Miami vs. Purdue: Underdog Hurricanes say they're ready for Boilermakers test

ST. LOUIS — Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson knew before the University of Miami coaching staff gave them the Purdue scouting report exactly what to expect heading into Sunday’s game against the No. 2 seeded Boilermakers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The two Hurricane seniors transferred from Big Ten programs, Reneau from Indiana and Donaldson from Michigan, and they have first-hand experience against a Purdue team that is a top two seed for the third time in four years and aiming for its second Final Four in three seasons.

Reneau and Donaldson recognize the Boilermakers’ tendencies and triggers and were prepping their teammates during film sessions on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s 12:10 p.m. CBS game at the Enterprise Center.

“It’s going to be a fun game, I’m super excited,” Reneau said. “It’s just another obstacle, another road game that we have to come through, and having that experience, knowing what they’ve done on the offensive end and what they do as a program, Tre and I are letting these guys know what we’re going to see ahead of time and getting everybody’s minds ready.”

Purdue boasts the nation’s top-ranked offense, per KenPom.com, are ranked No. 38 on defense and No. 8 overall. Miami, the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, ranks 31 on offense, 36 on defense and 30 overall.

“They’re the No. 1 offense in the country analytically, so I have to find a way to disrupt their rhythm somehow,” UM coach Jai Lucas said. “We’ll get it figured out. It may take 10 minutes. It may take a whole half. But eventually, we’ll find something and we’ll go from there.”

The first order of business is figuring out how to frustrate and control Purdue senior point guard Braden Smith, who made history on Friday night with his 1,077th career assist, breaking the 33-year-old NCAA record set in 1993 by Duke’s Bobby Hurley.

Queens coach Grant Leonard, whose team lost to Purdue, 104-71, in the first round, called Smith “The smartest player in the country basketball IQ-wise.”

Lucas also mentioned Smith’s court smarts when asked what makes him so challenging to cover.

“His IQ, his poise, his ability to command the team; he almost runs it himself,” Lucas said. “Matt Painter is a great coach, but when you have a point guard like that, it’s like having a great coach on the court.”

The key, Lucas said, will be giving Smith different coverages.

“He’s seen everything, but we feel we have to keep him guessing,” he said. “We have some stuff we feel could kind of slow him down and make him think a little more than he usually does.”

Reneau played against Smith for three years, congratulated him for getting the assist record, and agreed that the Hurricanes’ priority on Sunday is to make him uncomfortable.

“We have to show him a lot of crowds,” Reneau said. “He’s a great passer and the fuel to their offense. We have to be able to defend him without fouling. If we can stop him, we can stop Purdue.”

The Hurricanes, the most improved team in the nation, are finally capturing the attention of the nation and overcame a hostile crowd to beat Missouri, 80-66, Friday night. Painter expects a tough game.

“Miami has a talented team, well coached, to put together a team that’s this good in a short amount of time, it really speaks volumes to the staff,” the Purdue coach said. “Jai has done a great job with those guys.

“They have a very good lead guard in Donaldson, who was at Michigan. Malik Reneau was a fabulous player at Indiana. Very hard to deal with, great size, great skill, great motor. Udeh is a great defensive player, great around the basket, good shot blocker. They have a lot of good pieces and complement each other well.”

Painter said keeping the Canes out of the paint and off the glass will be critical, calling Shelton Henderson “one of the best freshmen in the country, a bulldog.” He added that if they allow UM to get second-chance opportunities and into transition, they will pay the price.

That physicality is the Hurricanes’ identity. Lucas deliberately built this team to defend, crash the boards, get second-chance points, and get to the free-throw line as often as possible.

He explained his formula to reporters on Saturday, saying he studied four teams built like the Hurricanes to see why they were so good: Arizona, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Florida.

Arizona was the top team in the nation and made only six threes a game. He examined the four teams and saw that they had some stats in common: They make 17-20 free throws per game. Their offensive rebounding was 37% or higher. Their mean average of 3-pointers was 7.2 and second-chance points were around 14.

“So, I saw that, read into the numbers and felt for us this was a simple formula we could do this year and be good offensively,” Lucas said. “We’ve been a lot better offensively than I imagined.”

As for UM’s struggles at the free-throw line, Lucas said all that matters is that they make 17 to 20 per game. “It may take 35 attempts, but that’s what we have to do, and by doing so, it puts so much pressure on the other team with foul trouble, not wanting to foul and the constant assault on the paint and on the rim.”

The Hurricanes anticipate another rowdy road game atmosphere at the supposed “neutral” venue, as they faced against Missouri on Friday night.

Lucas said they knew from their bus ride from the hotel to the Enterprise Center that they were going to face a sea of Missouri fans.

“I could hear them before I went out on the court as the game was getting close, and as it got under five minutes, you could really start to hear them,” he said. “Walking out there, you could feel it. It felt like a road game, but it still felt like that big moment of being in the tournament, which is always exciting. It was fun.

“I expect it to be close to a road game [Sunday]. I’ve played Purdue before. I’ve seen how they travel. So, I expect it to be maybe not as crazy, but pretty close.”

Donaldson relishes the challenge.

“Running out to all the boos, I embraced the villain role,” Donaldson said. “I like playing on the road. I feel like it’s more fun. It kind of gives you a little more motivation, got everybody going against you. Proving 17,000 people wrong is really fun.”