How Norchad Omier led Hurricanes to 2nd ACC Title in Program History
The Miami Hurricanes narrowly escaped a 2nd straight agonizing defeat, as Blake Hinson narrowly missed a desperation heave to take the lead at the end of the game. As a result, the Hurricanes closed out a historic 24-6 season with a share of the ACC title. As the passionate Hurricanes fans stormed the court, the people most responsible for the Canes’ historic season celebrated. Miami boasts a hall-of-fame coach, a historic starting 5, and the momentum and mentality needed for a deep run in March!
Give the Miami Hurricanes a ton of credit for this season. Aside from a single errant buzzer-beater loss to in-state rival FSU, the Hurricanes went undefeated at home. In addition to their strong home crowd, the Hurricanes vanquished every strong ACC opponent at least once. Against some of the other strongest teams in the conference — Virginia, UNC, Clemson, and Wake Forest — Miami won handedly in their only meeting. As for Duke, Pitt, and NC State, Miami won at least 1 of their 2 bouts throughout the season. A respectable loss to Maryland in November and a pair of upset losses to Georgia Tech and Florida State round out Miami’s short list of defeats.
While the Hurricanes will not have home-court advantage come the tournament, they have a talented roster that is sure to make up the difference. The headliner for the Hurricanes is Isaiah Wong, who averages 15.9 points per game. Wong has scored as high as 36 points on the season, but can have “off” nights, such as Miami’s most recent win against Pitt. Wong went just 1 for 9 form the field, and made 7/9 of his points off of free throws. The other players on this starting 5 are no joke either. Wooga Poplar — likely the consensus 5th best on this starting 5 — proved he is no joke when he hit 6 crucial 3-pointers in the win against Pitt. Jordan Miller does all of the “little things” at an NBA-caliber level, and is truly among the most underrated players in the country. In fact, Miller has not scored less than double digit points in 2023. Nijel Pack is a hot-or-not sharpshooter, but the $800,000 NIL deal Pack received has been worth it for the Hurricanes. Pack can single-handedly alter results, such as when he hit 5 3-pointers in a span of 5 minutes in Miami’s home win against Virginia Tech. With all of that being said, likely the most important player to Miami’s success is Norchad Omier.
Omier transferred into Miami from the Sun Belt — where he won Sun Belt player of the year for the Arkansas State Red Wolves — and he made an immediate impact. The 7-time game MVP averages 14.1 points per game on some of the most efficient scoring in the country. Omier makes north of 60% of his shots inside the arc, and has the potential to go absolutely nuclear. For example, when Miami went to Notre Dame and hosted Virginia Tech, Omier made 8/11 and 9/11 of his shots respectively. In fact, in games where Omier makes more than 6 shots, Miami is undefeated. However, the far more impressive aspect of Omier’s basketball game is his rebounding ability. At 6’7”, Omier is the smallest center in the ACC, but he is the 2nd best defensive rebounder in the conference. This speaks to his monstrous athleticism. Omier unabashedly goes the extra mile on rebounding (as evidenced by his 23 point 26 rebound game back on Arkansas State). His 13 double-doubles on the season put him in the top 30 in the nation when combining scoring and rebounding skill, and he truly is the cornerstone behind this offensive juggernaut.
Despite their highs, Miami is not an unbeatable team. In fact, they struggle to slow down even middle of the road ACC opponents, and they gave up 105 points to Cornell in regulation. The defensive inefficiencies can be attributed to undisciplined guard defense and Omier’s lack of height. 2nd unit players such as Bensley Joseph, Harlond Beverly, and AJ Casey provide defensive relief, but they cannot always contend with the top echelon players Miami will face at the big dance. For example, Miami could get confounded if Summit League favorite Oral Roberts makes the tournament and matches up with them in the first round. Oral Roberts boasts a premiere scorer in Max Abmas, and a 7’5” behemoth and 3-point shooter in Connor Vanover. With a 10” size difference against Omier, Vanover could provide trouble for the Hurricanes, and Abmas has been among the most efficient scorers in the league since Oral Roberts’ historic run in 2021. Nonetheless, no game in March Madness will be unwinnable for Miami. If they catch fire at the right moments, then the Hurricanes could make the first Final Four in school history this year!
