The Purdue Boilermakers' second-half surge proves too much as the Miami Hurricanes' tournament run ends. Key offensive struggles overshadowed strong individual performances.
The seventh-seeded Miami Hurricanes men’s basketball squad was officially eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention after a 79–69 loss to the second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday. Despite keeping the game close until halftime, a second-half surge by the Big 10 champions became too much to overcome.
Five-star freshman forward Shelton Henderson finished the game with a team-high 18 points on 81.8 percent shooting, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 39 minutes. Despite scoring eight field goal attempts in the paint, he did not get to the free-throw line at any point. The 19-year-old never shies away from contact and uses his strength to gain an advantage.
Despite holding two-time All-American guard Braden Smith to 12 points on 25 percent shooting, plus committing eight turnovers, senior guard Fletcher Loyer picked up the scoring slack with a near-perfect performance. The 22-year-old finished with a game-high 24 points on 85.7 percent shooting, including four-for-four on shots from behind the arc, two assists, a rebound, and a steal in 35 minutes. He drew fouls and went eight-for-eight from the free-throw line.
As one senior struggled, another made up for it.
Hurricanes senior Tre Donaldson and Malik Reneau struggled again in the same game, similar to the ACC Tournament semifinals against the No. 9 Virginia Cavaliers. They combined for 29 points on 34.5 percent shooting. The impact wasn’t consistent on both sides of the court.
Reneau managed to finish with 16 points on 40 percent shooting, missing all three three-point attempts, five rebounds, three assists, four steals, and a block in 36 minutes. However, the All-ACC forward missed easy looks at the rim throughout the game, including three layups in the first five minutes. He struggled against the Boilermakers’ size of senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and senior Oscar Cluff.
Donaldson finished with 13 points on 26.7 percent shooting, four rebounds, and three assists.
The Hurricanes’ lack of efficient three-point shooting haunted them in one of the biggest stages in college basketball. They finished on 26.3 percent, making five of 19 attempts. Meanwhile, Loyer nearly outshot them himself. As the team struggled to score points in the paint, the outside shooting did no favors.
Despite falling short of reaching the “Sweet 16,” coach Jai Lucas changed the image of the basketball program after one offseason. Similar to coach Mario Cristobal and football, he established a new culture and standard moving forward.
As Donaldson, Reneau, and senior center Ernest Udeh Jr. depart, it will be up to the next group to step up.
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