When it rains, it pours for the Miami Hurricanes. But not in a good way.
After playing a tightly contested first half of basketball, the ‘Canes were outscored 53-27 in the second half to drop their second game of the season, 90-63, to the Colorado Buffaloes.
Miami was able to keep it close in the first, only trailing by one to Colorado at halftime. Junior guard Matthew Cleveland led the ‘Canes with 13 points in the first half, en route to leading the team with 17. Outside of Cleveland, no Miami starter played particularly well. Colorado held the rebounding advantage, 22-9, after the first half and was dominating in the paint on both ends of the floor.
A 10-3 scoring run at the end of the first provided some optimism heading into the second half for Miami, but that was quickly squashed by the Buffs. Colorado went on a 9-0 run to start the second frame and never looked back.
Colorado pushed the pace against Miami and forced 14 of Miami’s 20 turnovers in the second half. The Buffs were led by senior forward Tristan da Silva, who was one assist away from a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. The veteran leader was aided by junior guard KJ Simpson, who added 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Colorado was also without one of its leading scorers in freshman forward Cody Williams, which makes their win over a top-15 team more impressive. The Buffs had six players score in double figures and shot a stellar 59% from the field.
Miami, on the other hand, put forth a disappointing effort in almost every single statistical category. Norchad Omier fouled out in a game where Miami played a much bigger opponent. With just over seven minutes to play, Omier picked up his fifth foul and exited the game with 12 points and five rebounds.
The ‘Canes displayed many of the same things that plagued them in their loss to Kentucky. They failed to shoot the ball well when faced with perimeter pressure, as Wooga Poplar had another off night shooting the basketball. The team struggled with cuts and ball movement from its opponent, as Colorado capitalized on its open looks.
Miami also failed to punch back. When Colorado came out swinging after the second half started, Miami had no answer to the Buffs’ attack. Instead, just like in the game against Kentucky,
Miami returns home to play the La Salle Explorers at the Watsco Center next Saturday. The tip-off for this game is scheduled for noon. and will be cast on the CW network. This will provide the ‘Canes with a good chance to reset and fine-tune before ACC play gets underway in a few short weeks.