NC State will have its first road game of the season at Miami (Fla.) at 2 p.m. Saturday on RSN.

Miami is off to a 9-1 start and 1-0 in the ACC. The Hurricanes have defeated Providence, Central Florida, Rutgers and league opponent Louisville. Miami's lone loss was 88-70 on Nov. 20, prior to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge game vs. Rutgers.

Four different players have led Miami in scoring, with senior guard Isaiah Wong exploding for 36 points in a 107-105 win over Cornell on Wednesday.

Miami returned starting point guard Isaiah Wong and stretch four Jordan Miller, and then went to the transfer portal to land Kansas State shooting guard Nijel Pack and Arkansas State center Norchad Omier.

Sophomore guards Bensley Joseph and Wooga Polar give the Hurricanes a good top six players. The depth is still a work in progress.

Rankings

Miami is No. 52 in the NET rankings, and NC State is No. 54.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Hurricanes ranked No. 34 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 43.

KenPom.com has Miami at No. 44, and NCSU checks in at No. 55.

RealtimeRPI.com has Miami ranked No. 49 in the country, and NC State is No. 74.

Shooting

The Hurricanes are averaging 77.7 points per game, and shooting 48.6 percent from the field, 34.6 percent on three-pointers and 76.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Sixth man guard Joseph is shooting a team-best 40 percent from beyond the arc and is 10 of 25. Pack is shooting 33.3 percent from three-point land this season, but was 43.6 percent last year at Kansas State.

Rebounding

Miami is averaging 34.0 rebounds and 11.3 offensive rebounds per game, with a rebounding margin of plus-1.2.

Omier has been a beast on the boards, whether at Arkansas State or Miami. He's averaging 9.9 rebounds per game this season, but the 6-7, 248-pounder averaged a little over 12 boards per game his first two years at Arkansas State. Miller chips in 6.1 rebounds per game for the Hurricanes.

Defense

The Hurricanes are holding opposing teams to 67.1 points per game, with teams shooting 43.0 percent from the field and 30.9 percent on three-pointers.

Omier has 11 blocks, but five different players have at least 10 steals, with Wong having a team-high 19.

Depth

Joseph is the main Miami bench player. The 6-2, 207-pound sophomore guard is averaging 6.3 points and 2.5 assists in 22.4 minutes per game.

Junior post player Anthony Walker is a terrific athlete at 6-9 and 215 pounds, and has plenty of experience the last four years. He is averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game. Walker averaged 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2020-21.

Junior wing Harland Beverly and freshman forward A.J. Casey are also in the rotation.

NC State understands the challenge of trying to slow down Miami fourth-year junior guard Isaiah Wong.

The 6-foot-4, 184-pounder took over down the stretch last year against NC State, finishing with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists in a 91-83 win in the lone meeting between the programs last year Dec. 29, 2021.

Wong also had 24 points and nine rebounds in a 64-59 win over NC State on Jan. 9, 2021.

Rivals.com ranked him No. 78 overall in the class of 2019 coming out of Drexel Hill (Pa.) Monsignor Bonner High. He's enjoying a quality junior campaign, with a monster performance Wednesday. He had 36 points, went 5 of 8 on three-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists in a 107-105 victory over Cornell.

Wong is averaging 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists this season. He is shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 37.8 percent on three-pointers.

Wong has scored at least 10 points in all but two games. He had 22 points in the loss against Maryland on Nov. 20.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, R-Sr., 16.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.7 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 17.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.3 apg, 2.0 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 13.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.6 spg)

PF — 5 Jack Clark (6-8, 200, R-Jr., 9.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 2.1 spg)

C — 30 D.J. Burns (6-9, 275, R-Jr., 7.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.9 apg)

Miami (Fla.)

PG — 2 Isaiah Wong (6-4, 184, Jr., 15.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.9 spg)

SG — 24 Nijel Pack (6-0, 184, Soph., 11.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.8 apg)

SF — 55 Wooga Poplar (6-5, 192, Soph., 7.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.3 spg)

PF — 11 Jordan Miller (6-7, 195, Sr., 14.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.6 spg)

C — 15 Norchad Omier (6-7, 248, Soph., 14.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg)

5 Total number of scholarship letter winners from Miami to transfer over the past six years, tied with Florida State for the lowest number. The ACC average has been 11.9 during that time.

25 Points for senior strech four Jordan Miller in last year's 91-83 win over NC State. The former George Mason transfer went 4 of 6 on three-pointers.

705 Career wins for Miami (Fla.) coach Jim Larranaga, who has won at least 150 games at three different colleges — Bowling Green, George Mason and Miami.

Miami third-year sophomore center Norchad Omier is off to a quality start.

The 6-7, 248-pounder from Bluefields, Nicaragua, is averaging 14.0 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in his first year with the Hurricanes.

Omier was a standout his first two years at Arkansas State. He averaged 17.9 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game and shot 63.2 percent from the field last year. He became one of the most coveted transfers in the country.

Omier has scored in double figures in all but one game, and he has five double-doubles for points and rebounds. He had a season-high 21 points and seven boards against Florida A&M on Nov. 15. He also had 19 points and 12 rebounds against Providence.

Omier fouled out of the Central Florida game in 22 minutes, and he had four fouls in two other games. With little depth behind him, the Hurricanes have played him at least 31 minutes in five games.

Burns will have more responsibility with senior center Dusan Mahorcic out indefinitely with a knee injury suffered against Coppin State last Tuesday. Burns has been averaging 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.6 minutes per game.

If Burns can play 20 minutes or more, with sophomore Ernest Ross and junior Ebenezer Dowuona filling in behind him, the Wolfpack will try to manage until Mahorcic returns later in the season.

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