CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes earned a reputation as giant-killers last season when they knocked off a top-10 Duke squad in the regular season and beat highly-regarded USC and Auburn squads en route to the Elite Eight.
No. 22 Miami claimed its first upset win of the 2022-23 campaign on Tuesday, picking up a 66-64 victory over No. 6 Virginia at the Watsco Center.
The Hurricanes (12-1) started the game hot, going up 10-2 early in the contest. They outshot the Cavaliers 45% to 35% and knocked down 42% of their 3-pointers in the first half, compared to Virginia’s 22%. Miami also out-rebounded Virginia 20-14 in the first half.
The Hurricanes started the second half in a similar fashion, going on a 5-0 run to start the second period. Miami kept Virginia from scoring for the first 5:16 of the second half. The Cavaliers (8-2) did not sink a shot from the field for the first 6:25 of the half. But the Hurricanes did not capitalize on UVA’s scoring drought, scoring just five points in that stretch.
The Hurricanes’ offensive struggles in the second half caught up with them, as the Cavaliers went on a 10-0 run — with all 10 points coming from Ben Vander Plas — to cut their deficit to one point, but Miami started finding the basket again and kept Virginia at bay.
Miami had to get through the last few minutes of the contest without forward Norchad Omier, who fouled out with 2:43 left in the second half, and the Hurricanes pushed ahead with a key 3-pointer by Nijel Pack and a free throw by Isaiah Wong to go ahead by 10 late in the game.
The Cavaliers stuck close to the Hurricanes, going on an 8-0 run to cut Miami’s lead to two with 26.8 seconds left in the game. Jordan Miller and Wong sunk free throws to keep the Hurricanes ahead by two possessions, and the Cavaliers could not make up the difference.
Wong led Miami with 24 points in the victory, scoring 20 points for the fourth game in a row.
