Miami Hurricanes basketball coach Jai Lucas previews ACC showdown with Virginia Tech

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The Miami Hurricanes are riding high under first-year head coach Jai Lucas, sitting at 20-5 overall and fourth in Atlantic Coast Conference play, as they prepare to face Virginia Tech (17-9) on Tuesday night at the Watsco Center.

Lucas spoke with Local 10’s Kacy Hintz about the matchup, his team’s identity and the return of a key player.

“You know, they’re really good, so they’ve had three wins that have been at the buzzer, where, you know, if they win those games, they have the same record as us, and they’re right on the bubble to win,” Lucas said. “They’re a tournament team in my opinion. And this is just another night in the ACC,” Lucas said.”

Hurricanes guard Tru Washington, a leading scorer and one of the team’s top two-way players, is returning to the lineup for Saturday’s game. Lucas highlighted his impact.

“You know, he has been an impact for us all year. He’s one of our leading scorers, a double-figure scorer. He’s also one of the guys that is, I think, one of the best two-way players in the conference. So just his ability to create offense with his defense, and then just his ability to hit big shots,” Lucas said.

When asked what the Hurricanes look like at their best, Lucas emphasized fundamentals.

“Winning the glass, trying to get 40% of our misses back, our offensive rebounds to match our second chance points to match our offensive rebounding, and winning the points in the paint. If we do that, we’ll be fine,” he said.

Lucas also reflected on sophomore forward Marcus Allen, who is battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma and continues to be a presence in the program.

“It means everything. He’s shown so much strength, even today he’s going through his 4th round of chemo,” Lucas said. “Him just wanting to be around as much as possible with everything he’s going through, it’s hard. It’s hard not to have appreciation just looking at him and just seeing him.”

Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

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