The Miami Hurricanes were eliminated from the NCAA tournament with a 78-58 loss to the Michigan State Spartans on Friday.
The Hurricanes entered the game as an eight seed and they were the favorites over the ninth-ranked Spartans. The slots appeared to be incorrect however, as Michigan State thoroughly dominated this contest. A year after reaching the Sweet 16, the Hurricanes are headed back to Miami with a very short tournament stint.
The Spartans took an 11-point lead into the locker rooms at the half, and things did not improve for Miami in the second half. The Hurricanes actually got off to a good start to begin the game, but the Spartans had a 20-2 run late in the first half. That run set the tone for the remainder of the evening.
Ja'Quan Newton's junior season came to a close with a team-high 16 points. Newton also tallied two rebounds, two assists and three steals in the lopsided loss to the Spartans.
Davon Reed had a decent game with 12 points and three rebounds. The senior went 2-6 on his three-point tries and also picked up a couple of steals along the way.
Freshman Dewan Huell played well off UM's bench with eight points. The forward was efficient as well going 4-5 in the game on his attempts from the field.
Miami will now look to regroup and start work on next season. This season included some big key wins against title contending schools, but it also had some low moments. A quick tournament exit was just the finishing touch on an up and down season.
