NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Virginia falls, Marquette and Gonzaga rise in top 25 power rankings

21. Miami Hurricanes – 23-6 (14-5 ACC)

For about the first 70 minutes of games, things were going perfectly for Miami last week. Virginia had lost to Boston College, giving them a chance to be in first place in the ACC standings. They had to go on the road and take on a tough challenge in Virginia Tech, who recently knocked off Pittsburgh.

But a balanced effort offensively allowed the Hurricanes to get past them for the 76-70 victory. Norchad Omier led the team with 17 points and 14 rebounds, one of five in double figures on the night. Nijel Pack had 16, while Bensley Joseph had 10 points off the bench. Pack ended up missing the next game against Florida State on Saturday but apparently, it didn’t matter, as Miami was up by as many as 25 points after scoring 54 in the first half.

But the Seminoles refused to go away, scoring 54 of its own in the second half and staging the biggest comeback of ACC history in order to get the 85-84 upset over Miami. It’s one of the biggest letdowns of the NCAA Basketball season for the Hurricanes, despite all five starters scoring in double figures. Jordan Miller had 21 points and seven rebounds, while Omier had another 15 points and eight boards.

Miami has just one game left in the regular season but it’s the biggest one possible, taking on first-place Pittsburgh. If they win that game, they clinch at least a share of the conference title and potentially a 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. They’ll be looking for revenge after the Panthers came from eight down in the final two minutes to beat them last time around.