A 14-0 run to close to first half flipped a 25-24 Miami lead into a 39-25 halftime advantage and Tennessee cruised to a 76-62 win on Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. It was a lot of the same story for Miami as Tennessee shot 48 percent from the floor and made 10 of their 25 three-point attempts.
Center Lynn Kidd was effective for Miami scoring 14 points on 6-11 from the floor with 12 rebounds. Tennessee was led by Chaz Lanier with 22 points. Miami rallied in the second half and cut the deficit to seven. A costly turnover by Austin Swartz when Miami trailed 63-56 was a turning point in the game.
On the break, Swartz attempted a half-court pass that went out of bounds. Tennessee hit a three on the subsequent possession to extend the lead to 66-56, got a stop and a layup and the lead was back up to 12. Miami never got closer than eight. The inability to get key stops down the stretch hindered Miami.
Nijel Pack struggled again until late. Pack shot 4-10 from the floor and 4-9 on three-point attempts but made two in the final four minutes to finish with 12 points. A.J. Staton-McCray was the other Miami player in double figures with 11 points and added four rebounds and four assists.
Final: Tennessee 75, Miami 62
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Igor Milicic scored 16 points and had nine rebounds and Zakai Ziegler had 13 points, nine assists and five rebounds for Tennessee to complement Lanier. Tennessee made 15 of their 18 free throw attempts and shot six of 10 from the line in what wound up being a big difference in the game.
Miami returns home to host Presbyterian on Sunday and Mount St. Mary's on December 21 before resuming ACC at Boston College on January 1. Miami should end the losing streak versus the Blue Hose and the Mountainers. The Hurricanes have lost 17 of its last 20 dating to the end of the 2023-24 season.