No. 17 Miami didn’t waste any time showing the gap between itself and North Florida on Tuesday night in Coral Gables.
The Hurricanes rolled to an 89-51 win in the second game of their five-game home stand, and the early tone was set by Miami’s size, its pressure, and a pace that North Florida never really handled. From the opening tip, the Canes looked sharper than they had in their first two games, and the difference was obvious.
Jai Lucas said he noticed the flow improve as he adjusted the rotation.
“felt were just felt like the subs would come in and out too much to get a rhythm,” Jai Lucas said on the improvement from game to game. “And so I tried to see if we could have guys out there for longer to see if that changed the field with the game a little bit.
“And it felt a little bit better, a little bit smoother. So that would be something we continue to work through these next couple of games. But, you know, one thing for me is I'm just trying to get us as close to a room as possible
Miami also made its presence felt right away inside. Before the first media timeout, Malik Reneau already had eight points, and the Hurricanes kept feeding the paint from there.
The offense had a cleaner look than it did earlier in the season, but the defense was just as important. Miami turned stops into runouts, and the first half became a turnover-driven surge.
Block after block and steal after steal, the Hurricanes pushed the ball and piled up 10 points off turnovers before halftime. They forced 10 turnovers in the first half and finished with 17 for the game.
Miami’s shot selection was solid throughout, but the three-point line remains the one area still waiting to catch up. The Hurricanes got open looks, yet those shots have not started falling since the Vanderbilt exhibition. For now, the scoring is coming from the paint and the free-throw line, and Lucas is fine with the process.
“I’m excited,” Lucas said. “I’m excited because we’re not even scratching the surface.
But what we can be as a team. and, you know, even in the first game, I thought we were right there. And for us, it probably was like a C-minus game.
“You know, and so where we can get to, hopefully, where, you know, those guys are knocking down and if you end up with just say, nine threes, you know, you're almost 100 points. And it’s field is completely different.
Look’s completely different. But for me it’s about the process.
I thought we played it right away in the process of the shots we got, were clean, and if we keep doing that, like you said, eventually, they will fall.”
Reneau kept scoring, and Shelton Henderson added another strong showing as Miami’s frontcourt continued to settle in after the loss to No. 1 Florida.
Henderson finished with 16 points, while Caleb Gaskins started to find his footing on both ends. Gaskins hit two threes and ended with 12 points, and he also continued to help on the glass.
Acaden Lewis handed out eight assists while scoring two points, and Miami got 31 bench points from Brent Bland, Dante Allen, Nick Dorn, Robert Miller III, and Egor Ryzhov. Bland finished with two, Allen and Dorn each had eight, Miller III scored 10, and Ryzhov added seven.
Miami now moves on to its next buy game against North Alabama. Tip-off is set for Friday, Nov. 13 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
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