Top-seeded Miami men fall to Duke in ACC tournament semifinals, 85-78

The result of 14th-ranked Miami’s semifinal clash with No. 21 Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball Tournament might have turned out differently if the top-seeded Hurricanes had played the entire contest with starting forward Norchad Omier.

But Miami only got 66 seconds out of its leading rebounder before he exited with an ankle injury. Without him, the Hurricanes were outmatched in the paint, and ultimately suffered an 85-78 loss to the third-seeded Blue Devils on Friday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

“Credit has to go to Duke’s players,” UM coach Jim Larranaga said. “Their ability to make those threes and dominate the backboards. They are very big, much bigger than us, and they played really well. Yet [the Hurricanes] did a fantastic job of keeping us in the game right until the bitter end and gave ourselves a chance.”

Duke 7-footer Kyle Filipowski — the ACC Rookie of the Year — took advantage of Omier’s absence, racking up 17 points on a season-best 8-of-9 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. The Blue Devils (25-8) also had three other players score in double-figures, including Tyrese Proctor, who had five assists and swished a trio of three-pointers en route to 13 points.

“When [Filipowski] got the ball inside, [Miami] was watching the ball too much, so we just moved off the ball and that’s how I got my threes,” Proctor said. “Just confidence and just making that extra pass.”

Miami (25-7) was powered by a valiant effort from ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong, who poured in 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Jordan Miller added 17 points, six rebounds and three assists, Nijel Pack notched 11 points, and Wooga Poplar and Bensley Joseph scored 10 apiece.

Omier — who has played in all of UM’s games this season, starting all but one — went down at 18:54 mark. It appeared that the transfer from Arkansas State landed on the foot of Duke’s Dereck Lively as he tried to secure a rebound following a missed free throw. Omier held his right leg and pounded the floor in agony. He was helped off the court and taken to the bench, and about 90 seconds later was helped to the locker room by UM staffers.

The team later announced on its Twitter account that Omier didn’t break any bones, but that he would be held out for the game. The 6-7 Omier averages 14.1 points and 10 boards per game and is consistently a reliable inside defender for the Hurricanes.

Larranaga said Omier “sprained” his right ankle and is “day-to-day.” Anthony Walker entered the game for Omier and had six points and four rebounds in 24 minutes.

“One thing coach always stresses to us is to make sure everyone’s ready to step up, no matter what happens,” Walker said. “I’m a competitor, so I just play as hard as I can to help the team win. [Duke] played very well in the paint. Obviously, their size is a little bit of an issue.”

Despite Omier’s absence, Miami held a two-point lead over Duke midway through the first half, enjoyed a 9-0 run during one stretch, and trailed at halftime by just five points. The Blue Devils shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the first half, but the Canes forced them into eight turnovers — matching the total Duke had for the game in its quarterfinal win over Pitt.

The Hurricanes kept up with the Blue Devils for much of the second half, never allowing them to pull ahead by more than eight points. UM cut Duke’s lead to a single point with about seven minutes left to play when Miller connected on a contested layup, but he failed to sink the free throw that would’ve tied the score for the first time in the second half.

From there, Duke closed the game on a 19-13 run.

With Omier inactive for nearly all of the contest, Duke outscored Miami in the paint 34-28 and won the battle on the glass 36-24. UM’s rebounding total was the second-worst it has had in a game all season — the only lower total was 16 in a neutral site loss to Maryland on Nov. 20.

The Blue Devils were also sharp from behind the arc, making 8 of 16 attempts for a 50 percent clip, the best three-point percentage UM has allowed to an opponent all season.

“I’d say they shot really good threes and made them,” Larranaga said. “Because of our size, or lack of it, we’re trying to take care of the paint and keep those big guys out of there. Very difficult for us to do both all the time. We did it well enough to stay in the game, but basically just not quite good enough to win the game.”

The loss marks the second straight season that Miami has been eliminated by Duke in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. The Hurricanes are 0-4 all-time against the Blue Devils on neutral courts.

While Duke will move on to the ACC championship — where it will face either Virginia or Clemson — Miami returns home to await its NCAA Tournament seeding.

This story was originally published March 10, 2023 at 9:29 PM.