Takeaways from Miami's 67-54 Win Over Lafayette
In this story:
Miami men's basketball won its first game of the regular season against Lafayette Wednesday night, 67-54, behind a 16-point effort by guard Isaiah Wong.
With the win, the Hurricanes are now victorious in their last three season openers. Here are five takeaways from the game.
1. Free-throw shooting has to improve.
One of the hallmarks of last season's Miami squad was its free-throwing shooting. Last season, the Hurricanes were fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in free throw percentage.
UM struggled from the line in its opener, shooting only 15-for-25, a disappointing 60. This has to improve as Miami moves forward through its non-conference schedule.
2. Norchad Omier was a beast on the boards.
The former Arkansas State forward and now Hurricane was giving extra possessions on offense all night, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds. Omier finished with a game-high 15 total rebounds.
Omier was one of the best rebounders in the country last season with the Red Wolves. He finished fourth nationally with 12.2 boards per game.
The Hurricanes held the 46-34 rebounding advantage over Lafayette.
3. Miami's defensive rotations were impressive.
For a team returning only two starters from last season's squad, Miami's defensive rotations did well. It's good to see them gel so quickly.
The Hurricanes often gambled on defense by mixing in ball-screen blitzes and half-court traps into its base defense, and their help-side defense was crisp in rotating when Lafayette had the numbers advantage.
Miami finished with 14 forced turnovers.
4. Miami's offense experienced some growing pains.
Similar to last season, Miami's offense was very motion-based in its first game.
While the Hurricanes only shot 36.2% from the field, the team was able to generate quality looks against the Leopards' defense.
Omier was Miami's most active player offensively. He was involved in some capacity on most possessions, whether he was flashing to the block for a quick post-up or setting on-ball or off-ball screens to free up teammates.
5. Bensley Joseph brought energy off Miami's bench.
The second-year guard was the first guard off the bench to sub into the game for Miami, and he made an impact in the Hurricanes' win with his effort.
Offensively, Joseph had multiple timely baskets, including a mid-range jump shot with 9:30 remaining in the second half to end what was a 8-0 Lafayette scoring run and give the 'Canes a two-point lead.
He was also effective defensively, providing tenacious perimeter defense and impactful off-ball defense. The guard had a steal in the closing half, as well as another tipped pass that halted one of the Leopards' fastbreaks.
AllHurricanes.com is your home for all things Miami Hurricanes football, recruiting, basketball and other athletics, all the time. Follow along on social media at @AllHurricanes on Twitter and All Hurricanes on Facebook for round-the-clock news and analysis.
