Miami Hurricanes Basketball: Hurricanes Edge Nebraska 77-72 In Overtime Thriller

As we’ve discussed ad nauseam this season, the Miami Hurricanes missed out on last season’s NCAA Tournament because of inconsistent performances. Whether it was preventing them from picking up crucial wins or forcing them into horrible losses, it was the obvious issue.

After their loss to Northeastern, their game against Nebraska on Tuesday night headed to overtime in a game in which last year’s Canes would have certainly faltered, but this year’s team is just different.

Using an impressive 13-point scoring boost from Anthony Lawrence off the bench and some key defensive stops in the overtime period, the Miami Hurricanes moved to 6-1 on the season with a crucial 77-72 victory over the Cornhuskers in Lincoln. The victory was their first over Nebraska in basketball since 1951 and their road win in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge was Miami’s first ever since the event began in 2005.

Coach Jim Larranaga and his squad came into Tuesday night’s game after suffering a shocking and disappointing buzzer-beater defeat to an underrated Northeastern team last Friday. While it certainly wasn’t their most aesthetically-pleasing effort of the season in Lincoln, the Canes did what matters most, win.

The Hurricanes got off to a strong start as they rushed out of the gate with a 12-3 run. With Miami seemingly using the same formula they showed in Puerto Rico, it looked like the Canes could runaway with it early, but Nebraska had other ideas.

Using a monster performance from senior forward Shavon Shields and some hot early three-point shooting, the Cornhuskers clawed their way back into the game and kept the Miami lead within five for the entire first half. If it weren’t for Amp Lawrence though, the Canes might have found themselves in a deep hole.

The freshman was vital off the bench as he contributed ten quick points that included a putback dunk that silenced the Nebraska faithful.

With both teams hitting a cold streak offensively, neither could pull away and the Hurricanes took just a 37-36 lead to the break. In the second half, the game remained neck-and-neck, but for the Cornhuskers, it truly became the Shavon Shields show.

The Nebraska senior had 16 second-half points and 28 overall on the night and the Hurricanes couldn’t find any matchup to stop him. Even with Kamari Murphy inserted into the starting lineup in place of Ivan Cruz Uceda, the defense at times continued to struggle.

For the Canes it was the balanced attack of Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan and Ja’Quan Newton who finished with 15, 14 and ten points respectively, that kept them in the ballgame.

While Miami did eventually end up with five players with double-figures in points, the second half featured a lot of forced shots from the Hurricanes. Some of what we saw from Rodriguez last year reared its’ ugly head and the Canes offense became a bit stagnant.

With the teams within two points of each other for the last seven minutes, both Miami and Nebraska seemingly traded baskets until a Kamari Murphy alley-oop layup and an Angel Rodriguez layup gave Miami a 68-65 lead. On the next possession, Nebraska’s Glynn Watson Jr. nailed a wild three-pointer to tie the game up at 68.

With around 15 seconds left, the Canes seemingly had time to execute a final play for the last shot, but Miami’s point guard from Puerto Rico forced up a long three that came up way short and sent the game into overtime.

In the overtime period, the Hurricanes seemingly had control as Shields fell awkwardly on a layup attempt and was limited the rest of the way. Davon Reed struggled all night, but hit a three-point shot in OT and Ja’Quan Newton hit two clutch free throws to essentially seal the victory.

Miami certainly didn’t play their best and will have to improve before the games against Florida and Charleston coming up. Oddly enough, the Canes also struggled after returning from their early-season tournament last year and had a stretch where they dropped four of six games. This year we haven’t seen struggles to that extent, but there has certainly been a drop-off from their play in Puerto Rico.

In the end though, they picked up what could serve as a huge road victory come tourney time. The Cornhuskers came into the game at No. 98 in the KenPom and along with their victory over Louisiana-Lafayette who sits at No. 106, the Hurricanes could potentially add two Top 100 wins to their resume along with the Utah and Butler wins.

We’ve discussed ad nauseam how this team needs to be consistent and sometimes win even if they aren’t having their best night. If Tuesday night’s win over Nebraska is the start of that, I can’t wait to see what’s in store.