Miami will begin the Jai Lucas era on November 3 versus Jacksonville at the Watsco Center, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Jacksonville finished 19-14 in 2024-25 and advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament and the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational.
Miami leads the all-time series with Jacksonville 3-2. The Hurricanes have won the last three games in the series with the Dolphins. Miami last beat Jacksonville 73-64 on December 19, 2020. The three Miami wins versus Jacksonville occurred since the basketball program was reinstated in 1985.
Jacksonville's two wins over Miami occurred in a home-and-home in 1970. Jacksonville was the 1970 NCAA Tournament runner-up to UCLA. That was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Jacksonville. The Dolphins have made only four NCAA Tournament appearances since 1970, with the most recent in 1986.
The only year Miami beat Jacksonville when they made the NCAA Tournament was a 73-57 victory on November 16, 2012. Miami went on to win the ACC regular season and tournament titles in 2013 and advanced to the East Regional Semifinals, where they lost 71-61 to Marquette in Washington, D.C.
Source: Miami will open the Jai Lucas era on November 3rd in Coral Gables against Jacksonville.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 18, 2025
Jacksonville lost leading scorer Robert McCray to Florida State. McCray was the only Dolphin to average in double figures at 16.4 points per game in 2024-25. Rising senior Zach Bell is now the leading returning scorer for Jacksonville at 8.8 PPG. Head coach Jordan Mincy is 69-57 entering his fifth season at Jacksonville.
Nothing has been officially announced by Miami regarding Jacksonville or the 2025-26 schedule. This is the second year of the ACC-SEC Challenge. With 18 teams in the ACC to 16 in the SEC, two ACC teams will be left out of the challenge. After a 7-24 season, Miami could be one of the two ACC teams left out of the challenge.