The Florida State Seminoles defeated the Miami Hurricanes 65-63 Tuesday night in a classic Sunshine State rivalry matchup.
Although the Canes lost, festivities kicked off before tip-off and continued at halftime as it was Coach Larrañaga night at the Watsco Center to commemorate all of his achievements and pioneering accomplishments for the University during his 14-year tenure in Coral Gables. He led the Canes to their first Elite Eight and Final Four in program history, and his legacy will be remembered forever in Miami, beyond the banner hanging in the rafters. First-year head coach Jai Lucas has had massive shoes to fill, but he has done well in his first 19 games at Miami, recording a 15-4 record.
This game was neck-and-neck throughout, with neither team holding a lead greater than six points at any time. With separation hard to find, Miami briefly seized momentum midway through the second half when Ernest Udeh Jr. finished a physical put-back layup. Dante Allen followed with a forced turnover that led to Tre Donaldson racing down the floor for a fast-break slam, giving the Hurricanes a six-point cushion with 11:30 remaining in the first half.
Shelton Henderson made his presence felt early, scoring efficiently while using his physicality to draw multiple Florida State fouls in the paint. However, Miami’s ball security issues from Saturday’s loss to Clemson carried over, as the Hurricanes committed 14 turnovers, nine of which came in the first half. Miami also struggled to generate offense overall, finishing with just 63 points and minimal bench production, receiving only one basket each from Noam Dovrat and Allen.
Donaldson added another fast-break dunk with just over a minute remaining in the first half, but Florida State’s Kobe Magee answered with a deep three-pointer at the buzzer. The shot gave the Seminoles their first lead since the 14-minute mark, sending Florida State into halftime up 38–37.
The Seminoles maintained their advantage throughout the second half, fending off Miami’s late push. Malik Reneau tied the game at 63 with 21 seconds remaining after splitting a pair of free throws. However, with 1.7 seconds left, Donaldson fouled Florida State’s Robe McCray on a shot attempt. McCray missed the field goal but calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the victory. FSU held on for a 65-63 win, earning its first ACC victory of the season after opening conference play 0-5.
FSU head coach Luke Loucks understands the importance of winning in-state games and how those victories impact the Seminoles’ recruiting efforts.
“We are going to focus on continuing to recruit Florida,” Loucks said. “I just think there is so much talent here and when you have teams built with those kids that grow up and understand the significance [of in-state games], there is a little something extra into these games.”
Loucks added that they will continue to heavily recruit Florida kids, despite how the transfer portal allows coaches and staff to look nationally when recruiting due to the abundance of talent that Florida basketball brings to the table. Coach Lucas was asked a similar question, and he attributed the importance of the in-state games to the rivalry and what the games mean for the fanbase, rather than their importance in recruiting.
Next Up
After back-to-back sloppy ACC losses from the Canes, Miami will look to bounce back against a solid opponent in the Syracuse Orange in the famous JMA Wireless Dome on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Ernest Udeh Jr. quickly dismissed any notion that the team had grown comfortable or complacent after opening the season with 15 wins and an unblemished conference record, saying, “Not at all. Every single night you strive to be perfect but obviously things happen, this is basketball, when you play this sport, you know what to expect night in and night out, whether the night goes your way or not. The biggest thing is just responding, the same message after Clemson, just respond, same thing after this game, respond and move forward. So heading into Syracuse we have to continue to play our brand of basketball. We know the right things to do, just got to come in tomorrow, watch the film, and just simply move forward.”
Meanwhile, FSU will have a tall task in the SMU Mustangs on Saturday, Jan. 24, as they travel to Dallas, TX to face off against a stellar backcourt in Boopie Miller, B.J. Edwards, and Jaron Pierre Jr.