Gameday Preview: Guard-Oriented Miami Provides Familiar Challenges to Indiana

ALBANY, N.Y. — There are a lot of similarities between Kent State and Miami, Indiana's two opponents here in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Both are guard oriented and spread the floor, and that's something that has bothered the Hoosiers at times during the season.

Know this, though. Miami does it even better.

So yes, it's great that Indiana got past Kent State 71-60 on Friday night thanks to a terrific defensive effort. Kent State shot just 31.9 percent from the field and Sincere Carry, their best offensive weapon, missed 13 shots. He was just 5-for-18 on the night, and only 1-of-6 from three. 

Indiana contested every shot and, in fact, two of his makes came on desperation heaves as the shot clock was expiring. Junior guard Trey Galloway had a lot to do with that. Carry was his assignment, and he shut him down, with plenty of help from a game plan that didn't disappoint.

"Carry was kind of the head of the snake. We knew that going in, for Kent State, and he was a key matchup,'' Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought our guys really played him, tried to make his catches tough, tried to really get into him and have him hold onto the basketball.

"We had some success, but it's just not one guy. I don't teach team defense as one guy. We've got to all sacrifice for the sake of the team, and when there's a breakdown, you've got to trust that somebody's there to help you. That's kind of how we built our defensive system.''

Galloway has been Indiana's best perimeter defender all season. He only scored two points himself, but his defensive efforts overrode that, for sure. 

"He's a great player and a tough assignment. He was quick and can get to his spot and hit tough shots,'' Galloway said. "Our job was to contain him and make it hard on him all night, and I think we did that.

"It's a game of runs and we knew they would make runs and hit shots, but he had to respond. We stayed under control, and when we had chances to extend the lead, we took advantage of that.''

Miami is led by guard Isaiah Wong, Jordan Miller and Nigel Pack, and all three can shoot from the perimeter and attack the basket. Wong was the ACC Player of the Year — the Hurricanes tied Virginia for the league title with a 15-5 record — and Miller, is dangerous, too. They average 15.8 and 15.0 points per game respectively, and shoot 37.5 percent and 25.8 percent from three.

Pack, an Indianapolis native that transferred in from Kansas State, is averaging 13.4 points per game and is shooting 39.6 from deep. The game starts at 8:40 p.m. ET. 

"Nijel is a great player and their backcourt is really, really good,'' said Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, who played against Pack in high school. "Just watching him grow throughout high school and blossom into the player that he is now, just being able to shoot the ball and the passing, his ability to attack the rim is huge. So I'm excited. It's not every day you get to play someone that you grew up really close to.''

Miami is 26-7 on the season, and four of those losses were by three points or less. They're used to winning, especially after reaching the Elite Eight a year ago. Indiana is a slight favorite on Sunday, but this is a toss-up game for sure. Miami is that good.

"Obviously they're a really good team. Offensively they're dangerous,'' Indiana forward Miller Kopp said. "Probably one of the best, if not the best, offense in the ACC, averaging over 80 points a game. They get out in transition. They shoot a lot of threes in transition. That's really one of their strengths. For us, it's going to be about taking care of the ball, making sure we have a good shot every possession.''

Indiana senior forward Race Thompson said it's important to make Miami uncomfortable on the offensive end. 

"It really comes down to us. Our defense works really well when we're keying in together,'' he said. "We're really just focused on what we do, and again just kind of familiarize ourselves with what they do so we can kind of see some things coming.''

Miami likes to play fast at times, and Indiana's transition defense needs to be spot on. 

"I just think the biggest thing with our defense is just sticking with our tendencies, limiting transition, transition runs, and just not letting them speed us up,'' Jackson-Davis said. "I think that's the biggest thing. Games in the 60s for us is a lot better than games in the 70s and 80s. So that's what we're going to try to do, and we've got to stick to our game plan.''

Miami didn't play particularly well offensively in their first-round win over Drake. Wong was just 1-for-10 from the field and only had five points, his lowest output of the year. Miller was just 2-for-7 and had seven points.

Pack led the way with 21 points and fourth guard Wooga Poplar had 15. The Hurricanes are very capable of beating you a lot of different ways.

"I know Wong struggled (Friday) and he's been kind of their go-to guy,'' Woodson said. "Pack has been solid all season. I thought he carried them against Drake, after watching it.

"They're not a one-man show. They've got four guys that average in double figures. So there are key matchups all over the floor that we've got to really focus in on and concentrate it for 40 minutes. They're perimeter driven. They've got perimeter play that sits at the top of college basketball. They do a lot of good things from their perimeter. We have to take things away that they like to do. Then when you do that, you've got to finish it with rebounding. If we're able to do those things, then it should be a competitive game.''

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