The 14th-ranked Miami Hurricanes, who are set for their home opener against Wagner on Friday night in Coral Gables, Fla., are a confident bunch.
Miami lost its season opener 77-67 to top-ranked Florida on Monday. But that defeat has not shaken Hurricanes coach Jai Lucas, who likes the massive size on his roster.
For example, other than 6-foot-2 point guard Acaden Lewis, the rest of Miami’s starting lineup features some big dudes: Somto Cyril (6-11, 263 pounds); Malik Reneau (6-9, 247); Shelton Henderson (6-6, 239); and Caleb Gaskins (6-8, 221).
“Championship teams are built like that,” Lucas said. “Florida is one of those teams, and I feel like (the Hurricanes are) one of those teams, too.”
Lewis was Miami’s best player on Monday, scoring 24 points.
But Reneau, who led Miami last season with an 18.9 scoring average as a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, was held to five points by Florida. Henderson, who averaged 13.8 last season — including a 30-point game — was held to seven.
Gaskins, a five-star freshman who scored 20 points in an exhibition win over No. 24 Vanderbilt on Oct. 23, was held to four by the Gators.
Expect more from all of those players as well as a deep Miami bench that includes Dante Allen, Nick Dorn, Brent Bland and Robert Miller III.
The Hurricanes went 26-9 last season in Lucas’ first season as a head coach — a 19-win improvement from the 2024-25 campaign. Now the task is to return to that type of elite status — even though Miami has 11 newcomers.
A win over Wagner on Friday would be a start to that goal for the Hurricanes.
The Seahawks opened their season with a 76-50 road loss at Boston College on Tuesday. Wagner trailed by just 12 points with 10 minutes left in the game before Boston College pulled away.
Three Wagner players scored in double figures: Kareem Watson (13); Taj Bryant (10); and Cam Estevez (10). But the Seahawks shot just 30.4% from the floor, including 3-of-15 on 3-pointers. In addition, they were outscored 34-24 in the paint and 14-5 on fast-break points.
Wagner’s coach is Dwan McMillan, 37. McMillan went 14-17 last season as a first-time collegiate head coach.
This year, the interim tag was pulled, and it’s now McMillan’s team.
McMillan’s roster this season includes 14 newcomers, including 12 transfers.
Estevez, a Fairfield transfer, will be expected to help as a 3-point shooter, although he shot 0-for-6 from deep against Boston College.
The Seahawks believe there is more talent in newcomers such as Freddy Hassan, Tajae Jones and William Patterson Jr.
Hassan, who averaged 16.1 points and 8.4 rebounds last season at the junior-college level, is held in high regard. In his Wagner debut, he scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
Jones, who played the past two years at Siena, started on Tuesday, scoring two points and grabbing six rebounds in 18 minutes.
Patterson, a 7-1, 241-pound center, is playing for his fourth college in four years, including last season at New Orleans. He had two points off the bench on Tuesday.
It is interesting to note that former NBA star Tracy McGrady was hired this year as a strategic advisor at Wagner.
Said McGrady: “I look forward to helping coach McMillan and his staff in any way possible.”
