Live Game Thread: Miami Basketball Vs. Notre Dame

The Hurricanes will face Notre Dame for their ACC opener on Saturday. Miami is 8-11 in ACC openers since joining the league ahead of the 2004-5 season. When playing at home, the Hurricanes hold a 5-6 mark in conference openers. Under head coach Jim Larranaga, Miami is 6-6 all-time in the first game of the ACC slate.

Series History

This will be the 29th overall meeting between the two programs, with Notre Dame holding the 15-13 advantage in the all-time series. When playing at the Watsco Center, Miami is 6-7 against the Fighting Irish and is seeking its first home victory over Notre Dame since Feb. 6, 2019 (W, 62-47).

Last time the two teams met, the Hurricanes snapped a four-game losing streak to Notre Dame with a 76-65 win over the Fighting Irish on Dec. 30, 2022. Guard Nijel Pack was electric from 3-point range, going 5-of-8 from distance and totaling a team-best 21 points in the contest.

Rankings

The Hurricanes ascended two spots to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 this week, marking the 18th straight week that Miami has appeared in the AP Poll, breaking the program record of 17 consecutive weeks set during the 2015-16 season.

The Hurricanes appeared in 18 straight USA TODAY Coaches Polls in 2015-16 due to the final poll at the conclusion of the season.

Last Game

The Hurricanes were tagged with their first loss of the season Tuesday night, falling to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats, 95-73, at Rupp Arena. Kentucky put on its best offensive performance of the season, shooting 60 percent in the game and 43 percent from 3-point range.

A trio of Hurricanes scored in double-figures, paced by Norchad Omier at 20. Wooga Poplar and Christian Watson joined Omier in double-digits with 19 and 10 points.

Embed content not availableManage privacy settings

Notable Miami Statistics

With 19 points at No. 12 Kentucky, Poplar has now scored double-figures in all six games played this season, the only Hurricane to do so. Poplar paces Miami in scoring (18.2) this season and ranks second in rebounding (6.3).

Poplar is one of six NCAA Division I players to shoot better than 50 percent from the field and 3-point range and better than 85 percent from the charity stripe (min 20 attempts) this year.

Per Stats Perform, Miami is one of five D-1 teams with multiple players averaging at least 15 points and five rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field (Omier, Poplar).

Seven Hurricanes are shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season.

Miami currently sits ninth in the nation (first in the ACC) in effective field goal percentage (.593).

Miami has gone 15-5 (.750) in home games against ACC opponents since 2021-22, t-3rd in the ACC.

Miami’s bench scored 23 points at Kentucky, the third 20-plus contribution from the reserves this year.

The Hurricanes are 103-65 all-time in ACC games when playing at home at the Watsco Center.

Through six games this season, the Hurricanes are shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range, which ranks second in the nation (first in the ACC) behind only Baylor (44.3 percent).

Poplar currently ranks third in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.559), while Watson (.571), Matthew Cleveland (.533), and Bensley Joseph (.500) are all shooting better than 50 percent from deep.

On Tuesday, Omier registered his third 20-point game, second consecutive, of the season, pouring in 20 points at No. 12 Kentucky. This marks the sixth time in his career that the forward has posted back-to-back 20-point outings. Omier has not scored 20-plus points in three straight games in his career.

Per Stats Perform, Cleveland is the second Miami (FL) player in the last 25 years to shoot 65 percent from the field and 65 percent from three-point range over a four-game span (minimum 25 FGA and five 3PA). The other was Davon Reed in 2014-15.

Cleveland has scored double-figures in five of six games this season and ranks third on the scoring team in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (4.3). The guard sits second in the ACC (34th in the nation) in field goal percentage, shooting 63 percent this season.

The Hurricanes are averaging 15.8 points off turnovers this season and have recorded double-digit points off giveaways in five games played. Miami has tallied more points off turnovers than its opponents in four of six games.

The Opponent

Notable Notre Dame Statistics

Markus Burton's 16.3 ppg leads all ACC freshmen and ranks 5th nationally amongst DI freshmen.

Overall, his scoring average ranks 15th in the ACC.

Burton started his career with five straight games in double figures before the streak ended with 8 points at South Carolina.

Burton picked up his second game of 20 or more points against Oklahoma St on Nov. 17.

Julian Roper II, the Northwestern transfer, has started all six games, averaging the third most points with 8.5 per game. He leads the team in rebounds (5.3) and steals (1.0). Over the last three games, he’s 5-for-9 from three, averaging 9.3 points.

Miami Athletics and Notre Dame Athletics Contributed to this report

Talk with Canes Fans about the game on Inside Canes Hoops

Talk with Miami fans on Canes Talk, Inside Canes Hoops, and Canes on the Diamond

• Subscribe to the Storm Tracker Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Spotify

• Subscribe to the Canes County YouTube Channel

• Follow us on Twitter: @Canes_County, @BenjaminRivals, @TheCribSouthFLA, @AnthonyYero1, and @MichaelYero

• Follow us on Instagram: @Canes.County

Follow us on Facebook