National Basketball Association
Miami-Florida 78, Pittsburgh 76
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 4, 2023
Where: Watsco Center, Coral Gables, Florida
Officials:
# Ted Valentine, # Jamie Luckie, # Tim Clougherty
Attendance:
7972
By Field Level Media
Wooga Poplar scored 18 points and Norchad Omier had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead No. 16 Miami to a thrilling 78-76 victory over No. 25 Pitt on Saturday night in Coral Gables, Fla.
The Hurricanes (24-6, 15-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) clinched a share of the ACC regular-season championship with Virginia, which also finished 15-5 in the conference. But Miami secured the top seed in next week's ACC tournament by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Cavaliers.
Miami secured its second ACC regular-season title and first since the 2012-13 season. The Hurricanes also won the conference tournament that season. It's Miami's third conference regular-season championship, having also won it during its time in the Big East Conference.
The Panthers (21-10, 14-6 ACC) ended the regular season with back-to-back losses.
For the second week in a row, a Hurricanes' opponent had a chance to win the game with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer. But unlike last week -- when Miami dropped a heartbreaker on such a shot to Florida State -- the Hurricanes survived after a deep 3-point attempt by Pitt's Blake Hinson bounced off the front of the rim.
Hinson hit an off-balance trey with 13 seconds left to cut Miami's lead to 78-76.
Omier caught an inbounds pass and was fouled with 9.6 seconds left, but missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity, allowing Pitt to have one final chance at the victory.
Hinson led the Panthers with a game-high 24 points and made 6 of 12 3-point attempts as Pitt made 11 triples overall.
The Hurricanes outrebounded the Panthers 42-20 and collected 14 offensive rebounds. Jordan Miller finished with 17 points and eight rebounds while shooting 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Nijel Pack returned to Miami's starting lineup after missing the Hurricanes' previous game against Florida State with a lower extremity injury. He finished with nine points, as did Isaiah Wong, who struggled from the field (1-for-9 shooting).
Nike Sibande finished with 16 points and five rebounds for Pitt, while Jamarius Burton added 13 points. Nelly Cummings had 10 points and six assists.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Pittsburgh |
|
Miami-Florida |
|
Blake Hinson 24 |
Scoring |
Wooga Poplar 18 |
|
Nelly Cummings 6 |
Assists |
Isaiah Wong 4 |
|
Nike Sibande 5 |
Rebounds |
Norchad Omier 13 |
|
Blake Hinson 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Jordan Miller 8 |
|
Nelly Cummings 2 |
Steals |
N/A |
|
Fede Federiko 2 |
Blocks |
Norchad Omier 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Pittsburgh
|
76 |
46.6 |
11-26 |
11-15 |
14 |
17 |
3 |
8 |
7 |
| Miami-Florida
|
78 |
45.5 |
8-17 |
20-23 |
14 |
39 |
4 |
0 |
16 |
For more information, contact us