Nijel Pack expresses excitement for his first road game against Duke

Miami guard Nijel Pack has played in some cool venues during his three seasons as a college basketball player. But the Hurricanes upcoming visit to Durham, N.C., to play Duke is one he is particularly jazzed up about.

“It’s gonna be my first time playing at Duke,” Pack said after Miami’s last game, a win over Syracuse.. “I’m really excited for it. I know my teammates are excited as well. Road games are always gonna be the toughest, but we need to pick up some road wins.”

Pack is in his first season at Miami after transferring from Kansas State. He has played and started in 17 games for the Hurricanes this season and is averaging 11.6 points, 2.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Nijel Pack says Duke game is key to building road momentum

Nijel Pack and Miami are off to an excellent start to the 2022-23 season with a 15-3 record, but the Duke game represents the start of a three-game road stretch that marks a crucial moment of the team’s season.

After playing at the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Hurricanes are off to Florida State and then Pitt.

“We’re doing really well at home,” Pack said. “We need to start doing really well on the road as well. We got three road games in a row. It’s really going to test us on to see how much toughness and how much mental we can go through and fighting through adversity.”

Miami is only 3-2 on the road this season with both losses coming in conference play to Georgia Tech and NC State. The Hurricanes only other loss game in a neutral site defeat to Maryland.

Their struggles on the road add some heightened urgency to the game for the Hurricanes, who look to continue making a statement with their play this year.