The Miami Hurricanes’ season came to an end on Sunday, falling 79-69 to the No. 2 seed Purdue Boilermakers at the Enterprise Center in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hurricanes (26-9) had Purdue (29-8) on the verge of an upset, leading 40-38 at the half, but a rough shooting slump down the stretch ultimately sealed Miami’s demise.
A star was born in UM freshman Shelton Henderson, who took the reins of Miami’s offense. Henderson exploded for 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists to pace the team in every major category.
On the season, he shot 56.7% from the field, which is a freshman program record.
Seniors Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson both poured in double-digit performances. Reneau finished with 16 points and five rebounds but struggled with ball security, ending his day with seven turnovers. Donaldson added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Canes set the tone from the jump, opening with Donaldson teeing up Ernest Udeh Jr. for an emphatic alley-oop on the first possession of the game.
Miami trailed by as many as seven points in the first half but remained within striking distance due to offensive miscues from the Boilermakers.
The Hurricanes forced seven takeaways and managed to shut down Purdue guard Braden Smith, the NCAA all-time leader in assists.
Smith, a First Team All-American, had only two points and two assists along with four turnovers through the first 20 minutes of action.
The Canes recaptured the lead after a momentum-shifting sequence from Shelton Henderson, who tied the game on a put-back before flushing in a rim-rattling dunk to go up 31-29.
Miami entered the break with the 40-38 advantage after Donaldson banked a shot off the glass on a last-second solo drive to the rim.
Both sides were sizzling from 3-point range in the first half. Purdue was 5-for-9 (56.7%), and the Hurricanes went 4-for-8 (50%) from the perimeter.
However, Miami’s production tapered off in the final frame, and the Boilermakers took advantage, outscoring the Canes 41-29 over the last 20 minutes.
After Malik Reneau’s opening bucket, turnovers and missed field goals triggered a 9-0 run for Purdue. Miami never led again.
The Hurricanes ended going 1-for-11 from beyond the arc in the second half, unable to draw within one possession over the last nine minutes. Overall, Miami shot 26% from three.
In his first year as Miami head coach, Jai Lucas tied the NCAA Division I all-time record in win improvement, taking the program from 7-24 in the 2024-25 season to 26-9 with an NCAA Tournament win.
After the game, Lucas was effusive with praise for the first group of players he’s ever led with the Hurricanes.
“It was an absolute pleasure and joy to coach this team,” Lucas said. “And I thank them for believing in me, believing in a person who has never coached before, and everything they gave me this year, I’m forever in debt to them.”
The love was reciprocated by Udeh Jr., who said this was the greatest coaching staff he’s ever been a part of. He had previously played at Kansas and TCU before transferring to Coral Gables for his final year of eligibility.
“They did a tremendous job throughout the entire year understanding me, Tre and Malik as a person,” Udeh said. “The cohesiveness between all of them to generate one message that we can all comprehend, they did a great job on that front.”
The overwhelming success in year one of the Jai Lucas era was unprecedented to many.
Now firmly seated at the helm for Miami, this success is now just the standard.