Game Preview: The Jai Lucas Era Rolls On Against Bethune-Cookman Thursday Night
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Miami Hurricanes fans outside the Watsco Center were left with many questions after Jim Larrañaga stepped down from his position as head coach in the middle of his fifteenth season as Miami last year.
When Larrañaga stepped down, associate head coach Bill Courtney was named head coach for the remainder of the season. The team failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament under Courtney. A new jolt of positivity swarmed the Hurricanes locker room when former Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas was hired this past March.
After a strong performance against Jacksonville to kickstart the season, Bethune-Cookman travels down to Coral Gables in hopes of capturing their first win Thursday morning.
Where to watch the Miami Hurricanes play against Bethune-Cookman
Watch the Miami Hurricanes play the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats this Thursday night at 7:00pm Eastern on ACC Network Extra. Watch the Hurricanes' women's basketball team play Bethune-Cookman Thursday morning at 11:00am on ACC Network Extra as well.
Bethune-Cookman coming off of overtime loss
The Wildcats are walking into the Watsco Center Thursday night hungry for a big victory. Bethune-Cookman lost a thrilling game againt No. 20 Auburn away from home inside Neville Arena in Alabama. While the loss was disappointing, the small school in Daytona Beach, Florida has a lot to be optimistic about.
A pair of upperclassmen scored 20 or more points against an Auburn program that finished No. 12 in team defense to end last season. Senior guard Jakobi Heady and Junior guard Arterio Morris will be two players to watch this Thursday night. Morris snagged ten rebounds to go along with twenty points despite being one of the shorter players on the court.
ESPN predicts a dominant Hurricanes victory
ESPN analytics gives the Miami Hurricanes a 80.4% chance to come away with the victory against the Wildcats at home despite their efforts against a competitive and well-respected Auburn program.
The Hurricanes are coming off a convincing 86-69 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins Monday night. Senior transfer forward Malik Reneau shined after leading the team in scoring with 20. Senior transfer center Ernest Udeh Jr. was bruising force inside the paint as he collected 14 rebounds to go along with 14 points. Every starter surpassed ten points in the game against Jacksonville.
Reneau at 6-foot-9 and Udeh Jr. 6-foot-11 are both taller than Bethune-Cookman's tallest players, center Daniel Onanina and forward Daniel Rouzan, who both stand at 6-foot-8.
Both teams looking to make same improvement this season
Both Miami and Bethune-Cookman failed to make March Madness last season with the latter winning 17 games and losing 16 of them to finish third in the SWAC. Miami has struggled since losing to the eventual National Champions UCONN in the Final Four of 2023's NCAA Tournament.
The Hurricanes have failed to make the NCAA Tournament since appearing in the Final Four. After a season of uncertainty and coaching turmoil, the Hurricanes finished with just seven wins and 24 losses to go along with a No. 18 placement in the ACC standings.
Malik Reneau in his hometown debut:
— CanesMuse (@canes_muse) November 4, 2025
20 PTS
2 REB
2 AST
+18
And a big fat W. pic.twitter.com/mAZ9yR8pQR
Both teams are hungry for different reasons headed into what should be an interesting matchup this Thursday night at 7:00pm Eastern on ACC Extra. The women's basketball team also plays against Bethune-Cookman Thursday morning at 11:00am Eastern on ACC Extra.
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