#2 Purdue Men’s Basketball vs. #7 Miami: Staff Predictions

As I pack up my hotel room and prepare to head for the Arena for today’s matchup, I wanted to share the staff predictions for this one. So no preamble, let’s just get into it.

Ledman:

This Miami team has two Big Ten retreads with Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson. I think that should give Purdue a bit of an advantage as they’ve prepared for these guys before. Now, they are playing different roles and have certainly improved their games, but the Purdue staff is familiar with them. If you watched that Missouri versus Miami game you’d know that it wasn’t exactly a testament to the beauty of the game of basketball. Now, Purdue’s offense? That’s the beauty of the game of basketball. The defense doesn’t have to be perfect but they have to continue putting forth the effort they’ve been putting forth since they got into tournament time. I think they are able to do that today and will advance to the Sweet 16 once again with a date with former Purdue player Cam Heide and Texas.

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Purdue 79 – Miami 68

Jed:

A short turnaround is always difficult but it is made easier when there are two players that most of Purdue’s roster is familiar with. Those two are former Indiana Hoosier Malik Reneau and former Michigan Wolverine Tre Donaldson, who also happen to be Miami’s two most important players (the two average 35.5ppg combined). That is an advantage for the Boilers beyond having advantages all over the court.

That being said, this isn’t a cake walk and some of these games in the NCAAT have opened everyone’s eyes. Miami doesn’t do anything at an elite level but they just seem to be steady at most everything. The biggest key may be the Miami allows opponents to shoot 35.4% from behind the arc, 2.5% higher than the national average (Purdue’s defense is at 34%).

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Purdue has the advantage on the inside and definitively have it on the outside. Given what they have shown over the last five games, Purdue appears to have figured out their woes on…

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Publish date : 2026-03-22 13:01:00

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