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Miami vs UCF: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Matt Melton

CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Kameron McGusty #23 of the Miami Hurricanes looks on against the Canisius Golden Griffins during the second half at Watsco Center on November 09, 2021 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 09: Kameron McGusty #23 of the Miami Hurricanes looks on against the Canisius Golden Griffins during the second half at Watsco Center on November 09, 2021 in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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After two 10-point season-opening wins, Miami and UCF meet for an in-state matchup to see which team will start the season 2-0.

When: Saturday, November 13 at 1:00 pm ET on ACC NetworkX/ESPN+

Location: Watsco Center, Coral Gables, FL

Both the Miami Hurricanes and UCF Knights started their 2021-22 seasons with a 10-point win and will enter this mid-November contest looking to build momentum for what could be a challenging non-conference for each.

Miami opened the 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday night with a 77-67 home win over Canisius, a game in which the Hurricanes never trailed. While the game was close throughout, even reaching a four-point margin mid-way through the second half, the Hurricanes were able to use a big second-half run to pull away to give Miami win No. 1 on the year.

The Hurricanes received a big performance from senior guard Kameron McGusty who added a double-double (20p/10r), while others such as Anthony Walker, Charlie Moore, and Sam Waardenburg also scored in double-figures. In addition to those four, Preseason First-Team All-ACC selection Isaiah Wong also features a prominent role for what is a fairly young, but talented, Miami team.

UCF as mentioned previously also picked up a 10-point win as the Knights defeated Robert Morris on Wednesday by a final of 69-59. The Knights were led by guard Darius Perry who scored a game-high 18 points, as well as a few notable performances from others such as Darin Green Jr, CJ Walker, and UNLV transfer Cheikh Mbacke Diong.

Picked to finish fifth in the AAC this season, UCF is an experienced team having returned all five starters from last season, as well as almost all of their production offensively. In what was already a strong team defensively, the Knights got even better with the addition of Diong in the offseason and could be set to make some noise in a very-good top-half of the AAC this season.

dark. Next. Preseason AAC power rankings for 2021-22 season

In what will be the first meeting between the Hurricanes and Knights on the hardwood since 2019 (Miami won 79-70 at UCF), this could be one of the closer contests from Saturday’s college basketball slate. Expect this game to be low-scoring and close throughout, with a potential late run from the Hurricanes being the difference on their home court.

Prediction: Miami 67, UCF 61