Miami vs Purdue

Purdue's defense stifled Miami in the West Region's Second Round matchup, holding the Hurricanes scoreless for stretches that proved decisive. The Boilermakers built an 11-point lead behind their suffocating pressure, forcing Miami into brutal scoring droughts—including a 22-play drought in the first half. Though Miami showed fight with a 12-2 run early, Purdue answered with back-to-back 9-2 runs to establish control and take a commanding halftime advantage. The Hurricanes mounted a late-game threat, closing to 73-69 on Tru Washington's layup with 57 seconds remaining. But Braden Smith took over down the stretch, calmly sinking four consecutive free throws to ice the game. Fletcher Loyer added two more from the line to seal Purdue's 79-69 victory and send the No. 2 seed dancing deeper into March. Defensive suffocation won the day at Enterprise Center.