NC State basketball opponent scouting report: Miami

NC State basketball 13-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC and set to emerge from the lone in-season break during full-time league play. After a week off, the Wolfpack is hosting Miami for an important contest Saturday afternoon at noon.

The game can be seen on RSN.

Here is a rundown of what to expect from Miami.

Miami overview

The Hurricanes have established themselves as one of the better teams in the ACC. Thus far, Miami is 14-2 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. The lone conference setback comes from a surprising loss at Georgia Tech on Jan. 4, which snapped a 9-game winning strek.

Included in that string of victories was an 80-73 home win over NC State on Dec. 10. Miami rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to upend the Wolfpack.

The success is not surprising. Miami won 26 games a season ago and was up at halftime on eventual national champion Kansas in the Elite Eight with a berth to the Final Four on the line.

Miami only returned two starters from that squad, but the Hurricanes were one of the more active (and successful) recruiters in the transfer portal, with the aid of strong financial backing in NIL money from prominent booster John Ruiz.

Thus, Miami was picked to finish fourth in the preseason ACC poll. The Hurricanes, whose only other loss came on a neutral court to Maryland, is No. 16 in the most recent Associated Press rankings and No. 15 in the coaches’ version.

Rankings

NCAA’s NET rankings: Miami checks in at No. 36 (out of 363 teams). NC State basketball is No. 30.

ESPN’s BPI: The Hurricanes are No. 40. The Pack is No. 39.

KenPom.com: UM is No. 41. The Wolfpack is No. 35.

Three Miami players to watch against NC State basketball

Third-year sophomore forward Norchad Omier: One of a couple of big additions from the transfer portal, Omier is a double-double threat. He had one against NC State in the prior meeting, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 boards.

He had back-to-back years of averaging a double-double at Arkansas State, including 17.9 points and 12.2 rebounds in 2022, before transferring to Miami. Thus far in 16 games this year, Omier is contributing 13.9 points and 9.7 boards while shooting an eye-popping 61.4 percent from the field. He averages 4.0 offensive rebounds per game.

Omier is also good defensively, getting 1.3 blocks and 1.1 steals per contest.

Super senior guard Jordan Miller: After transferring from George Mason prior to last season, year two in the ACC has shown Miller being much more comfortable at this level. He is averaging 15.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 52.6 percent from the field.

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound wing made 8 of 15 shots against NC State for a team-high 25 points.

Fourth-year junior guard Isaiah Wong: Some NC State fans may feel like Wong has been at Miami forever. He broke out three seasons ago when he averaged 17.1 points per contest. After Kansas State guard Nijel Pack’s NIL deal to transfer to Miami, Wong’s representatives publicly threaten that Wong would leave unless compensated. Those issues were apparently resolved, as Wong is still in a Hurricanes uniform.

He leads Miami in scoring at 16.7 points per contest and assists with 4.2 per game.

Wong has always played well against NC State. He scored 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting in the December meeting. Last season he had 19 points in Miami’s home win. The year before he had 24 points in an upset for a struggling Hurricanes team that had been 0-4 in the ACC prior to coming to Raleigh.

Three things NC State basketball should expect from Miami

1. A strong 6-player core rotation: Long-time head coach Jim Larranaga will play eight, maybe nine, players vs. NC State. However, he relies mostly on six guys. In addition to Omier, Miller, Pack and Wong, sophomore guard Wooga Poplar rounds out the starting five (7.9 points per game), while sophomore guard Bensley Joseph is averaging 23.3 minutes per game off the bench and contributing 5.8 points. Joseph is shooting 18 of 46 (39.1%) on threes.

However, the supporting cast can hurt, too. Junior guard Harlond Beverly for instance made several key plays for Miami against NC State in December, making all three of his attempts, including a rare three-pointer, for 7 points.

2. Not a team with a ton of height: Miller and Omier are the two tallest players in the starting five at 6-foot-7. Fourth-year junior Anthony Walker is a part of the 8-player rotation and is 6-foot-9, but Walker sees less than 10 minutes per game and averages 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds.

NC State can afford to go smaller (and skinnier) at times against Miami, which is good considering the injuries in the frontcourt that the Pack has sustained.

Miami prefers to get by on its athleticism and quickness. The Canes force the third most turnovers in the ACC (13.9).

3. An efficient offense: Miami can be prolific and efficient offensively, shooting 48.0 percent from the field, which is tops in the ACC. They are also a strong team at the line, if the game is close with NC State Saturday. The Canes make 75.1 percent of attempts at the charity stripe, fourth best in the conference.