Across the Bracket: No. 5 Seed Miami (FL) Beats Drake, Plays Winner of Indiana vs. Kent State
ALBANY, N.Y. — No. 12 seed Drake gave No. 5 seed Miami (FL) all it could handle on Friday night, but Miami emerged with a 63-56 win in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 at MVP Arena.
Drake made a strong run at an upset in this game, jumping out to a 30-25 lead in the first half. It looked like the Bulldogs were ready to advance to the next round when they led 55-47 with 5:38 remaining in the game. But in the final five minutes, Miami dug in on the defensive end and Drake's offense fell stagnant.
Miami closed the game on a 10-0 run in the final three and a half minutes to sneak away with the win. Sophomore guard Nijel Pack led Miami with 21 points on Friday, followed by sophomore guard Wooga Poplar with 15 points and sophomore forward Norchad Omier with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Miami won the ACC regular season title with a 15-5 record in conference play before losing to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Junior guard Isaiah Wong led Miami in scoring all season with 16.2 points per game, followed by senior guard Jordan Miller at 15.3 points, Omier with 13.6 points and 9.7 rebounds and Pack with 13.2 points. With Pack, Wong, Miller, Poplar and sophomore guard Bensley Joseph, Miami has five players that shoot above 36 percent from 3-point range.
With this win, Miami advances to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, where it'll face the winner of No. 4 seed Indiana versus No. 12 seed Kent State on Sunday in Albany. Game times will be announced early on Saturday morning.
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- LIVE BLOG: It's late on a Friday night, but Indiana is finally ready to take the floor for its first-round NCAA Tournament game with Kent State here in Albany, N.Y. Welcome to our live blog, where we'll keep you updated in real time with all the news and views straight from press row. CLICK HERE
- HOW TO WATCH INDIANA VS. KENT STATE: No. 4 seed Indiana plays No. 13 seed Kent State on Friday night in the 2023 NCAA Tournament Round of 64. Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history, stats, rankings and more. CLICK HERE
- THREE THINGS TO WATCH: No. 4 seed Indiana takes on No. 13 seed Kent State in the Round of 64 of the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Friday night in Albany, N.Y. Here are three things to keep an eye on in this game. CLICK HERE
- OPENING LINE: Kent State has been undervalued by the betting public all year long and has covered in nearly 70 percent of its games. That's why they are a trendy upset pick against Indiana on Friday night. Here's the latest on the point spread, and a thorough background vs. the number for both team. Great knowledge here. CLICK HERE
- NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS: Here are all of the results so far in the NCAA tournament, plus the remaining schedule, with dates, game times and TV information. CLICK HERE
