Miami's NCAA tournament run ended one win short of the Sweet 16 on Sunday, as Purdue won 79-69 in St. Louis. The Hurricanes took a 40-38 lead into halftime, but the Boilermakers were better after the break and now move on to face Texas in the West Region semifinals.
FINAL | Miami 69, Purdue 79
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 22, 2026
Miami had the game where it wanted it at halftime
For 20 minutes, this looked like the kind of game Miami wanted. Tre Donaldson scored on a running pull-up with two seconds left in the half to put the Hurricanes up two, and Jai Lucas' group had already shown it could handle another high-level squad after beating Missouri two days earlier.
Purdue won the second half
The problem for Miami on Sunday was the second half. Purdue opened the second half by turning a two-point deficit into a five-point lead, then kept answering every time Miami crept back within a possession or two.
Miami got as close as 50-48 on Donaldson's 3-pointer with 13:05 left, but Purdue answered and pushed the margin back out. By the time the game got to the 8:56 mark, Purdue led 62-54.
Purdue's efficiency made the difference
Miami finished with a 33-25 rebounding edge. But the Boilermakers were far more efficient from the floor, shooting 53% from the field, 57% from 3-point range and 95% at the foul line. Miami shot 44% overall, just 26% from deep and went only 8-for-10 at the line (opposed to Purdue's 21-for-22 at the charity stripe).
No. 7 Miami falls to No. 2 Purdue 79-69
Loyer scored 24 points on 6-of-7 shooting and hit all of his 3-point attempts. Kaufman-Renn added 19 points and nine rebounds, while Smith finished with 12 points and eight assists.
Shelton Henderson was terrific, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 9-of-11 shooting. Malik Reneau added 16 points and five rebounds, Donaldson had 13 points and three assists, and Dante Allen chipped in eight points off the bench.
Lucas and the Hurricanes can still hold their heads high. Miami reached the NCAA tournament in his first year, beat Missouri in a hostile first-round setting, then pushed a No. 2 seed deep into the second half. The future is bright for the Hurricanes program under Lucas.