Miami Basketball: Three takeaways from road loss to Syracuse

Miami lost its second straight game to Syracuse Saturday afternoon. Here are three thoughts from the loss.

Miami learned it would be without its leading scorer and rebounder when Norchad Omier was ruled out with a lower extremity injury before its contest with the Orange.

That’s 17.2 points and 9.6 rebounds Miami needed to make up, and they did with a group effort. Eight players saw the court against Syracuse, with Nijel Pack scoring 19 points and Matthew Cleveland leading in rebounds with 12.

Freshman Michael Nwoko started in place of Omier and played a season-high 33 minutes. His production was minimal, scoring seven points and grabbing five rebounds, but the experience could be vital for the postseason.

Omier is usually the Hurricane that registers the most paint points for Miami and was focused on getting close to the basket for high-percentage shots. Miami outscored Syracuse 38-22 in paint points.

However, toward the end of the game, Miami reverted to taking the three-point shot. With 7:10 left in the game with a five-point lead, five missed threes kept the Orange in the game.

Freshman Kyshawn George was the third-leading scorer with ten points and made some critical buckets down the stretch. It was a valiant effort without its big man in the middle, but Miami could have used Omier for rebounds in the final moments.

Starting guard Wooga Poplar put together a pedestrian performance with Omier absent from the lineup. Two early fouls committed by Poplar caused head coach Jim Larranaga to remove his starting shooting guard for most of the first half, playing just four minutes.

Poplar picked up another quick foul in the second half and seemed out of sorts for the rest of the game. He didn’t allow the game to come to him and tried to force himself into the offense, disrupting Miami’s chemistry for most of the second half. Poplar ended the game with five points on 2-7 shooting, four rebounds, two assists, and two turnovers in 21 minutes.

Miami’s third-leading scorer needs to be more consistent. His shot-making ability is vital to the team’s success.

George was clutch in the waning moments against Syracuse.

The first-year player hit three consecutive field goals, including a banked three-pointer with about three minutes left. Not sure if he called bank, but what you can bank on is George making plays in the final moments when given opportunities.

It was his sixth game scoring double figures, and he continues to be efficient with the basketball. He made four of his five shots (2-3 from three-point range).

He led the team in plus/minus by a wide margin. George’s 11 score in 18 minutes was miles ahead of the second-place player AJ Casey at -1.

George needs more minutes.