Mar 7, 2026; Coral Gables, Florida, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Isaac McKneely (10) shoots the ball against Miami Hurricanes guard Noam Dovrat (14) during the second half at Watsco Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Romance-Imagn Images | Jeff Romance-Imagn ImagesMike RutherfordThu, March 12, 2026 at 3:10 AM UTC·8 min read6) Louisville Cardinals (23-9, 11-7) vs. 3) Miami Hurricanes (24-7, 13-5)
ACC Tournament QuarterfinalsGame Time: (Approximately) 2:30 p.m.
Location: Spectrum Center: Charlotte, N.C.
Television: ESPN2
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnnouncers: Kevin Brown (play-by-play), Jay Williams (analysis) and Taylor Tannebaum (sideline)
Favorite: Louisville by 1.5
Series: Louisville leads, 16-8
Last Meeting: Louisville won, 92-89, on March 7 in Coral Gables
Series History:
Projected Starting Lineups:
Louisville
G Adrian Wooley (6-4, 200, So.)
G Isaac McKneely (6-4, 195, Sr.)
G Ryan Conwell (6-4, 215, Sr.)
F J’Vonne Hadley (6-7, 210, Sr.)
C Vangelis Zougris (6-8, 240, Jr.)
Miami
G Tre Donaldson (6-3, 198, Sr.)
G Dante Allen (6-4, 220, Fr.)
F Shelton Henderson (6-6, 240, Fr.)
F Malik Reneau (6-11, 238, Sr.)
C Ernest Udeh Jr. (6-11, 266, Sr.)
Statistics:
View Link
Miami’s Season to Date:
Miami Team Sheet:
Relevant Videos:
About Miami:
For a second straight season, Louisville’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal opponent will be the same team the Cardinals faced in their regular season finale.
A year ago it was Stanford. Twelve months later it’s Miami, the same team Louisville knocked off on the road just five days ago. The only difference between this season and last is that this time around, U of L is the team that already has a win in Charlotte under its belt, and it’s the Cards’ opponent which has been waiting around with one of the tournament’s four coveted double-byes.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe story for Miami hasn’t changed … in five days.
No team in power conference basketball has experienced a greater one-season resurgence than the Miami Hurricanes. A year after winning just seven games, first-year head coach Jai Lucas has The U matched a program record for wins in a regular season (sorry about not getting that record) and has safely locked up a spot in the NCAA Tournament before stepping foot on the court in Charlotte.
Lucas, who left his job as assistant coach at Duke at the end of last regular season to get a head start on his first year in Coral Gables, built his 2025-26 roster almost entirely from scratch. The biggest addition has been forward Malik Reneau, an Indiana transfer that Louisville had a hard time slowing down in the first meeting.
A First Team All-ACC honoree, Reneau is a physical interior scorer who leads the team at nearly 20 points and about six rebounds per game while shooting better than 55 percent from the floor. He’s the Hurricanes’ offensive centerpiece and the guy Miami wants touching the ball when possessions start to bog down.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor a Louisville team that has struggled with its interior defense pretty much all season long — especially against overly physical forwards and centers — Reneau is a matchup nightmare. He proved that with an 18-point performance in the first meeting where he drew 12 fouls and attempted 16 free-throws.
In the backcourt, point guard Tre Donaldson — a Michigan transfer — is the engine that keeps things organized for the ’Canes. Donaldson is averaging a career-best 16.8 ppg as well as 5.9 assists per game, also a career-best. He is an absolute playmaker who does pretty much whatever Lucas asks of him. He torched the Cards for 25 points and six assists last Saturday.
Whatever game plan U of L used to slow down Boopie Miller after his strong performances against the Cards this season and last, here’s hoping that same strategy can be applied to do a better job defending Donaldson.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMiami also boasts versatile wings in Tru Washington (11.8 ppg), a New Mexico transfer, and freshman forward Shelton Henderson (14.0 ppg), a former Louisville target. Both possess the athleticism and playmaking ability to be killers in transition. While Washington is the better shooter of the two, they also both can hit the three at a solid enough clip that their outside shot has to be respected in halfcourt situations. They combined for 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists in round one.
