The Miami Hurricanes Said “Hold My Cafecito” & Stormed Past Stanford

Boy oh boy was this a fun one inside the Watsco Center.

But let’s be real because right out the gate, Stanford was making this a contest and shooting wildly efficient from the floor. But I’ll say this If Stanford wasn’t raining threes early, this game probably never gets as uncomfortable as it did. But then again, what team would be in a game if they weren’t making shots? That’s the point of basketball.

But it also was the story of the first half.

The Cardinal came out comfortable, confident, and straight-up efficient, scaring the life out of Miami and knocking down shots from everywhere. They moved the ball well, hit from deep, forced turnovers, and slowly flipped an early Canes lead into control.

By halftime, Stanford had stormed back to take a 40–35 advantage, shooting over 50% from the floor and making Miami chase momentum instead of dictate it.

And you know Coach Lucas had to be pissed off with the lack of defensive presence because this is not exactly the defensive standard head coach Jai Lucas wants to see. For Stanford they were led by Ebuka Okorie, who tried his best to upset the Canes.

he is able to get through tight cracks and split the ball screen the best I’ve seen in college since Kemba Walker…I felt, a big part of it I was worried about, was the start, especially when they had such a dynamic player who can kind of change the game. So I wanted to make sure we got off to the start and we kind of gave it some different looks early. I thought we did, and then we just died out. We just kind of gassed out halfway through, and they were able to make a run and kind of changed it.”

Funny enough, all while the Canes trailed heading into the break, the biggest spark in the building didn’t even come from the court.

It came from Red Panda. Yes. That Red Panda. The motherf**king goat…or panda should I say in this instance. The unicycle-riding, plate-balancing halftime legend rolled out, caught plates on her head, and got the crowd more hyped than the actual game. Coming back from injury, she looked smooth, healthy, and just as electric as ever.

Honestly?

Might’ve been the most energy Miami had all night.

But once the second half tipped, the Canes finally found theirs. Because Stanford didn’t stop shooting early. Stanford tried extending their lead. They went up as many as nine with 13 minutes left to go, and for a split second people were like “Is this s**t really about to happen?”  For a second it felt like one of those nights where Miami just couldn’t get over the hump.

Then Timotej Malovec checked in, missed three free throws and then decided it was time to light the building on fire.

First came a wing three. Then another. Back-to-back bombs (in my best Drake impression) form the three-point line that helped cut the lead down to four and flipped the entire vibe inside the Watsco Center.

The Green Giant had arrived.

From there, Tru Washington brought the juice off the bench. Energy. Hustle. Timely buckets.

Washington’s defense in the second half was stellar. steal led to a fastbreak layup by Dante Allen gave Miami a 58–56 lead with just under six minutes left and officially put the Canes back in control.

And then Tre Donaldson delivered the moment.

With 9:33 remaining, Donaldson pulled up and buried a step-back three to tie the game at 51, sending the crowd into a roar and announcing that Miami wasn’t losing this one.

From that point on, it was Canes basketball.

Shelton Henderson spoke about how Miami had to lock in and get their s**t together in the 2nd half. Henderson shared what Coach Lucas spoke about entering the 2nd half.

 

“He said we weren’t playing desperate enough” Henderson said. “We had to be more desperate to get this win. The second half we locked in and just finished the game.”

Meanwhile, Malik Reneau continued on his torrent pace and anchored the offense inside all night. Reneau once again dominated in the paint and finished with 20 points, and laughing ay any defender that honestly thinks they have a chance at stopping him. Donaldson added 18 points, on the same day he was named a 1000 point scorer in college too by the way, and was setting the tone early, controlling the tempo late, and hitting a crucial (what a suprise right?) jumper late to help seal the deal. Henderson continued his bid for ACC Freshman of the Year with a another masterclass at stat sheet stuffing with 12 points and seven rebounds, including five offensive boards that kept possessions alive.

Washington finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists off the bench, and gave Maimi the spark that Coach Lucas has been looking for all season long (although he’s a starter, him coming off the bench has really helped Miami in a grand way).  And Ernest Udeh Jr. (who’s turned into a defensively maven) absolutely owned the paint with nine rebounds and three blocks, shutting down Stanford’s inside attempts when it mattered most.

Defensively, Miami locked in, and shut everything down.  The open looks from the first half turned into contested shots.

Passing lanes were closed. Rebounds became wars, that led to fast break points. The Canes outscored Stanford 38–24 in the paint, dominated fast breaks 13–0, and held the Cardinal to just 35.5 percent shooting in the second half.

After struggling early, Miami completely flipped the script.

We were one point away from free empanadas!!!

The Hurricanes pushed the lead to double digits and ended this s**t in a free throw contest to give themselves the 79–70 comeback win. 

Those Canes are looking very serious as Miami improved to 17–4 overall and 6–2 in ACC play, continuing to sit right near the top of a loaded conference race (can the committee hurry up and f**king rank us?).

In a game that started with Stanford’s hot shooting and halftime entertainment stealing the show, Miami made sure the final act belonged to them (and did it in front of Red Panda too, so kudos to them).

The defense tightened.

The energy surged.

The momentum flipped.

And once Tre Donaldson tied it up, the Canes never looked back.