Tre Donaldson: “This Game Could’ve Gone Either Way”

Tre Donaldson on the Madness: “This Game Could’ve Gone Either Way”

If you came to Miami vs Cal looking for a peaceful, relaxing basketball experience… first of all, why? Second of all, you picked the wrong game.

This one turned into a full-blown possession-by-possession war. No breathing. No blinking. Just straight hoops anxiety for 40 minutes. Tre Donaldson said it best afterward: “It was a possession game. Things like that can go either way.”

Translation: this game was a coin flip with sneakers.

Five ties. Six lead changes. Momentum swinging around like nobody wanted to hold onto it. Every time you thought Miami was about to pull away, Cal said “nah.” Every time Cal looked comfortable, Miami punched right back.

No settling. No playing scared. Just straight downhill basketball. And you could feel it shift when Dante Allen leaned into the physicality. The paint turned into a WWE ring. Layups getting contested. Bodies flying. Buckets coming the hard way. Instead of jacking jumpers, Miami said “we’re going right at you.”

Donaldson talked about staying calm when everything felt like it was spinning. No panic. Just execution. And that’s why Miami kept answering every Cal run late instead of folding. As for Dante? The moment wasn’t too big. At all. You could literally see the confidence grow as the game went on. The coaching staff trusted him, and once that clicked, he was hooping.

Every rebound felt like life or death. Every defensive stop felt like a win. Every possession felt like the game.

And when it came down to the wire, Miami didn’t flinch. No fear. No backing down. Just Hurricanes basketball.

But games like this? They build toughness. They build belief.

And if Miami keeps surviving chaos like this, February is about to be straight cinema.