Article courtesy to MiamiHurricanes.com.

The University of Miami men’s basketball team led wire-to-wire Wednesday as it defeated SMU, 77-69, inside the Moody Center.

With the win, Miami moves to 24-6 on the year, tying the school record for most regular season wins in a season, and 13-4 in ACC play to secure the No. 3 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.

The Hurricanes led wire-to-wire throughout the first half and gained a five-point advantage midway through the half following a 3-pointer from Shelton Henderson. The Canes held their biggest lead of the half, 38-31, just before time expired as Noam Dovrat hit his third 3-pointer in the first 20 minutes.

Coming out of the break, Miami went on a 7-0 run to extend its lead to 14, 45-31, behind a Henderson dunk and a layup and 3-pointer from Tre Donaldson. SMU (19-11, 8-9 ACC) countered with a 7-0 run and cut the lead to single digits with 11:05 remaining before the Hurricanes countered with a 7-0 run on their own to push the lead back to 60-44.

With Miami leading by 14, Jaron Pierre Jr. buried back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the advantage to 68-60. Malik Reneau stopped the run with a 3-pointer of his own giving the Hurricanes an 11-point advantage.

Tru Washington put the game away late as he hit two free throws before hitting a layup after a turnover.

Donaldson led the way offensively with 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Reneau registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists while adding four assists and three steals.

Ernest Udeh Jr. added 10 rebounds and eight points to go along with four blocks as Dovrat finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three. Washington finished with 15 points, and Henderson added 11.

Miami finished the game with 11 3-pointers on 18 attempts, matching its season high while shooting 47.4% from the floor.

Miami closes out the season against Louisville inside the Watsco Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPNU and heard locally on 560 AM WQAM.

 

If Dovrat is going to be a consistent weapon down the stretch from 3 this team will be a lot more dangerous than anyone presumed as little as 1.5-2 weeks ago

 

If Dovrat is going to be a consistent weapon down the stretch from 3 this team will be a lot more dangerous than anyone presumed as little as 1.5-2 weeks ago

He has a great outside shot. You need that to get deep in the tournament. Competition goes up!

 

Getting hot at the right time

 

If Dovrat is going to be a consistent weapon down the stretch from 3 this team will be a lot more dangerous than anyone presumed as little as 1.5-2 weeks ago

Him taking Malovec’s minutes should have happened awhile ago. I wanted Malovec to be a floor spacer but he never consistently hit outside shots.

 

Him taking Malovec’s minutes should have happened awhile ago. I wanted Malovec to be a floor spacer but he never consistently hit outside shots.

THANK YOU

But let me ask this. Why in the world has Malevic been playing ahead of Dovrat? Yes he’s taller but except for 1 play that I can remember all season, Malevic has not used his size even once to make a difference. He’s basically a taller, worse shooting Dovrat.
Maybe Malevic was better pre season , but it’s obvious who should be fill that role the rest of this season.

 

THANK YOU

But let me ask this. Why in the world has Malevic been playing ahead of Dovrat? Yes he’s taller but except for 1 play that I can remember all season, Malevic has not used his size even once to make a difference. He’s basically a taller, worse shooting Dovrat.
Maybe Malevic was better pre season , but it’s obvious who should be fill that role the rest of this season.

You get it. The thing I’m stuck on is I have seen him put the ball on the deck and actually look athletic going towards the hoop. Not sure why he doesn’t try and diversify his game a little.

I know we have 1 more regular season game, ACC tournament and then March Madness but as of today I would say his season has been a massive disappointment. Never looked comfortable. I can’t remember a single player in all my years of watching basketball who was supposed to be 3 point specialist miss so many open looks.

I’m not saying he can’t improve and end up carving out a role on our team over the next few seasons but I am intrigued to see if Jai even brings him back next year. If he comes back I will expect improvements and maybe we will get a player that can force teams to extend their defense and create space. If not it will show that Jai lost faith in him and was just a miscalculation on recruiting. To me, that was a solid gamble that didn’t hit. I don’t blame coach at all for going after him.

 

Him taking Malovec’s minutes should have happened awhile ago. I wanted Malovec to be a floor spacer but he never consistently hit outside shots.

Malovec has such an ugly shot that can be easily disrupted with any defense. He misses so badly with that soccer throw in style. I saw Dovrat take one three shot a few weeks ago and immediately knew that he should be out there. Hes just got a much better quicker shot.

 

Now beat Louisville and wrap it up.. 6th seed

 

Malovec has such an ugly shot that can be easily disrupted with any defense. He misses so badly with that soccer throw in style. I saw Dovrat take one three shot a few weeks ago and immediately knew that he should be out there. Hes just got a much better quicker shot.

His shot is so long from start to release. He needs so much work that like @2001canes4L I really wonder if Lucas brings him back next season.

 

Talk about balanced scoring. Not to mention good consistency from game to game.

 

Notice you refer to Dovrat as Dorvat over the last few games' coverage.

 

THANK YOU

But let me ask this. Why in the world has Malevic been playing ahead of Dovrat? Yes he’s taller but except for 1 play that I can remember all season, Malevic has not used his size even once to make a difference. He’s basically a taller, worse shooting Dovrat.
Maybe Malevic was better pre season , but it’s obvious who should be fill that role the rest of this season.

Sam wardenburg is a 1st team all American in comparison to Malevic…..

 

My understanding is Dorvat was playing through an injury. He just recently got back to 100% or at least close to it