UM aims to extend dominance over FIU in cross-town rivalry game Tuesday night
The University of Miami men’s basketball team plays cross-town rival FIU on Tuesday night at the Watsco Center, and though the Hurricanes have won 11 of the 12 times the teams played, they are not taking the game lightly.
“I expect a war,” said UM first-year coach Jai Lucas. “They’re really good. Coach [Jeremy] Ballard’s done a good job with his team construction. They play with confidence. They play free. They’re aggressive and big. They’ve got really good guards. So, I expect them to come in here with supreme confidence and house money.”
The Hurricanes are 9-2 and are coming off a 104-79 win over the University of Louisiana Monroe on Saturday. The Panthers are 5-3 and beat Jacksonville 88-65 in their previous game.
FIU center Eric Dibami, a 6-10 freshman from Miami Prep, was a standout against Jacksonville with 14 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and three steals.
Another FIU player to watch is Cory Stephenson, who leads Conference USA in offensive rebounds and ranks sixth in points per game. He scored 14 points against Jacksonville.
FIU has beaten Miami just once since joining Division I, in 1992 by a score of 72-64.
The teams last faced each other during the 2023-24 season and Miami won 86-80 in a game that went down to the wire.
Miami’s entire roster is new, so none of the players have played FIU, but they know that any time two teams from the same city play, it will be intense.
“I feel like anybody who steps in the gym is dangerous,” said UM center Ernest Udeh, who transferred from TCU. “It doesn’t matter who’s in between that rectangle, everybody’s able to beat you. We’ve got to come into this team respecting the opponent, whoever it is, playing to our standard, doing the things we’re coached to do in practice.”
Under Lucas, the Hurricanes have the fourth-highest scoring offense in the ACC, averaging 87.3 points per game. They also lead the conference in field-goal percentage at 50.8% and in total assists (216).
Indiana transfer Malik Reneau leads UM with 20.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He is shooting 56.9% from the field.
Michigan transfer Tre Donaldson averages 15.2 points and 6.3 assists for the Canes, which ranks third in the conference. Tru Washington, a transfer from New Mexico, is a defensive specialist who leads the ACC in steals per game (2.6) and is putting up 14 points per game.
UM freshman Shelton Henderson left the ULM game with an apparent ankle injury and his status for Tuesday is unknown. Dante Allen (hand/wrist) and Marcus Allen (groin/lower back) are doubtful. Tipoff is 7 p.m. The game can be seen in ACC Network Extra.