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The No. 5 Miami Hurricanes were a popular pick to get upset in the first round, but they advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament with wins over the Drake Bulldogs and Indiana Hoosiers. The Canes will get a tough matchup with the Midwest region’s top-seeded Houston Cougars in Friday night’s Sweet 16 round.
Miami is a 7-point underdog on DraftKings Sportsbook with the over/under set at 138.
Miami roster breakdown
Best player: G Isaiah Wong
Isaiah Wong is the team’s leading scorer with 16.1 points per game and also leads the team in assists (3.3) and steals (1.4) per contest. The Canes’ guard was named the ACC Player of the Year, but teammates had to pick up the slack in the first round when Wong hit just 1-of-10 shots from the floor and put up five points. He bounced back in a big way with 27 points against Indiana and hit 9-of-17 shots including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc with eight rebounds.
Unsung hero: G Wooga Poplar
The Miami guard left the second-round matchup against the Hoosiers with a tailbone injury but appears on track to be available on Friday night. The Hurricanes will need to play their best game of the season to get a victory, and Wooga Poplar is a big part of this team’s success. He’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals this season. While Poplar is fifth on the team in scoring and doesn’t shoot a ton, he’s an efficient shooter in all areas including field goals (47.7%), 3-pointers (40.2%) and free throws (87.8%).
Miami roster
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Hometown | High School | RSCI Top 100 | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Hometown | High School | RSCI Top 100 | Summary |
| Isaiah Wong | 2 | JR | G | 6-3 | 180 | Piscataway, NJ | Monsignor Bonner (PA) | 76 (2019) | 16.1 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 3.3 Ast |
| Jordan Miller | 11 | SR | G | 6-6 | 202 | Middleberg, VA | Loudoun Valley HS | 15.1 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 2.6 Ast | |
| Norchad Omier | 15 | SO | F | 6-7 | 230 | Bluefields, | Miami Prep | 13.4 Pts, 10.1 Reb, 1.2 Ast | |
| Nijel Pack | 24 | SO | G | 6-0 | 180 | Indianapolis, IN | Lawrence Central HS | 13.4 Pts, 2.8 Reb, 2.4 Ast | |
| Wooga Poplar | 55 | SO | G | 6-5 | 195 | Philadelphia, PA | Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School | 8.4 Pts, 3.2 Reb, 1.5 Ast | |
| Bensley Joseph | 4 | SO | G | 6-1 | 195 | Arlington, MA | Putnam Science Academy | 92 (2021) | 5.4 Pts, 2.2 Reb, 2.1 Ast |
| Harlond Beverly | 5 | JR | G | 6-5 | 185 | Detroit, MI | Montverde Academy | 56 (2019) | 3.6 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 1.2 Ast |
| Anthony Walker | 1 | JR | F | 6-9 | 210 | Baltimore, MD | Brewster Academy | 2.9 Pts, 1.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast | |
| AJ Casey | 0 | FR | F | 6-9 | 71 (2022) | 1.0 Pts, 1.1 Reb, 0.2 Ast | |||
| Christian Watson | 3 | FR | G | 6-7 | 1.7 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.1 Ast | ||||
| Favour Aire | 12 | FR | C | 6-11 | 0.6 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.0 Ast | ||||
| Jakai Robinson | 13 | FR | G | 6-4 | 200 | Ossining, NY | Rock Creek Christian Academy | 83 (2021) | 0.3 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| Filippos Gkogkos | 10 | JR | G | 6-3 | 193 | Athens, Greece | International School Of Bucharest | 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast | |
| Danilo Jovanovich | 23 | FR | F | 6-8 | 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast | ||||
| Thomas Oosterbroek | 32 | SO | F | 6-8 |