The Miami Hurricanes defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies 67-66 Tuesday evening, earning their 10th Atlantic Coast Conference victory and adding another Quad I win to their resume.
Entering the home game a week ago against top 15 North Carolina, the Canes were still on the bubble of the NCAA tournament. But after gaining their signature win that night, and adding two more against NC State and Virginia Tech, Miami has jumped a few seeds in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s bracketology. After Tuesday’s win over the Hokies, the Hurricanes are now projected to be an 8-seed in March Madness and continue to rise in the ranks of many experts around the country.
Miami started the game on a 7-0 run with two impressive second-chance field goals and a Dante Allen fastbreak and-one lay on his own steal, converting on the extra shot. The Canes were moving the ball impressively around the arc, finding open lanes to attack on the ground and keeping the Hokies defense on their toes. However, the flow would soon be disrupted, and Virginia Tech would respond with solid ball movement of their own, helping them keep a consistent offense, shooting 5-of-6 from three at one point in the middle of the half. At that same point, Miami’s three-point struggles were glaring as they were 1-of-7. Ultimately, Virginia Tech would miss their next and final five three point attempts of the half, helping Miami cut the margin to three as the first period ended 34-31 Hokies.
The second half was absolutely electric. It started off very back and forth, and each team continued to have an answer for the other. Everyone in the Watsco Center knew it was going to come down to who had “the guy” or “the closer” to hit shots down the stretch, and fortunately for Miami, it was all Tre Donaldson.
With around five minutes left in the half, when the game was still neck and neck, there was a sequence that went as follows: Donaldson hits a three-pointer. Defense forced a shot clock violation. Donaldson hits a layup. Defense forces a turnover. Donaldson hits another layup. Defense forces a stop.
All of a sudden, it was tied at 61 during the final media timeout with 3:43 remaining. At that point, Donaldson had 26 points, but he was far from finished for the night. Continuing to make impressive shots, including what would be the game-winning free throw on a one-and-one with 12.5 seconds left, Donaldson scored the last 15 points of the game for Miami. Donaldson ultimately ended the night with a career-high 32 points.
“He’s done it time and time again,” Miami coach Jai Lucas said. “It wasn’t shocking. It was needed, and he found a way, he willed us to it, and that’s what Senior guards who have been in big moments do”.
Lucas also referenced Donaldson’s coast-to-coast layup in the Big Ten Championship game last season when he was on Michigan to explain that he is not surprised at all by his clutchness this year for Miami.
Again, Ernest Udeh Jr.’s presence was profound for the Hurricanes. Despite only recording four points, he ended with a plus-minus of 19, continuing to step up in big moments for Miami, especially with the absence of star forward Malik Reneau, who was struggling with a migraine for most of the game.
This one-point loss marks another heartbreaking one for the Hokies, who have lost multiple games at the buzzer by slim margins with just seconds remaining. Virginia Tech coach Mike Young displayed his frustration with these continued losses, but noted that he has been coaching for a long time and the final-second losses have begun to even out.
Next Up
Next up for the Hurricanes is a tough test on the road against the No. 15 Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday, Feb. 20.
“I know they are really good, I know they are really big, I know they shoot the three, and I also know it’s one of the hardest places to play in the conference,” Lucas said.
Lucas is excited for the matchup and notes that it will be an exciting test as the month of March and its festivities loom for his NCAA tournament-likely Hurricanes.