This Week in Miami Hurricanes Basketball: 1/30 Edition

Jan 30, 2023 - 1:00 PM

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Good morning Canes fans. Let’s hope our basketball teams don’t have to deal with injuries like the San Francisco 49ers had to with their quarterbacks. That was tough to watch. At least the AFC matchup was great. Mahomes magic returns.

We’re back for another week of Miami Hurricanes Men’s and Women’s Basketball. The guys split their two road games: winning at Florida State on Tuesday night, then losing at Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. The ladies beat Boston College at home on Thursday night, then lost at Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon.

Last week:

I recapped Miami’s 86-63 thumping of FSU. The Canes were on fire in the first half, shooting 20-33 from the field and 9-14 from three-point range. Nijel Pack played great. He was aggressive on offense and shot with confidence. Isaiah Wong looked like himself again. The defense was swarming and active. The second half was sloppy, but I like that they still won by 23 points after having the 26-point halftime lead. I’ll say it again: it always feels great to beat a rival.

I also recapped Miami’s 71-68 road loss to Pitt. The Canes blew it, no doubt. Isaiah Wong looked blind on the last couple possessions. Although, he was definitely fouled the time he went to the basket, as uncoordinated as he looked doing so. Still, the execution was awful. His backcourt mate wasn’t any better throughout the contest. Pack has been up-and-down all season. He will look great one game, then hardly show up for the next. I don’t know if there is a singular issue with him or what, but Miami needs him to be more consistent for their stretch run.

In a stunning turn of events, The Lady Canes overcame a slow start to win a game. Holy smokes! Miami was down by 8 points to BC after the first quarter. After that, it was nothing but the home team, as the Canes outscored the Eagles 19-15, 31-15, and 18-9 in the last three quarters. Destiny Harden led Miami with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 steals. Their bench play was key as well: Lashae Dwyer had 12 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 steals and Karla Erjavec had 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals. Jojo Lacey led Boston College with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Lady Canes came up short in what was a back-and-forth game against the Demon Deacons. Both teams couldn’t find the bucket in the first quarter, with Miami leading 9-4 after ten minutes. Miami struggled from the field, shooting 18-43 from the field and 1-11 from three-point range. They were also carless with the basketball, committing 14 turnovers. After a couple good games, Destiny Harden only scored 8 points on 4-10 shooting. Lola Pendande was the Canes’ leading scorer, with only 12 points. Olivia Summiel led the way for Wake, with 14 points and 4 assists.

This week:

The guys play twice this week. First, they host Virginia Tech on Tuesday, 1/31 at 7:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ESPNU. The Hokies are on a two-game winning streak after losing seven in a row. Miami then travels to South Carolina to take on a ranked Clemson squad on Saturday, 2/4 at 3:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network. The Tigers are still on top of the ACC at 10-1, and they play lowly BC before their matchup with the Canes. If Miami wants top-4 seed and double-bye for this year’s ACC Tournament, they need to win both of their games.

The ladies play twice this week as well. They also travel to Clemson, playing on Thursday, 2/2 at 8:00 PM EST. Television coverage has not yet been announced. The Tigers are on a two-game losing streak, including one to Miami’s second opponent this week. The Lady Canes come home to host Georgia Tech on Sunday, 2/5 at 12:00 PM EST. The game will be televised on ACC Network. Miami looks to complete the season sweep against the Yellow Jackets, hopefully finishing off a 2-0 week themselves.

GO CANES!