If Miami is going to go on a Final Four run, there is a good chance the Hurricanes will have to survive at least one game at the foul line. Miami opens the NCAA tournament Friday against No. 10 Missouri in St. Louis, with No. 2 Purdue sitting as the likely second-round opponent.
Miami will need to hit free throws to make it to the Final 4
The Hurricanes have been a very good offensive team overall, averaging 81.9 points per game and shooting 50.1 percent from the field, but they have not been a reliable free-throw team. Miami is just 507-of-740 at the line this season, good for 68.5%. That is a real weakness for a team that doesn't shoot threes all that well either.
So who is the guy Miami should want standing there late? The answer is Tre Donaldson.
Donaldson is 95-of-123 on free throws this season, a 77.2% mark, while averaging 16.5 points and 5.8 assists per game. Among Miami's main perimeter pieces, Donaldson is the safest combination of volume and trust late in the game.
Tre Donaldson has been clutch for Miami
Donaldson hit a pair of clutch free throws late in Miami's 81-77 road win over Wake Forest after the Hurricanes took the lead with 44.2 seconds left. He then delivered again on Feb. 17, when he made the game-winning free throw with 12 seconds remaining in a 67-66 win over Virginia Tech. Earlier in the season, he also went 8-of-9 from the line in a 91-81 win over Georgia Tech.
Now, the fair counter is Malik Reneau. He is Miami's best high-volume free-throw shooter. Reneau is 152-of-193 at the line this season, good for 78.8%, which is slightly better than Donaldson. He also leads the team in made free throws and has had games like his 10-for-10 night against Pitt and a career-high 14 made free throws against Louisville. But, the difference is what Donaldson has done late in games this season.
If Miami can choose between the two, the Hurricanes will be happy
The Hurricanes have enough scoring and top-end talent to scare teams. But if a trip to the Sweet 16, Elite Eight or even the Final Four comes down to the charity stripe, the player Miami should want walking to that line is Donaldson. He may not be perfect, and Miami as a team definitely is not from the stripe, but he is the closest thing the Hurricanes have to a closer in that spot — with a major honorable mention to Reneau.