It’s fitting that the dagger in Miami’s win over No. 24 Louisville on Thursday afternoon was a block.

With seven seconds left and UM winning by five, freshman forward Shelton Henderson swatted away a three-point shot from Ryan Conwell and raced down court to throw down a thunderous slam dunk, putting an exclamation point on the Hurricanes’ 78-73 win that advances them to the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

The Hurricanes’ defense made impactful plays all game long, especially in the second half. In these final 20 minutes of action, the Cardinals shot just 41.9% from the field and 18.8% from deep. Guard J’Vonne Hadley, who scored a game-high 14 points in the first half, scored five in the latter.

Photo Gallery: Miami Hurricanes advance at ACC Tournament

To prevent Louisville, one of the top three-pointing shooting teams in the ACC, from catching fire from deep, Miami played a switch-heavy style of defense that stifled the Cardinals along the perimeter. For the game, Louisville made just six threes, significantly fewer than its season average of 11.7 made threes per game. In the Cardinals’ win over Miami in the regular season finale Saturday, the Cardinals knocked down 12 threes.

UM head coach Jai Lucas made defensive adjustments heading into their second matchup of the season. 

“The first game, I thought we were too soft on the ball, and we just gave them too much space, and they were shooting almost all their shots from three,” Lucas said. “So this game, a big part of our game plan was making sure we impacted the ball and really upped our pressure and our pickup point. And I felt that was the difference in some of the threes they made and were able to get in the first game and this game.”

Seniors Malik Reneau and Tre Donaldson, who was recognized on the All-ACC First Team this past week, commanded the Hurricanes’ offense. Reneau led the way with 24 points (18 of which were in the second half), capitalizing on the game’s physicality. Junior Tru Washington was also instrumental in the win, scoring 17 points.

“I trust in myself a lot. And then also my teammates trust me to go get a basket at any moment,” Reneau said. “Just having that feeling that my team is behind me when we need a basket, a go-to basket, it gives me the utmost confidence to go do that.”

Washington also made clutch plays on the defensive end, stealing a Louisville in-bound pass in the final minute that extended UM’s lead from three to five after the Cardinals sent him to the free throw line after the steal.

“It was a huge steal coming down the stretch,” Reneau said. “It gave us the two to go up five and then give us a little comfort lead to fall back on, and then just ultimately get a stop coming down on the next play.”

Other top performers for Miami included guard Tre Donaldson, who scored 14 points, and center Ernest Udeh Jr., who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and blocked three shots.

Next up, No. 10 Virginia

Miami will face No. 10 Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of one of the Hurricanes’ most thrilling games of the regular season.

In a late-February trip to Charlottesville, the Cavaliers bested Miami 86-83 in a game that featured 14 ties and 12 lead changes. The two teams will battle it out again with a trip to the ACC tournament championship on the line, which the Hurricanes haven’t made since the 2012–13 season.

“It’s gonna be a war,” Reneau said about Friday’s matchup between Miami and Virginia. “I mean, it’s gonna be a hard-nosed basketball game. We got to be ready to play all 40 minutes, relentless 40 minutes, energy throughout the whole game, and constantly keep pushing, whether we’re the ones making a run or they’re making a run, we got to constantly stay with it for the whole 40 minutes. It’s gonna be a war.”

Bracketology implications

With its win over Louisville, Miami is now 6-5 on the season in Quadrant 1 NET games. This victory also likely prevented the Hurricanes from being given an eight or a nine seed in the NCAA tournament, regardless of the result of the Virginia game.

If UM were to defeat Virginia, which would undoubtedly be its best win of the season, it will likely receive a top-six seed for The Big Dance. The Hurricanes, as well as every other team, will learn their tournament destiny this Sunday at 6 p.m.