a bunch of Big Ten games.

This Miami team is resilient

This game looked like a loss midway through the second-half. Miami’s offense was stagnant, they couldn’t keep Rutgers off the offensive glass, and were allowing quality shots. Oh, how things can change. The Canes tightened the screws defensively, which turned into some easy baskets on offense. You could see Rutgers’ nerves start to show in real time. The Scarlet Knights could feel the game slipping away. Miami was calm and confident in the final two minutes. They made shots. They didn’t turn the ball over. They completely outplayed their former Big East rival in clutch time. Another quality win for the Canes. Let’s go!

Next up: Miami travels to Kentucky to take on the winless Louisville Cardinals on Sunday, 12/4 at 1:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

GO CANES!