The Hurricanes’ close-game luck ran out on Saturday.
After picking up wins in tight games against Boston College, North Carolina, N.C. State and Virginia Tech, Miami left its road contest against No. 11 Virginia with an 86-83 loss to the Cavaliers.
Despite the loss, Lucas said he believed his team’s performance showed that the Hurricanes can stick with top teams.
“(We learned we are) what I always thought: We’re as good as anybody,” Lucas said. “I think we have the ability to compete with anybody as long as we stay true to our identity and who we were. I think we did that in the Virginia game. It was a high-level game. It’s a one possession game. It’s a bunch of possessions that you could take away either way that could change the game and change the whole course of the game.
“So it’s just a lesson that in February, these are the games you want to be in.”
The Hurricanes, who did received 10 votes in this week’s AP poll, will head back on the road this week to face rival Florida State in Tallahassee at 9 p.m. on Tuesday. The Seminoles are 14-13 this season, but FSU has won three consecutive games against Virginia Tech, Boston College and Clemson (which was in the Top 25 until its current four-game losing streak).
“They are probably the second hottest team in the league right now behind Virginia,” Lucas said. “They’re playing with extreme confidence right now. And I feel like coach (Luke) Louck’s done the best job of adapting and adjusting. They’re playing completely different than when they played when they came (against) us, they played against us. Completely different. And they’ve kind of stuck to that formula and they’ve gotten some success. I think they’re (6-2) since they played us.”
Lucas’ previous stops as a player and coach include opportunities to see some of the fiercest rivalries in college sports. He played at Florida and Texas, which have big rivalries in multiple sports with Florida State and Texas A&M, respectively. Lucas was also an assistant coach with Kentucky and Duke — teams that have big in-state rivalries with Louisville and North Carolina, respectively.
Lucas has gotten up to speed on the Miami-Florida State rivalry since he arrived at UM, but the Seminoles got the better of his squad the first time they faced off. FSU won that game 65-63 at the Watsco Center on Jan. 20.
‘I think the thing that’s most exciting about the rivalry is just because it is, like most rivalries, regional-based,” Lucas said. “But we have a lot of Florida State people in Miami. So there’s always some type of tension when you go out and you see people, they give you to the — what is it, the war chop or whatever it is — they give that to you. So just understanding that, and I think that’s the best part about this rivalry is the proximity of how many people went to Florida State and are from Miami or in South Florida. I think it’s probably reversed up there. I don’t think a lot of people from Miami are in Tallahassee.”
