Louisville Basketball Eliminated by Miami 78-73 in ACC Quarterfinals After Edging SMU 62-58
Louisville's ACC Tournament run is over. The Cardinals survived a gritty second-round battle with SMU on Wednesday, then ran out of gas Thursday afternoon against No. 3 seed Miami — ending a tournament that showed both the upside and the ceiling of Pat Kelsey's program heading into NCAA Tournament selection weekend.
Conwell Carries Louisville Past SMU in Thriller
Wednesday's second-round matchup with SMU was nothing pretty, and it nearly wasn't a win at all. Louisville gutted out a 62-58 victory in what turned out to be a grind, with star guard Ryan Conwell struggling for most of the afternoon before making the two biggest shots of the contest.
SMU led by two with 2:43 remaining on a Jaron Pierre layup, but a 5-0 Cardinal run flipped the game. Conwell drilled a step-back three to take the lead, then hit a tough driving layup with 29.8 seconds left to seal it. His final line — 16 points on 2-of-9 from three with five turnovers — tells only half the story.
Adrian Wooley added 14 points and Isaac McKneely scored 10 for the Cardinals. For SMU, Jaron Pierre Jr. had 17 points — all of them in a wild second half — and Jaden Toombs contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Boopie Miller, the Mustangs' All-ACC second-team guard averaging 19.5 points per game, was held to just 8 — a critical defensive win for Louisville.
The biggest differences were Louisville's 14 forced turnovers and a 13-point advantage at the free-throw line. Greek center Vangelis Zougris — largely a role player during the regular season — scored six straight points at a crucial juncture and brought an edge to the post Louisville desperately needed.
SMU's NCAA Tournament Bubble Bursts
The loss lands at the worst possible time for the Mustangs. SMU desperately needed the win for its at-large NCAA Tournament chances. The elimination almost certainly ends their postseason in Charlotte. Head coach Andy Enfield's team finishes 20-13 — a bubble résumé that likely needed at least a quarterfinal run to feel safe. Starting guard B.J. Edwards missed the game due to injury for the fifth straight contest, a brutal absence at the worst possible time for a team that needed every weapon available.
Miami Ends Louisville's Run in Quarterfinals
Thursday brought a different challenge — and a different result. Miami edged Louisville 78-73 in the ACC quarterfinals, with the Hurricanes holding a three-point lead with 58 seconds remaining before a clutch steal on a Louisville inbounds play extended the margin to five and sealed it.
Louisville finishes the tournament 1-1. The bigger question now is the NCAA Tournament at-large picture. The Cardinals entered the week at 22-9 overall and 11-7 in ACC play — a profile that should hold up on Selection Sunday, though losing in the quarterfinals without much margin for error makes the wait uncomfortable.
ACC Tournament Quarterfinal Slate Continues Thursday Night
The bracket narrows fast. Virginia, after beating NC State 81-74 in the morning session, advances to face the winner of Miami and Louisville — now confirmed as Miami. Duke takes on Florida State at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, followed by North Carolina against Clemson at 9:30 p.m. ET.
The ACC Tournament semifinals are set for Friday at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET, with the championship game Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. Miami, riding the momentum of first-year head coach Jai Lucas, enters Friday with real championship ambitions.
Kelsey's Cardinals go home knowing they beat a bubble team cleanly and fell narrowly to a top-three seed. Whether that combination is enough for a tournament bid lands Sunday.
