Miami Hurricanes lead for 36 minutes but lose 76-73 to Arkansas in SEC/ACC Challenge
The return of Nijel Pack, an inspired Matt Cleveland and a renewed commitment to defense and rebounding resulted in the Miami Hurricanes’ best game of the season Tuesday night. But it was not enough.
Miami led for 36 minutes and wound up losing a 76-73 heartbreaker against visiting Arkansas in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
“There are no moral victories; we all compete very, very hard to win, but there are a lot of things I am happy about,” said UM coach Jim Larranaga.
UM was coming off four consecutive losses and in desperate need of a good performance. A spirited Watsco Center crowd, including the largest student turnout this season, helped energize the Hurricanes, who dropped to 3-5.
Miami was on the cusp of a much-needed win, but then Arkansas freshman Boogie Fland hit a three to give the Razorbacks their first lead. Pack answered with a layup to close to within one point, but Fland scored again and the game ended with a missed three-pointer by UM’s Jalen Blackmon as the clock expired.
“I thought Miami played really well, they made shots and Jimmy [Larranaga] really had them ready,” Arkansas coach John Calipari said. “They did some things defensively, trapped in the pick and roll. We just happened to make the last shot, or they win the game.”
Larranaga had challenged Cleveland to pick up his game after the guard looked listless and scored a total of four points over the previous two games. He delivered. Big time.
Cleveland came off the bench and made an immediate impact, giving the Razorbacks fits in transition and crashing the boards at both ends of the floor. He went 7-of-9 for 15 points with 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.
The crowd erupted when Cleveland flew in from out of nowhere for a monster slam dunk on a second chance shot after a missed three-point attempt by Jalen Blackmon to put Miami up 55-49 with 12 minutes to go.
“That’s the Matthew Cleveland I know,” said Pack, who came back from a leg injury to lead UM with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists. “I was talking to Coach, and I was like, `Matt is our best athlete, and if we can get him going, we could be one of the best teams possible’ and that’s how he played [Tuesday]. He played like a grown man, everywhere, all over the boards, at the rim, knocking down turnarounds. That’s the type of Matthew Cleveland we can get used to seeing.”
Cleveland conceded he had not been playing at his best lately and he was determined to show what he is capable of.
Going up against a big-time program like Arkansas, with future NBA players and a famous coach like Calipari probably helped motivate Cleveland and other players, Larranaga said.
“Sometimes the players aren’t listening to the coach or figuring out the strategy, they’re looking at the opponent and saying, `Man, these guys are NBA caliber players and I want to show I’m capable of being that kind of player myself,” Larranaga said. “That’s great. We want players who rise to the occasion of the competition. What we don’t want is the roller coaster, I’m up for certain games, not up for certain games.”
Pack agreed.
“It was a really big game, and that’s what Matthew needed,” Pack said. “In my opinion, too, it’s kind of hard when the competition is a little down, kind of hard to play our best. When the stars shine when the big games come, and that’s what he did [Tuesday].”
Collectively, the Hurricanes played much better defense than they had in the first seven games and also rebounded better.
“Our rebound totals, against a team of that size, with those kind of athletes, that made me happy,” Larranaga said. “We both got 33 rebounds. They got nine offensive rebounds to our eight. So, from an improvement standpoint, I am very hopeful we can play more consistently like this.”
Blackmon finished with 12 points, Lynn Kidd had eight and freshman Austin Swartz, making his first start, had seven, but was 1-for-6 from three-point range.
Fland was the Razorbacks’ high scorer with 18 points and made four three pointers, had four rebounds and six assists. DJ Wagner had 14 points and five assists. Former FAU player Johnell Davis added 12 points and five rebounds and Zvonimir Ivisic, the Croatian 7-2 center, played on a sore ankle and managed 11 points and a couple of key three-pointers down the stretch.
Larranaga and Calipari, who have known each other for many years, shared some friendly words after the game.
“I felt bad for him because he and I are friends,” Calipari said. “I hate playing friends because if they beat me, I hate it, and if I beat them, I hate it, just not as long.”
The Hurricanes are back home Saturday for their ACC opener against Clemson (noon, ESPN2).
This story was originally published December 3, 2024 at 10:41 PM.