March 12, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Miami (FL) Hurricanes forward Malik Renaud (5) scores against Louisville Cardinals forward Vangelis Jogris (53) in the first half at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Image CHARLOTTE – Malik Reneau had a big performance in the second half, pouring in 24 points as Miami defeated No. 24 Louisville 78-73 in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament on Thursday afternoon.
True Washington had 17 points off the Miami bench and Tre Donaldson provided 14 points and six assists for the third-seeded Hurricanes, who bounced back from a loss from the weekend when the teams met for the second time in six days.
Miami (25-7) will face No. 10 second-seeded Virginia, which previously won 81-74 over North Carolina State, in the first semifinal on Friday night.
Ryan Cornwell scored 22 points for sixth-seeded Louisville (23-10), but his 1-for-10 shooting from 3-point range contributed to the team’s 25% accuracy (6-for-24) from beyond the arc. J’Vonne Hadley scored 19 points and reserve Khani Rooths had 11, but the Cardinals were unable to repeat their success from a day earlier against SMU.
The tournament result overturned Louisville’s 92-89 victory in Saturday’s regular-season finale. As a result, Miami dropped out of the top 25.
On Thursday, Louisville fell behind 69-68 when Renault scored from the lane just one minute into the game. Washington’s steal of an inbounds play and two free throws put the Hurricanes up four points with one second to play.
Renault later sank two free throws to help the Hurricanes seal the result. Washington finished the game one point behind his season high.
Louisville was hurt by 13 turnovers compared to Miami’s eight.
The Cardinals shot 56.0% in the first half, but only led 38-37 at halftime.
Back-to-back goals by Washington put Miami ahead 53-44 with less than 14 minutes remaining. Conwell scored seven points during a 10-2 spurt for Louisville to pull the Cardinals within 63-62.
Louisville held injured freshman Mikel Brown Jr. through four games this month in hopes of him recovering enough to participate in the NCAA Tournament. The Cardinals won that game 3-1.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
