No. 25 UM must contain St. Francis shooter Josh Cohen, who is coming off 40-pt game
The University of Miami men’s basketball team is ranked this week for the first time in more than four years and hopes to hang on to that No. 25 spot, or move up, with a home win on Saturday against Saint Francis (Pennsylvania).
The Canes (10-1) are coming off an exciting week in which they beat Cornell 107-105 and rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat North Carolina State in their Atlantic Coast Conference home opener.
Guard Isaiah Wong was named ACC and National Player of the Week after averaging 29 points, six rebounds and seven assists in the Hurricanes’ two wins. He shot 63.3 percent (19 of 30) overall, 58.3 percent (7 of 12) on three-pointers and 92.9 percent (13 of 14) at the free-throw line, while posting only one turnover in 69 minutes of play.
Wong scored a career-high 36 points against Cornell and 22 with a career-best eight assists (and no turnovers) against the Wolfpack.
Miami is 7-0 at home and has been attracting larger student crowds than usual, but Saturday’s noon game might be a tough draw as the students are on winter break.
The Hurricanes’ biggest challenge against Saint Francis will be containing 6-10 forward Josh Cohen, who averages 21.4 points and is coming off a 40-point night against Hawaii in a 90-66 loss. He also scored 40 in a loss to Lehigh in November.
Cohen is one of just two players in Red Flash history to score 40 in a game. His 21.4 points per game ranks 11th in the NCAA this season.
The Red Flash is 3-8 overall, 0-5 on the road and 1-18 all time against ACC opponents.
Miami’s strength this season has been its balanced attack with four of five starters averaging double figures. Wong leads the group with 16.2 points per game, Jordan Miller averages 15.5, newcomer Norchad Omier is contributing 13.7 points and 10 rebounds per game and Nijel Pack 11.3 points.
The Canes have a big home conference game looming Tuesday night against No. 2 Virginia, but first, they need to get past Saint Francis.