Miami Basketball HC Jai Lucas Teases A Possible In State Rivalry Renewal
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Rebuilding a program is not for the weak, and new head coach Jai Lucas has taken charge of returning the Miami Hurricanes basketball program to its once great state. Not long ago, they were in the Final Four, but now they have rebuilt for the future. That future starts now with more news about the Hurricanes' schedule being released.
The Hurricanes won't play Duke this upcoming season ( a true disappointment), however, they could be facing another quality team. Lucas talked with CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein after his first 60 days on the job and gave some crumbs of what the Hurricanes' non-conference schedule would look like this season.
"We're gonna play some big-time games this year," Lucas said. "I can't talk about them yet because they're not finalized, but we'll have some big games on the schedule. We're moving forward."
Won’t play Duke but possibly playing Florida would be an great “replacement” for a quad 1 win https://t.co/liQfqx73jH
— Justice Sandle (@Justice_News5) May 29, 2025
One of those games seems to be against the reigning National Champions, the Florida Gators. Lucas hinted at a possible in-state rivalry renewal with Rothstein.
"We will have a big, neutral in-state rivalry renewed," Lucas hinted. "Now I kind of put it that way, where, you know, it'll be kind of a rotating thing that we'll do here for the next couple of years. And that'll be kind of one of our big ones, and then we'll also start a home and home with another Power 4 team. Those will kind of be the two extras that we'll have this year."
If the Hurricanes are playing against the Gators, then that would be a fantastic "replacement" game with the Blue Devils not on schedule. It has not been confirmed yet, however, this season for the Canes is shaping up to be an exciting one.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.