Jai Lucas has Miami winning again, and with Saturday's 77-76 comeback at NC State, the Hurricanes hit the 20-win mark in Lucas' first season on the job.
Jai Lucas with 20 wins and counting in year one. Looking to become the first coach in Miami’s history to make the NCAA Tournament in his first season.
— Trilly Donovan (@trillydonovan) February 14, 2026
Miami improved to 20-5 overall and 9-3 in ACC play after closing the game on an 8-0 run in Raleigh, capped by Tru Washington sinking three free throws with 3.7 seconds left. Malik Reneau led the way with 26 points in the win, another road result that should help when Selection Sunday comes around.
Miami now has back-to-back wins against North Carolina and at NC State. Lucas has now put himself in position to make some history at Miami.
Miami has never had a men's coach take the program to the NCAA Tournament in Year 1. Bruce Hale went 9-11 in his first season (1954-55) and didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament until later in his tenure. Leonard Hamilton went 9-19 in his first season (1990-91) and didn't get Miami into the NCAA field until years later. Frank Haith's first Miami team went 16-13 (2004-05) and the first NCAA trip of that era came later, too. Jim Larranaga won 20 games in his first season (2011-12), but Miami's NCAA Tournament run with him began in 2013, not Year 1.
So if Miami goes dancing, Lucas would do something no Miami men's coach has done in a debut season.
He's already flirting with another first-year benchmark: Larranaga's first Miami team went 20-13 in 2011-12, which stands as the measuring stick for immediate success in Coral Gables. Lucas has matched that 20-win number with plenty of games still left to play, giving him a chance to really make his mark as Miami looks beyond regular season success.
The turnaround is even more impressive when you think about how bad the Hurricanes were last year. Miami went 7-24 overall and 3-17 in the ACC in 2024-25.