Miami loses its eighth straight in blowout loss to Stanford

Senior guard Matthew Cleveland shoots the ball against Coppin State University on Sunday Nov. 17, 2024. Photo Credit: Brian Mulvey - Contributing Photographer

Coming off a 43-point loss to SMU at home, the Hurricanes flew out west to take on Stanford in a newly formed ACC matchup. The result wasn’t any better, as Miami lost 88-51.

Miami’s defensive struggles continued to be on display just within the first few minutes of the game as it quickly began down 21-3 at the 11:58 mark of the first half.

Although it seemed this game had ended just minutes after the tip, the ’Canes stepped up their defensive intensity and forced the Cardinal to go on a four minute scoring drought nearing the end of the first half. A couple of Lynn Kidd buckets and a nice drive and scoop from freshman Jalil Bethea ignited a late 10-0 scoring run for the Hurricanes and cut the lead to just 15.

UM entered halftime down 37-21. Kidd posted eight points and five rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in the first half to keep the Hurricanes within striking distance.

Despite a slow start from senior guard Matthew Cleveland, a quick three to start the second half cut the Cardinal’s lead to just 13. Cleveland continued to score the next seven for the Hurricanes and ended with a team-high 23 points.

Stanford’s shotmaking proved to be too much for Miami, draining 11-of-29 attempts from beyond the arc.

The ’Canes caught themselves down by 37 (77-40) near the five minute mark and were fortunate to avoid back to back 40 point defeats.

Stanford 7-foot-1 senior big Maxime Raynaud was excellent, obtaining his 16th double-double of the season with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Other than Kidd, Cleveland and sophomore Paul Djobet, no Hurricane scored more than two points on the night.

Miami will close this West Coast stretch with a matchup against California on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.