Big man Ernest Udeh (7.1 points/9.4 rebound) is a massive human being who gives the Hurricanes a true center presence. He isn’t a super talented offensive big, but he rebounds at an extremely high level and anchors the defense around the rim, helping Miami avoid the backend protection problems that plagued last year’s team. His production against Louisville on Saturday was limited, but a lot of that stems from the success that Reneau was having inside.
One last note on Miami’s group of players: Sophomore forward Marcus Allen played the first eight games of this season before being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Allen spoke about the experience back in February.
Miami’s strength on both ends of the floor is around the rim. They don’t shoot the three particularly well, nor do they shoot it very often. Inside the arc, however, their team average of 57.8 percent is the 26th-best in college basketball. On the other end of the floor, the ‘Canes are allowing opponents to shoot 35.5 percent from three, which ranks 283rd nationally. Louisville exploited that languid perimeter defense with a 12-for-24 performance from deep.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOther quick notes (that will look familiar if you read the last preview from five days ago):
—They are a horrible free-throw shooting team.
—They’re typically great at turning opposing teams over, but have some turnover problems themselves … although there were only 15 total turnovers in the first meeting, 8 for Miami and 7 for Louisville.
—They remain the best rebounding team in the ACC.
—They win with size and physicality. While we’d all love to see this team miraculously get bigger and more physical, it certainly feels like Louisville will have to shoot it more like they did last Saturday and less like they did on Wednesday if they want to advance to Friday night.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNotable:
—Louisville is looking to win multiple games in the same ACC Tournament for a second straight season. The Cards had never won more than one game in the same ACCT before advancing to the championship game last season.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 28-8 all-time in his coaching career in conference tournament games, and has led his teams to five conference tournament championships. Kelsey has won nine of the last 10 conference tournament games he’s coached in.
—Miami leads all Division-I programs with a .574 improvement from last season to this one (.226 last season, .800 this season). Louisville led the country in the same category last season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—Louisville point guard Mikel Brown Jr. will miss his 12th game of the season because of a lingering back injury
—Since joining Conference USA in 1995-96, Louisville is 35-22 overall in conference tournament games and 11-10 in tournament quarterfinals.
—Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is 22-10 in games where his team played the previous day.
—Louisville is 1-4 all-time in ACC tournament quarterfinal games, with that one win coming last season.
—Miami is shooting 50.6 percent from the floor as a team, which tops the ACC and is 10th nationally.
—Miami holds 19-19 record in the ACC Tournament and is looking for its first win in the event since defeating Wake Forest, 74-72, on March 9, 2023, in the quarterfinals.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—The Hurricanes are the No. 3 seed for the third time in program history and are 1-2 as the conference’s third-best team.
—Miami is 5-9 all-time in the quarterfinals, winning their last two matchups in the round.
—Louisville has now made it to at least the quarterfinals in 12 of the last 16 conference tournaments it has participated in.
—In college basketball history, a team has never lost its first conference tournament game and gone on to win the NCAA tournament. Every national champion has advanced to at least its conference tournament semifinal.
—Miami head coach Jai Lucas will be coaching in an ACC Tournament game for the first time in his career.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—Louisville is 39-4 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading at halftime.
—Louisville is 0-9 under head coach Pat Kelsey when trailing by 5 points or more at halftime.
—Louisville has won four of the last 15 conference tournaments it has competed in, but has not won a league tournament since 2014.
—Louisville’s team average of 85.3 points per game is the 17th-best in college basketball.
—Louisville averages 11.9 made three-pointers per game, the most in the ACC and the fourth-most nationally.
—Louisville is 12-1 in Saturday games so far this season, and just 11-8 in games played on any other day of the week.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement—Louisville has hit the 100-point mark six times in a season for the first time ever.
—Louisville is 48-0 under head coach Pat Kelsey when leading with five minutes to play. The Cardinals are also 1-17 under Kelsey when trailing with five minutes to play, with their first win in such a situation coming in Tuesday’s game against SMU.
—Louisville is 14-0 over the past 11 seasons when limiting opponents to no more than one three-point field goal.
—Louisville is 122-0 all-time when scoring 100 or more points in non-overtime games.
—Louisville has won 167 consecutive games when holding an opponent under 50 points.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKen Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 81, Miami 77
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