UM seeks school record 25 wins in season finale at home vs. Louisville Saturday
The No. 22 University of Miami men’s basketball team, the most improved team in the nation at 24-6, aims to cap its remarkable turnaround with another win in the regular-season home finale Saturday against Louisville.
Miami leads all Division I programs with a .574 improvement (.226 last season, .800 this season). The Hurricanes went 7-24 last season, including 3-17 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and this year, with an entirely new roster, the team is 13-4 in league play and clinched a double-bye in next week’s ACC tournament.
With a win on Saturday, first-year coach Jai Lucas will break the school record for victories in a regular season with 25.
Lucas shrugged off the personal achievement, sharing that when staffers brought in lunch and cupcakes to celebrate the Hurricanes matching the record, he had no idea what the celebration was about.
Asked what it would mean to him to win 25 games in his first year as a head coach, Lucas said: “For me, it’s just recognition that I want to go to the guys. If winning 25 games gets Malik [Reneau] first-team All-ACC or gets Ernest [Udeh, Jr.] All-Defense, and gets Tru [Donaldson] that kind of recognition, that comes with it. Everything comes with winning.
“If [25 wins] helps then advance their careers and gives them some sort of satisfaction, that’s all I can as for as a coach.”
Reneau, Udeh and Donaldson will be recognized on Senior Day Saturday afternoon before the 2 p.m. game (ESPNU).
Reneau transferred to Miami from Indiana for his final season, Udeh from TCU and Donaldson from Michigan. All three are Florida natives, knew each other from high school and AAU tournaments and were the foundation upon which Lucas built this team.
“We know it’s our last home game and our last regular-season game as seniors, but I think I’ll be focused on getting this last W for Coach,” Reneau said.
Udeh, Jr., said: “I’m excited. I’m fully aware the job’s not nearly finished. None of us are in the slight way going to allow Senior Night to cloud over what we’re trying to achieve. It’s a game we have to win. But it’s been a journey for me, to say the least.”
Udeh, Jr., said the years of experience among the three seniors helped guide the team all season.
Reneau said he had a feeling the team would succeed in its first year together. “A lot of guys from Florida, knowing each other, so we clicked instantly,” he said. “From there it was just staying in the gym, getting better every day. We built a foundation and took it from there.”
Although the trio has only been at UM for one season, Lucas said it will feel like a regular Senior Day as if they had been together longer.
“It will feel like a normal Senior Day because these guys have had such an impact this first year for us and the program and for me being a first-time coach, starting this and honestly building it with them,” Lucas said.
Reneau, Donaldson and Udeh were the first players who signed with Miami after Lucas got the job. Reneau, a Miami native, committed first. Donaldson, who grew up in Tallahassee, was next and then Orlando’s Udeh followed. Freshmen Shelton Henderson, who decommitted from Duke, was next and then Miami native Dante Allen signed.
Lucas discussed the legacy the three seniors will leave behind.
“The biggest thing is being able to win here and being in the top four in the ACC, and with the nature of college athletics, showing a transfer can come here and have success, get better and enhance their numbers and enhance what they did at the schools before,” Lucas said. “That’s why those three guys are really important.”
He added that the success Henderson and Allen have had shows that freshmen can come to Miami and have a big impact right away.
Reneau is UM’s top scorer with 19.1 points per game and averages 6.7 rebounds. Donaldson averages 16.6 points, 5.9 assists and Udeh 7.1 points and 9.5 rebounds. Tru Washington adds 11.8 points per game, Henderson 14 points and Dante Allen 6.3.
One player who has come on strong in back-to-back wins over Boston College and SMU is Noam Dovrat, a 6-5 guard from Israel who scored 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from 3-point range in both games.
The Canes are expecting a tough game from Louisville (21-9, 10-7 ACC), which dropped out of the AP Top 25 in recent weeks but still ranks No. 15 in the national NET rankings. Louisville is in sixth place in the ACC standings and jockeying for seedings.
Cardinals players to watch include senior guard Ryan Conwell (18.5 ppg), German forward Sananda Fru, senior guard Isaac McKneely and senior guard J’Vonne Hadley. A big question is whether five-star freshman Mikel Brown, Jr., a projected NBA lottery pick, will be available. He has been battling back issues.
“Louisville is one of the greatest programs ever in college basketball, the history of players, championships they’ve won, coaches that have gone through there,” Lucas said. “Pat Kelsey’s done a great job, putting them in position to be in the tournament and compete.”
After Saturday’s game, the Hurricanes will turn their focus to the ACC Tournament, which runs runs March 10-14 in Charlotte. The top four seeds all received double-byes: Duke (1), Virginia (2), Miami (3) and North Carolina (4).
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 5:14 PM.