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Syracuse has finally found a rhythm this season, heading to Miami, Florida off of two straight wins and four victories in its last five matchups. The Orange have shown that they can come back at halftime too, erasing a deficit for the first time this season versus Louisville and most recently in a 78-73 win over Notre Dame.

The Hurricanes are second in the Atlantic Coast Conference rankings, having dropped just two conference matchups so far this season. They returned Isaiah Wong and have four starters who are averaging double digits.

Here’s what else to know about No. 16 Miami (14-3, 5-2 ACC) before the matchup:

All-time series

Syracuse leads 55-26.

Last time they played

The Orange’s final task of the 2021-22 regular season was to head into Miami, Florida with the chance to finish .500 on the year. They met the challenge against one of the ACC’s top teams, grabbing a lead with 17:21 left in the first half and holding that for the majority of the night. But SU lost its advantage in the final 13 seconds of the afternoon, and Jimmy Boeheim’s final heave from the 3-point line clanked off the front rim in the 75-72 loss.

“I don’t care what our record is, what the game is, whatever, this one hurts,” Buddy Boeheim said postgame. “It (hurts) because we were beating them the whole game. We played better (than) them.”

Syracuse turned the ball over multiple times late because of a press defense, one that Jim Boeheim said forced an “embarrassing” performance from SU’s offense. The Orange had a five-point lead with a minute left to go. Buddy finished with 30 points in the loss.

The Hurricanes report

The Hurricanes are undefeated in three contests at home this year, only surrendering two conference matchups with losses at Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. The Wolfpack defeated Miami in overtime on Saturday.

Miami is one of the best offensive teams in the country with an adjusted efficiency of 117.1, ranking 11th nationally, according to KenPom. The Hurricanes have mostly thrived on scoring from inside the arc with a 56.7% 2-point percentage, which makes up for 55.1% of their overall scoring. They average 78.2 points per game as a result, making Miami one of the toughest defensive tests for Syracuse this season.

The Hurricanes returned Wong, who had 14 and 15 points against Syracuse last season, and Jordan Miller. They used the transfer portal to add some more weapons around their go-to guy with Nijel Pack, who averaged 17.4 points at Kansas State last season, and Norchad Omier, who averaged 17.9 points per game at Arkansas State in 2021-22. Omier has only scored in single digits just once this year.

How Syracuse beats Miami

Miami is currently in its worst streak of the year, having dropped two of its last three games. Those losses against Georgia Tech and North Carolina State could provide a blueprint for Syracuse on Monday as it tries to avenge last season’s close defeats against a hungry Hurricanes squad.

The Yellow Jackets were coming off three-straight ACC losses, but they maintained their strong 3-point defense, which ranks second in the ACC. Miami went 27% from 3-point range in the first half, allowing Georgia Tech to build a 12-point lead in the opening period. Syracuse has a tougher task defending this with a zone defense, but it’s been better with moving up its wings to stop open looks. If it can continue to do that and force another bad shooting night, the Orange could get the advantage.

North Carolina State also exposed Miami’s lack of composure on the glass late in the game. Ernest Ross collected an offensive board and scored to put the Wolfpack up 82-81 with 30 seconds left in overtime. They also finished with 24 more field goal attempts than Miami because of their 32.6% offensive rebounding rate throughout the game. If Jesse Edwards has help on the boards from the likes of Maliq Brown and others, SU could get more offensive attempts as well.

Stat to know: 32.0

This matchup will be determined by who can win the battle on the glass. Miami allows an offensive rebounding rate of 32.0%, which helps Syracuse since Brown has emerged as a threat on the glass. But the Orange have almost the same lack of success on rebounds, giving up an offensive rebounding rate of 33.7% this year.

Stephanie Zaso | Digital Design Director

Player to watch: Norchad Omier, forward, No. 15

Syracuse knows what to expect from Wong, and it did a pretty job limiting Miami’s go-to guy. But the Orange haven’t played against Omier yet, who is a threat on the boards despite Miami’s lack of success with rebounding this season. And for Syracuse, who relies heavily on Edwards to clean up the glass, that doesn’t play into their favor.

Omier scored a season-high 21 points at Florida A&M, and he had 13 points in the Hurricanes’ last two matchups. He’s solely an inside presence and leads Miami with 168 rebounds, including 66 offensive boards. Edwards will get tested against Omier inside, where Miami will try to establish him in the high post and find him cutting under the basket.

Published on January 15, 2023 at 11:10 pm

Contact Anish: [email protected] | @anish_vasu