5 Things to Know About Purdue’s 2nd Round NCAA Tournament Opponent — Miami Hurricanes
ST. LOUIS — The second-round matchup is set in St. Louis, as No. 2 seed Purdue will play No. 7 seed Miami on Sunday at the Enterprise Center. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue reached the second round with an impressive 104-71 victory over No. 15 seed Queens. Miami advanced with an 80-66 win over No. 10 seed Miami.
What’s the scoop on the Hurricanes this year? A few things to know about Miami ahead of Sunday’s showdown in St. Louis.
Two former Big Ten players lead the team
Purdue has some familiarity with Miami’s top scorers: Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson. Reneau spent three seasons at Indiana before transferring and Donaldson played at Auburn and Michigan prior to his arrival at Miami.
Those two guys have been Miami’s top two players this season. Reneau is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 19.0 points per game and is shooting 54.5% from the floor. He’s also the second-best rebounder, pulling down 6.6 boards per contest.
Donaldson is scoring 16.5 points per contest and is the team’s top distributor with 5.8 assists. He’s also been an elite defender this season, recording 1.4 steals per game.
In Friday night’s win over Missouri in the first round, Reneau and Donaldson combined for 41 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. They are a huge part of Miami’s offensive success this season.
Living in the paint
Miami isn’t going to settle for a lot of three-point shots. This is a team that averages just 19.1 attempts per game, which ranks 316th nationally. The Hurricanes did make 11-of-24 attempts against Missouri in the opening round, but that’s not typically their recipe for success.
As a team, Miami is shooting 50.1% from the floor. The Hurricanes love to get high-quality shots close to the rim and are capable of driving to the basket and finishing. Shelton Henderson, Ernest Udeh Jr. and Reneau are the best weapons in the paint, all having a field goal percentage above 54%.
Both Donaldson and Tru Washington are guards who can get downhill. They are also quality passers, who can get the ball to Udeh and Reneau in good position to score in the post.
Struggle to defend the three-point line
Defending the perimeter has been an Achilles heel for Miami all season long. Opponents are hitting the three-ball at a 35.4% clip, a mark that ranks 290th nationally. Because Purdue has so many quality shooters, it should be an advantage for the Boilermakers.
In six of the eight games Miami has lost this season, its opponent shot 42% or better behind the three-point line. Only twice did teams connect on fewer than 40% of its long distance attempts.
Purdue is shooting nearly 38% from behind the arc and went 14-of-24 on Friday night against Queens. The Boilermakers need to take advantage of the open looks Miami allows, which should be quite a few.
One of the best rebounding teams in the country
Rebounding the basketball is probably Miami’s greatest strength, and everyone contributes. The Hurricanes average 37.3 rebounds per game, but most impressively, they are plus-7.7 on the glass for the season. That ranks 13th nationally.
Miami also gives itself plenty of second-chance opportunities on the offensive end, accounting for 12.4 offensive boards per game. This lineup will test the physicality of Purdue’s Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn on the glass.
Udeh leads the way with 9.3 rebounds per game, and Reneau is accounting for 6.6 boards. Six different Hurricanes are averaging at least 3.1 rebounds per contest. Keeping Miami off the glass has been difficult for everyone this season.
Not much depth
Outside of its starting rotation, Miami doesn’t have a lot of options. Coach Jai Lucas technically uses an eight-man rotation, but only one bench player logged more than four minutes of action in Friday’s win over Missouri.
Washington is essentially Miami’s sixth starter this season, averaging more than 27 minutes per contest. Timotej Malovec is logging more than 15 minutes per game for the season, but he hasn’t played more than 10 since the start of the ACC Tournament.
In tournaments that require teams to play two games in three days, depth can become a concern. Miami doesn’t have many reserves to rely on if the Hurricanes get worn down or foul trouble arises.
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