No. 14 Virginia, Miami Set for ACC Second-Place Showdown

The Cavaliers and Hurricanes trail only No. 3 Duke in the ACC standings.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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Second place in the Atlantic Coast Conference will be on the line Saturday afternoon when Miami visits No. 14 Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. The Cavaliers (23-3, 11-2 ACC) and the Hurricanes (21-5, 10-3) trail only No. 3 Duke in the league standings. Virginia is 12-1 at home and is riding a seven-game winning streak, while Miami is 6-1 on the road and riding a four-game winning streak.

Why it matters

This matchup between two of the top teams in the ACC will have major implications for the conference standings and NCAA Tournament seeding. Both Virginia and Miami are looking to solidify their positions as potential top-four seeds in the Big Dance.

The details

Virginia cruised to a 94-68 win over Georgia Tech on Wednesday, led by 22 points from Thijs De Ridder and 17 from Malik Thomas. The Cavaliers made 14 3-pointers and outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 51-34. Miami held off Virginia Tech 68-67 on Tuesday, with Tre Donaldson scoring the Hurricanes' final 15 points, including the game-tying 3-pointer and decisive free throw in the closing seconds.

  • The game will be played on Saturday afternoon.
  • Virginia is on a seven-game winning streak.
  • Miami is on a four-game winning streak.

The players

Thijs De Ridder

Leads Virginia in scoring with 15.9 points per game and rebounds with 6.5 per game.

Malik Thomas

Scored 17 points for Virginia in their blowout win over Georgia Tech.

Tre Donaldson

Miami's leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points per game, and scored the Hurricanes' final 15 points in their one-point win over Virginia Tech.

Devin Tillis

Virginia forward who is questionable for the game after leaving Wednesday's win with an apparent right knee injury.

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What they’re saying

“That start was something we've been looking for, for a couple games. Obviously, you don't know if it's going to be to that degree, but our intensity, our energy, the way we shared the ball, the pace we played with, and defensively we were dictating what they were doing offensively.”

— Dallin Hall, Virginia guard (statenews.net)

“I was telling the guys -- he was unconscious. ... I'm blessed to be able to call him my point guard night in and night out. He's always in the gym, first one there, last one out, extra reps all the time. So him making that shot -- it's Tre.”

— Jai Lucas, Miami coach (statenews.net)

“We're happy, but we're not satisfied. We have a chip on our shoulder. We're not going to talk about it. Just continue to push, get better as a team and prove everybody wrong and go hunting and get what we deserve.”

— Tre Donaldson (statenews.net)

What’s next

The winner of this game will take a big step towards securing a top-four seed in the ACC Tournament and potentially a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The takeaway

This matchup between two of the top teams in the ACC promises to be an exciting and hard-fought game, with both Virginia and Miami looking to solidify their positions in the conference standings and improve their NCAA Tournament resumes.