SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 20: Acaden Lewis #55 of the Villanova Wildcats shoots the ball against Adlan Elamin #35 of the Utah State Aggies during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The Miami Hurricanes may not have pulled off the upset of No. 1 Florida on college basketball's opening Monday night.
But the reason that 'The U' was in the game at all was because of one player: Acaden Lewis, the transfer from Villanova.
On the Lewis front in particular, it was a rough 48 hours for the Wildcats.
First, 'Nova blew a big lead and lost to Notre Dame in Rome on Sunday. Then on Monday, Lewis looked at times like the best player on the floor while competing against the top team in the country for Miami.
There's a long season ahead, and fortunes can move in a variety of directions, but it certainly seems like Lewis might be a hit in South Florida, and Villanova is going to have some work to do to move forward without him.
Lewis wasn't particularly efficient, but he was consistently dangerous with the ball in his hands for Miami against Florida.
"Miami coach Jai Lucas made former Villanova guard Acaden Lewis one of his primary transfer portal priorities for a reason — and we saw why on Monday, when Lewis was the only Hurricanes player who could get anything going offensively against No. 1 Florida in a 77-67 loss," The Athletic's Brendan Marks wrote after the game. "Lewis won't average 20 shots per game — and certainly not eight 3s, considering he shot 27 percent from 3 last season — but the 6-foot-2 sophomore is a savant in the pick-and-roll and never seems out of control. He had four turnovers and needed 20 shots to get to 24 points, but he'll be a nightmare in ball-screens with Malik Reneau and Somto Cyril. The No. 14 Hurricanes don't have many perimeter shooters, so we'll see if Lewis posts as gaudy an assist rate as he did last season — when he was 38th nationally, per KenPom — but the early returns are promising as an all-conference-caliber player."
Miami hired Jai Lucas in large part because of the belief that he could bring in big-time players. Lewis fits that bill, and he lived up to the billing early.
GettySAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 20: Acaden Lewis #55 of the Villanova Wildcats shoots the ball against Adlan Elamin #35 of the Utah State Aggies during the first half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 20, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Lewis was a top-50 recruit in the Class of 2025 and spent his first college season at Villanova.
With the Wildcats, he averaged 12.2 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He was a very good player.
In the ever-shifting world of college hoops, though, Lewis didn't stay. He sought out a new opportunity, and pairing with Lucas at Miami likely looked like a great option on paper — and in game one, it played out that way, too.
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