No. 12 Miami shoots for its 10th straight win on Wednesday when it visits Georgia Tech, which will attempt to halt a two-game losing streak.
The Hurricanes (13-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) are coming off a 76-65 road win over Notre Dame on Friday, while Georgia Tech (7-6, 0-3) struggled in a 74-56 home loss to then-No. 13 Virginia on Saturday.
Miami won the past two meetings and leads the all-time series with the Yellow Jackets 16-12.
The Hurricanes are off to a start of 13-1 or better through 14 games for the sixth time in program history and the second time under coach Jim Larranaga. Miami is 4-0 in the conference for just the second time in the past 10 years.
Miami has been a good road team. The Hurricanes have won eight straight regular-season away contests and seven straight conference road games dating back to last season. Miami just completed its second consecutive undefeated December.
“We’re always concerned going on the road with what kind of environment we’ll be in and how we’ll play,” Larranaga said after his squad beat the Fighting Irish.
The Hurricanes are led by Isaiah Wong, who became the program’s No. 11 career scorer when he went for 15 against Notre Dame. Wong, who has 1,507 points, passed Johnny Hemsley (1996-2000). He has a school-record 889 career points against ACC competition, eclipsing the 888 set by Jack McClinton from 2006-09.
The 15-point effort broke a streak of four consecutive 20-point performances for Wong. He is averaging 23.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists over his past five games.
Nijel Pack had 21 points against Notre Dame, the second-highest total during his first season the Hurricanes, and Norchard Ormier scored 18. Ormier now has 1,002 career points, with 809 of those coming during his two seasons at Arkansas State.
Georgia Tech has lost six straight games to ranked teams. Its last win over a Top 25 game was against No. 15 Florida State in the 2021 ACC championship game.
The Yellow Jackets committed a season-high 23 turnovers against Virginia, more than twice its season average of 11.1. Georgia Tech also allowed a season-high 10 3-point baskets vs. the Cavaliers.
“I had been bragging to everybody about our ball security and taking care of the ball,” Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner said. “Just unfortunate that did not prevail (on Saturday). The amount of turnovers led to them getting 30 points.”
Miles Kelly has been a bright spot for the Yellow Jackets. He scored a team-high 20 points against Virginia and has scored in double figures in eight straight games, leading or co-leading the squad in scoring in five of those contests. Kelly has averaged 16 points and 4.4 rebounds during that eight-game stretch.
Georgia Tech senior Kyle Sturdivant had a career-high eight assists in the Saturday loss, and Ja’von Franklin had 11 points and nine rebounds, just missing his third double-double of the season.
“There’s a lot of basketball left to play,” Pastner said. “I love our group. There are things we have to fight through to get better and we will. We’ve got to be better. We’ve got a great opportunity on Wednesday against Miami. We’ve got to stay positive. Got to stay together.”
–Field Level Media