Miami put up a tough battle against the No. 10 team in the country, the Florida Gators, for most of the game before Thomas Haugh hit a deep three-pointer to help the Gators seal the victory in the second half during their run.
Despite the loss, this will be one of, if not the toughest and most physical games the Hurricanes will play all season. Miami made some simple mistakes that could have cost them a chance to beat the No. 10 team in the nation.
Starting with the most obvious issue: free throws! You can't just be given free points and leave them on the board. Miami was 15 for 27 from the free-throw line, and while they started hitting their free throws in the late second half, they doomed themselves in the first half by going just 2 for 8.
That's 12 points left off the scoreboard. If the Hurricanes had made all their free throws, the final score would have been even closer at 82-80, even despite the turnovers. Miami totaled 10 turnovers and had poor decision-making.
Miami struggled against one of the best, if not the best, frontcourts in the nation, featuring Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, as the Gators had the upper hand in rebounding, winning 47 to 41.
The Hurricanes just couldn't score in the paint; even when they did, it was a very physical game. Malik Renau finished with 22 points, but it was the toughest 22 points of his season. Miami was not a great shooting team today, finishing with 34 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range.
Even with the loss, Miami showed a lot. They went toe-to-toe with a top-10 team and had chances, which says a lot about where this group is headed. Fix the free throws, cut down a few of the mistakes, and this is a game Miami easily could’ve stolen. If anything, this proved the Hurricanes can compete with anyone on their schedule, and once they clean things up, they’re only going to get better from here. This is a learning game.
