What a difference a new coach and new roster made for Miami.
After posting a 7-24 record a season ago, the Hurricanes rebounded under new coach Jai Lucas to go 25-8.
Their reward? A seventh seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region and a late game Friday night in the first round against 10th-seeded Missouri in St. Louis.
Given that the Tigers will be playing roughly two hours from home, Miami is playing a de facto road game. But the Hurricanes also are confident that they have the tools to make a run, regardless of who or where they play.
“One of those things that every hooper dreams of,” center Ernest Udeh Jr. said, “and we’re one of the select few that get to be part of it.”
How did the Hurricanes go from awful to awesome? First of all, Lucas blended a roster of seven freshmen and six others, five from the portal, into a team that can beat you in many ways offensively.
Aside from being a lousy foul shooting team — 68.5%, 311th in Division I — Miami is tough to stop. The inside-outside duo of 6-foot-9 Malik Reneau (18.8 points, 6.6 rebounds) and guard Tre Donaldson (16.5 points, 5.9 assists) brings experience and consistency.
Freshman Shelton Henderson adds 13.7 points and shoots 56.3% from the field, while Tru Washington supplies 12.1 points per contest.
“I think we’ve (shown) our resilience and our togetherness,” Donaldson said. “We knew what we wanted for ourselves and we chased that, and we put ourselves in a position to continue to dance.”
So did the Tigers (20-12), although they didn’t exactly walk into the tourney through the front door. Missouri enters on a three-game skid, including a 78-72 setback to Kentucky on March 12 in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Many were surprised that the Tigers not only escaped the First Four but got to play so close to home. However, Missouri did go 10-8 in the SEC, including wins over defending national champion Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Missouri is the first 10 seed to play in its home state since 2008, when South Alabama and Davidson both got the privilege.
“It’s such a gift to have your name called,” Tigers coach Dennis Gates said. “We’re all excited about the opportunity and that’s what you look at the most.”
Like Miami, Missouri has been efficient offensively in spite of being a poor foul shooting team. Its top weapon is forward Mark Mitchell, who averages 18.3 points and shoots 55.1% from the field. Australian Jayden Stone adds 13.2 points and makes 38.2% of his 3-pointers.
The Tigers will boast a size advantage over the Hurricanes at four positions, although they haven’t been a dominant rebounding team. Their average of 32.1 boards per game ranks 179th, almost directly in the middle of Division I.
The winner of this game advances to a second-round matchup Sunday against either 15th-seeded Queens or No. 2 Purdue.
