CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Miami coach Jim Larrañaga climbed the ladder, grabbed the last string of the net, pulled it off the rim and waved it in the air.
It took all 20 league games until the last second, but his Hurricanes could call themselves Atlantic Coast Conference champions.
Wooga Poplar hit a career-best six 3-pointers for 18 points, and No. 16 Miami beat No. 25 Pittsburgh 78-76 on Saturday night to clinch the ACC Tournament’s No. 1 seed.
“It was a good celebration, it’s great, but we’re not going to finish it,” Miami guard Jordan Miller said. “We have a lot planned ahead of us and this is a testament to our hard work so far.”
Miami (24-6, 15-5 ACC) shares the regular season title with Virginia, which won half of the crown with a 75-60 win over Louisville on Saturday.
“We won the marathon,” Larrañaga said midway through the evening on the field, the net resting on his shoulder. “ACC, it’s a marathon. We won it.”
The Cavaliers also cut down the nets in Charlottesville after the game — but they will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament behind the Hurricanes, who were picked fourth in the league’s preseason poll and beat Virginia among the teams. meeting.
It will be the sixth time the Cavaliers have finished with at least a share of the ACC title in Tony Bennett’s 14 seasons.
After back-to-back losses at Boston College and North Carolina, the Cavaliers closed out the regular season with home wins against Clemson and the Cardinals.
“I think the last two games have been a step in the right direction,” Bennett said.
This is Miami’s first No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament since 2013.
“The ACC Tournament should be our next goal,” Larrañaga said. “We have to focus on that.”
