Miami Beats UCF 88-72, Shows Off 'Team Basketball'
The Miami Hurricanes played a quality game tonight, especially for it being against an in-state rival in UCF and being the second game of the 2023-24 season. The Canes won 88-72 by hitting more big 3-point shots and just flat-out being a more well-rounded and team-oriented basketball team. One player definitely stood out.
There's much to talk about with Wooga Poplar just going nuts from downtown with him being 5-for-5 from behind the arc (more on him in a separate article on Saturday).
He was efficient for the majority of the game, and often a high-flyer for buckets, too. Congratulations to Poplar for a tremendous performance, but now let's talk about how Miami played their style of ball and it paid off.
The prime reason, no doubt, is Miami's unselfishness. The players work together at both ends of the basketball court. Passing that led to run-outs, forcing an opposing player to dribble into another UM player, setting screens, and verbal communication being good are just a few of the items that were obviously going well for the Hurricanes.
Here's an example, the Hurricanes had a total of 13 assists while UCF only came up with 6. Further, Miami's passing helped the Canes get to the free-throw line. Miami ended the contest with an incredible mark of 26 made free throws from 30 attempts. Now let's talk defense.
As noted in the pregame Keys to Victory article, Miami needed to get a hand up and limit UCF's open 3-point looks, including Jaylin Sellers missing all seven from the 3-point line. Miami's defense helped create those misses. That's a team effort from start to finish, as the Knights were only 5 of 20 from behind the arc and never found any rhythm from their jump shots. There's more good news for the Canes.
Miami's ability to pass the basketball in the half-court or in the open floor led to some great offensive possessions. 3-point shots for Poplar, easy looks for Norchad Omier, and Florida State transfer Matthew Cleveland had a few from outside and near the hoop that came by way of excellent passing.
Lastly, Miami's Nijel Pack did not score a lot, but he created shots for himself and his teammates. If he plays like this each game, the Canes will have another great season. If someone wants to find a negative, sure, the Knights won the rebounding battle 38-34. Miami can improve there. Overall, job well done though.
Here are the final scoring numbers for Miami's starters:
Poplar - 23 (career high)
Omier - 19
Joseph - 15 (career high)
Pack - 11
Cleveland - 12
Miami is 2-0 and will play Florida International, inside the Watsco Center, on Monday.
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