After a breakthrough first season under head coach Jai Lucas, the Miami Hurricanes are entering the 2026-27 season with higher expectations then we have seen maybe ever, a revamped roster and a huge opportunity to prove last year's success was only the beginning for Jai Lucas's group. Miami will get it's first look against outside competition Friday night, welcoming No. 24 Vanderbilt to the Watco Center for an exhibition matchup at 6 p.m ET.

The Hurricanes are coming off a 26-9 season that saw them reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finish 13-5 in ACC play. Lucas changed the win column by a 19-win improvement in his first season, tying the NCAA record for the largest single-second turnaround. Now entering Year 2 in Coral Gables, he faces a way bigger challenge, not just being competitive but now it's time to WIN.

Miami returns sophomores Shelton Henderson and Dante Allen, while adding talent through the transfer portal and high school recruiting. Malik Reneau is back after earning first-team All-ACC honors, while Villanova transfer Acaden Lewis, Robert Morris transfer DeSean Goode, Georgia transfer Somto Cyril just to list a few and Mcdonald's All American Caleb Gaskins headline this revamped roster with so much added depth and talent.

For Lucas, Friday's exhibition is the first opportunity to evaluate that progress against another proven program. Vanderbilt finished 27-9 last season and also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, making the Commodores a early test for the Hurricanes who's upcoming regular season schedule isn't easy.

With the regular season regular season opener against No. 1 Florida approaching on Nov. 2, the exhibition offers an huge opportunity to show and prove to the nation that the Hurricanes are back on the map and not to overlook this whole season.


No. 14 Miami vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt: How to Listen

• Tipoff: October 23, at 6:00 p.m. ET
• Location: Watsco Center - Coral Gables, Florida
• Matchup: No. 14 Miami vs. No. 24 Vanderbilt
• Game: Exhibition
• Admission: Free for fans


What to Watch for the Hurricanes

The revamped roster: Miami has added a significant amount of talent, and this will be the first real chance to see how the newcomers fit alongside Henderson, Allen, and Reneau.

Lucas's second-year progress: After exceeding all expectations in his first season, Lucas now has a chance to show how his program can build on that success.

Building Momentum: If the Hurricanes can pull off a top-25 win before the regular season even starts that would be huge to say the least. Your looking at a team with a win over a talented Vanderbilt team to open the season against No. 1 Florida.

 

@skyman
@gogeta4
@scane
@Drefo3

How did our depth look?

Obviously it's just a one game exhibition, but to yall's eyes, how deep do you think we can go on the bench? We playing 7 or 9 come ACC time?

Definitely deeper, nobody looked out of place or unplayable out there today, the closest to it I would say was Goode, I could see him falling out of rotation with Reneau on team unfortunately for him. If Reneau starts does Gaskins come off bench?

Gaskins will play, Bland will play, Dorn will play, Miller will play (he was first off bench both times), I dont know about the russian kid but coach spoke like he would play..

I have hear experts say Duke bench is a top 10 team by itself so I guess we dont match up well with them but we should be solid against most cbb teams

 

Definitely deeper, nobody looked out of place or unplayable out there today, the closest to it I would say was Goode, I could see him falling out of rotation with Reneau on team unfortunately for him. If Reneau starts does Gaskins come off bench?

Gaskins will play, Bland will play, Dorn will play, Miller will play (he was first off bench both times), I dont know about the russian kid but coach spoke like he would play..

I have hear experts say Duke bench is a top 10 team by itself so I guess we dont match up well with them but we should be solid against most cbb teams

Appreciate this.

 

Thanks for the reports. No one mentioned Acaden's 7 turnovers... just cause he is so active or is that a concern.? Also Dorn 5 PF in 8 minutes. Refs hate him that much, or?? (assumes stats are accurate)

 

The depth on this team is elite especially up front. No Malik and Egor tonight. I think we will be ok at the point when Acaden goes to the bench.

Miller looks like a hidden gem. Goode should improve although I do have concerns he might get lost amongst the others especially if Gaskins is dominanting.

 

I agree with what most have said about our depth, we have a very deep team. Jai’s main issue will be finding the right combination of 5 guys that will have it going on any given night.
We have a squad that “should” be able to compete with anyone in the country and we will find out game 1 if we can do just that.

Go Canes!

 

Here’s a couple bullet points of what I noticed:
- Lewis will be “the guy” along with Shelton, both can get to the rim and finish any time they want
-Miller and Cyril are great on the offensive and defensive boards and both can finish at the cup…Cyril has some long *** arms that scoop up anything close! LoL
-We need to find a serviceable PG…Donte struggled with pressure tonight and needs to improve his handles (got picked a few times)
-Gaskins is as advertised! Got hot in the 2nd half and blew a close game wide open.
-The team gets up and down quick…fun to watch!
-Good win vs a quality opponent.

Go Canes!!!

Sorry, ignorant question as I have been runnin and gunnin out of town a bit…any reason Reneau didn’t play tonight besides we didn’t need him. Is there still a question of eligibility with the lawsuit? TIA

Lower extremity injury

 

Definitely deeper, nobody looked out of place or unplayable out there today, the closest to it I would say was Goode, I could see him falling out of rotation with Reneau on team unfortunately for him. If Reneau starts does Gaskins come off bench?

Gaskins will play, Bland will play, Dorn will play, Miller will play (he was first off bench both times), I dont know about the russian kid but coach spoke like he would play..

I have hear experts say Duke bench is a top 10 team by itself so I guess we dont match up well with them but we should be solid against most cbb teams

Duke just smashed #8 Tennessee by 39 in a similar exhibition. They're good and deep but you can only play 5 guys at a time.

 

Definitely deeper, nobody looked out of place or unplayable out there today, the closest to it I would say was Goode, I could see him falling out of rotation with Reneau on team unfortunately for him. If Reneau starts does Gaskins come off bench?

Gaskins will play, Bland will play, Dorn will play, Miller will play (he was first off bench both times), I dont know about the russian kid but coach spoke like he would play..

I have hear experts say Duke bench is a top 10 team by itself so I guess we dont match up well with them but we should be solid against most cbb teams

Goode is going to play. Dude was the player of the year in the Horizon league last year lol.

 

Goode is going to play. Dude was the player of the year in the Horizon league last year lol.

I know all about him, I was posting in his commit thread and excited to see him, no where in my post did I say he would not play just that in this ONE exhibition he was least impactful and looked like he needed to adjust to step up..

It is one game but with Reneau back I think that directly impacts him and his minutes unfortunately.. He might be the WVU wr and Barkate situation.. Even if Gaskins doesnt start, it wont impact his minutes much so someone will have to take a back seat.. He better start pulling trigger on those corner looks to get on court, hesitation will have you on bench with roster makeup.

https://www.canesinsight.com/thread...ng-term-discussion-thread.208093/post-8474885