Finally ranked, No. 22 UM basketball team faces big road test at SMU Wednesday
It’s March, the University of Miami men’s basketball team finally has the national pollsters’ attention, and the 22nd-ranked Hurricanes are eager to keep boosting their NCAA Tournament resume as they face SMU on the road Wednesday night.
Miami broke into the AP Top 25 on Monday for the first time this season and came in at No. 23 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. It is the first time the Hurricanes have been ranked since Dec. 11, 2023.
Miami, under first-year coach Jai Lucas, is 23-6 overall and in third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 12-4 conference record with two games remaining in the regular season. The Hurricanes have won six of their past seven games and their only loss was by three points to No. 13 Virginia.
“For me, [the ranking] is more about the guys getting some credit for the work and the season that they’ve had,” Lucas said. “For us as a team, it doesn’t really change much. There’s still a lot to do and a lot that’s on the line for us. But I appreciate it for them because of everything they’ve overcome to get some type of validation. It’s well warranted.”
Lucas added that there is a fine line between feeling confident and overconfident now that the team is ranked.
“You want to have as much confidence as you can right now at this part of the season, but you also don’t want to lose the edge of how you got here and the reasons you got here. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you’ve arrived. For me, and the program, this is something we want to be common, something we want to be familiar with.”
The team faces a formidable opponent in SMU on Wednesday (7 p.m., ACC Network).
The Mustangs are 19-10 and 8-8 in the ACC. They have gone 15-2 at home and, like Miami, are a high-scoring team. They average 85.8 points per game.
A big question entering the game is whether SMU guard B.J. Edwards will play. He injured his ankle during the road game at Cal last week and missed the Stanford game, as well. SMU lost both games, 73-69 at Cal and 95-75 at Stanford.
Mustangs coach Andy Enfield said Edwards is “doubtful” for the Miami game, but there is a chance he could return.
The Mustangs are a different team when Edwards is on the court.
“He’s been a big part of their success this year and whenever you take somebody like that out of the lineup, it always changes things so much,” Lucas said. “We’ll prepare as if he’s playing until we find out he’s not. He’s a really good player who adds another dimension to their team.”
Even if Edwards is not at full strength, Lucas said Miami’s defense will be put to the test against senior SMU guard Boopie Miller, who averages 18.9 points and 6.7 assists per game, and Jaron Pierre, Jr., who averages 17.6 points and five rebounds.
SMU also has a big post presence in 7-2 Turkish center Samet Yigitoglu, who will be a handful for UM center Ernest Udeh, Miami forward Malik Reneau and guards Tre Donaldson, Dante Allen and Shelton Henderson, all of whom like to drive to the basket. The Hurricanes score the vast majority of their points in the paint, and SMU prides itself on its interior defense.
“They are one of the best offensive teams, with their firepower, Boopie Miller and Pierre and Edwards, and then the ability to throw the ball inside to the big fella, Yigitoglu,” Lucas said. “They have a lot of weapons, so it’s really going to put a test on our defense to be able to talk and communicate. I like our size and physicality, it matches up with them, and also how they play with pace. I think it will be a fun, exciting game; they play the way we like to play.”
Enfield agreed that defense will be the separator in this game.
“It should be a very good, close game,” Enfield said. “It will come down to which team defends at a higher level, and some shot making will go into that, as well. Our shot making has not been very good lately, but at home, it’s been very good. So, we’re hoping to use our home crowd to our advantage and play our up tempo style and put some points on the board.”
The SMU coach added that he hopes to be able to play Edwards, who averages 14 points and five assists.
“If he can get better by Wednesday, that would be great,” he said. “But, we’ve played the last game and a half without him, so it’s been a little change in our offense because he puts pressure on the defense. With or without one of our starting guards, we have to play better offensively than we did on the road.”
Lucas said back-to-back games against SMU and Louisville are good preparation for the ACC tournament and the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes are in position to earn a double-bye in the ACC tournament with a win on Wednesday.
“This last week is the perfect segue for March for us,” Lucas said. “We’re treating next two games like tournament games because they are two really good teams, SMU first and Louisville after that. This is what the rest of March is like if you want to win a conference tournament championship, you have to beat really good teams, and same if you want to, hopefully, advance in the NCAA Tournament.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2026 at 2:05 PM.