Wooga Poplar guides No. 13 Miami to win over UCF

Wooga Poplar scored a career-high 23 points to lead 13th-ranked Miami to an 88-72 win over UCF on Friday night in Coral Gables, Fla.

Poplar, a junior, was highly efficient, making 6 of 8 shots from the floor, including 5 of 5 3-point attempts. He also went 6-for-6 on free throws.

Norchad Omier added 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals for the Hurricanes (2-0), who never trailed.

Miami sophomore Bensley Joseph had a stellar game with a career-high 15 points, five assists, five steals, five rebounds and four blocks.

Prior to the game, the Hurricanes raised their 2022-23 Final Four banner.

UCF (1-1) was led by Ball State transfer Jaylin Sellers, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Knights guard Darius Johnson, who scored 24 against Miami last season, managed 13 points on Friday as he shot 6-for-16.

UCF reserve Nils Machowski, a freshman from Germany, had 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

The Hurricanes lead the series 10-3. However, over their past seven matchups, it's been much closer with the Hurricanes winning four.

In the first half, Miami led by as many as 16 points and took a 41-27 advantage into the break.

Machowski helped keep UCF reasonably close by making both of his 3-point shots. The rest of the Knights shot 0-for-8 in the first half from long range.

Poplar led all first-half scorers with 11 points, going 3-for-3 on 3-point tries and 2-of-2 on free throws.

UCF kept coming in the second half, cutting its deficit to 68-62 with 6:11 remaining. But Miami countered with a 7-0 run, forcing a UCF timeout, and the Knights never recovered.

For the game, Miami shot 51 percent from the floor, including 10-for-21 on 3-point attempts. The Hurricanes also had a 26-7 edge on made free throws.

UCF shot 41.1 percent from the floor, including 5-for-20 from beyond the arc. The Knights had a 17-6 advantage on offensive rebounds.