Miami knew going into the matchup that this would not feel like a normal tournament game. The Hurricanes were the higher seed, but Friday night's NCAA tournament opener against Missouri was played in St. Louis, roughly 120 miles from Mizzou's campus and about 1,200 miles from Miami, making it one of the more obvious crowd disadvantages in the bracket.
But, it did not matter.
Jai Lucas' team handled the unusual setting, beat Missouri 80-66 and now move on to the Round of 32, where No. 2 Purdue awaits after a 104-71 win over No. 15 Queens.
PUT THEM OUT OF THEIR MISSOURI 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JtYK4k9HbL
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 21, 2026
Miami defeats Missouri 80-66 to move on to the Round of 32
Malik Reneau led the Hurricanes with 24 points, six rebounds and three assists. Tre Donaldson added 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals, while Shelton Henderson chipped in 15 points and six rebounds. Ernest Udeh Jr. only scored three points, but his 10 rebounds helped Miami finish with a 46-30 edge on the boards.
Miami grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and turned those extra possessions into points. Missouri got strong scoring from Jayden Stone and Mark Mitchell. Stone finished with 21 points and Mitchell had 19 points and five assists after a slow start in the first half.
Toward the end of the first half, Missouri finally got some offense going and the crowd woke up. But, Miami was able to escape with minimal damage and regroup after the half. The Canes led 27-26 at the break. Miami then won the second half 53-40 and built a largest lead of 14.
Miami finished 26-of-60 from the field, went 11-of-24 from 3-point range and looked much more comfortable offensively than Missouri for long stretches. The Tigers shot 20-of-57 overall and 10-of-28 from deep.
Now comes Purdue. The Boilermakers rolled into the weekend as a No. 2 seed and routed Queens behind 26 points from Braden Smith, who also broke the Division I career assists record.