Talk CanesToday: MBB looks to start 2-0, FB prepares for ‘FSU
Crossover season continues for basketball and football, the former taking the floor against UCF-Commerce on Friday at 7 p.m. ET inside Watsco Center. As for the latter, Miami will take on FSU on Saturday in the afternoon ET at Doak Campbell Stadium — a monster weekend.
Let’s run through things in chronological order, starting with tonight’s basketball matchup.
UCF (1-0, No. 66 Kenpom) beat FIU 85-62 on Monday as the Knights are coming off a 19-15 season with a NIT appearance and are now in the highly-competitive Big 12 Conference where they were picked last in the preseason poll. … Miami was picked to finish third in the ACC and is playing their second of three straight home games to begin the season. Miami went 16-1 at home last year. … Miami is 19th in offensive adjusted efficiency (111.7 points per 100 offensive possessions) according to Kenpom and 69th in defensive adjusted efficiency (96.1) while UCF is 110th in offensive efficiency (104.4) and 41st in defensive efficiency (93.7).
Miami (FL) vs. UCF Game Info & Odds
- Date: Friday, November 10, 2023
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- TV: ACC Network Extra
- Where: Coral Gables, Florida
- Venue: Watsco Center
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The Wooga Poplar Talk Is Real and The Hurricanes Are Ready to Rock with Him This Season
The Watsco Center crowd is going to enjoy cheering for Wooga Poplar this season. Wooga had his highest career points on Monday against NJIT.
During Miami’s 101-60 season-opening win on Monday night over NJIT, Poplar gave the Hurricane’s Nation their first taste of what’s to come in 2023-24 whenever he hits the floor this season. He finished with an impressive stat line of 21 points (8-16 FG), three rebounds, one assists, and one block with two turnovers in just 23 minutes of action.
The Hurricane’s shot a whopping 54% from the field and 43% from behind the arc. Even Junior Norchad Omier got his share of threes. Omier was 2-2 from behind the three. Poplar had a career-high with 21 points that I just touched on; he was just part of Miami’s great night shooting the basketball. Poplar was also 5-9 from three-point range.
“He’s great. He’s him,” said Miami coach Jim Larranaga. “The guy can shoot threes, his pull up jumper is amazing, he missed a few of them today but he’s a terrific player.”
I am very ready to see what he can do tonight against an experienced UCF defense.
Miami vs. FSU Preview:
Your University of Miami Hurricanes (6-3, 2-3) are traveling to FSU for the biggest rivalry game at Doak Campbell Stadium this season. The undefeated Seminoles are in pole position for the ACC Championship Game and have a good shot at the College Football Playoff as long as they can avoid any slip-ups over the last few weeks of the regular season.
Miami would love nothing more than to demolish those hopes. The Hurricanes have had a rollercoaster of a season in coach Mario Cristobal’s second year. They’re sitting at 6-3 with bowl eligibility already in the bag, but it’s been a battle to get there. Miami blew what should have been an easy win against Georgia Tech with a well-covered coaching blunder and is fresh off a hapless 20-6 loss to NC State.
As its record suggests, FSU has kept things humming along nicely this year. The Seminoles have won each of their last five games by at least two possessions after a couple of close calls against Boston College and Clemson, and they’ve battled through injuries the entire time.
Miami actually holds a 35-32 all-time series lead against Florida State, making this one of the most tightly contested rivalries in college football. The Seminoles have done a lot to make things more interesting in recent years, winning the last two in a row against Miami and nine out of the last 13 since 2010.
Trinton is the owner of CanesToday. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, he is a freshman in high school and wants to graduate from the University of Miami
