Canes Men’s Hoops Set For Date With Dybantsa, No. 9 BYU In Orlando

Hurricanes Get Second Crack Against A Ranked Opponent On Thanksgiving Day

The Miami Hurricanes men’s hoops team is off to a fantastic start. The team under first-year head coach Jai Lucas has won five of its first six contests. Their one defeat came at the hands of the defending national champion Florida Gators in Jacksonville, who were ranked 10th.

Advertisement

Now, the Hurricanes will travel over 200 miles to Orlando for the ESPN Events Invitational Tournament. UM will be one of four teams competing in the Magic Bracket, alongside Dayton, Georgetown, and BYU. The No. 9 Cougars, led by freshman sensation A.J. Dybantsa, will be Miami’s first opponent, and the two will face off on Thanksgiving Day, on ESPN at 5:00 PM ET. The winner will play either the Flyers or Hoyas in the title game, while the loser plays in the consolation game the next day.

Who Are These Cougars?

BYU has been no stranger to success over the last few years. The Cougars have won 20 or more games in five of the past six seasons. Last year, Brigham Young made the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season under rookie head coach Kevin Young.

Advertisement

In March, they earned the No. 6 seed in the East Region and proceeded to defeat the 11-seeded VCU Rams and the 3-seeded Wisconsin Badgers. Unfortunately, their run would end in the Sweet 16 against the 2-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in a blowout.

The team is hoping to build off of last year’s run and hopes to make the Elite 8 for the first time since 1981. This year’s team is headlined by A.J. Dybantsa. The 6’8” forward from Brockton, Massachusetts, is one of the top players in a stacked freshman class.

So far, the young swingman has lived up to lofty expectations. In five games, he’s averaged 19.8 points per game on shooting splits of .548/.385/.743. He’s also the team’s leading Windex man, averaging 6.6 rebounds, along with 2.2 assists per game. However, he isn’t the only name that makes up the BYU attack.

BYU’s backcourt stars longtime…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/canes-men-hoops-set-date-190144721.html

Author :

Publish date : 2025-11-26 19:01:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.