Miami upset win over No. 11 North Carolina shows ACC's depth is real

The Miami Hurricanes demonstrated the ACC's depth on Tuesday. After some lean years, that's a welcome sight for the conference.

Miami (19-5, 8-3 in ACC) defeated the Associated Press No. 11 North Carolina Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4 in ACC), 75-66, in the team's biggest win of the season. The Hurricanes never trailed and were the better team in the interior, winning the points in the paint battle, 46-28.

Power forward Malik Reneau (16 points, 10 rebounds) and center Ernest Udeh Jr. (15 points, 10 rebounds) each had double-doubles. Defensively, Miami contained star North Carolina freshman power forward Caleb Wilson, who entered averaging 20.9 points on 62.2 percent shooting in conference play. Against the Canes, he had 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting.

Miami may have played itself off bubble with massive win over No. 11 North Carolina

The win is a significant resume-booster for Miami, which entered No. 37 in NET rankings and No. 41 in KenPom — two components that factor in the committee's bracket —and as one of the last four teams in the field according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's most recent update (Feb. 10).

The Hurricanes lacked a signature victory, with their best before Tuesday — in terms of NET rankings — being an 81-77 road win over Wake Forest (h/t Bball.net).

With remaining regular-season games against the NC State Wolfpack (18-7, 9-3 in ACC), AP No. 15 Virginia Cavaliers (21-3, 10-2 in ACC), SMU Mustangs (17-7, 6-2 in ACC) and No. 24 Louisville Cardinals (18-6, 8-4 in ACC), Miami has opportunities to further pad its case for an at-large bid should it not claim the ACC Tournament title.

Tuesday's win is arguably as important to the ACC as it is to Miami. The conference has taken a backseat to the other power conferences in recent seasons, sending just four teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2025. Per Lunardi, the ACC is on pace to receive eight berths this season, which would be its most since 2019, when it earned nine.

The Hurricanes last made the field in 2023, reaching the first Final Four in program history. The year before, it made it to the Elite Eight under long-time coach Jim Larranaga, who retired in December 2025 amid a 7-24 season, Miami's worst all-time by win percentage (.226).

First-time head coach Jai Lucas, hired after three seasons at Duke as an assistant under Jon Scheyer, has done a remarkable job turning the team back in the right direction in short order.

Tuesday revealed just how far Miami, and its conference, have come.