GREENSBORO, N.C. — Miami lost starting forward Norchad Omier to an ankle injury in the team’s 85-78 loss to No. 21 Duke in their Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinal on Friday.
Omeier suffered the injury 66 seconds into the game when he rebounded a missed free throw. He landed on the foot of Duke’s Derek Lively II and twisted his right ankle, sending him falling to the court and hitting the hardwood in pain.
Omeier was helped to the bench, then needed help to his feet before being helped into the tunnel leading to the locker room.
Minutes later, Miami announced that Omier would miss the rest of the game. The school later tweeted Omier had no broken bones.
The 6-foot-7 third-year sophomore averaged 14 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds. He was an All-ACC second-team selection by The Associated Press earlier this week.
Duke won its eighth straight game and earned its 17th trip to the title game in the last 25 tournaments.
“Whether Norchard plays or not, we’re all recruited here, we’re all good enough players,” Miami guard Jordan Miller said. “So with that, there are no excuses. We just have to find a way.”
The Hurricanes, who share the ACC regular-season title with No. 13 Virginia, have lost just once since late January, blowing a 25-point lead on Feb. 25 to Florida State. The Hurricanes arrive in Greensboro as the tournament’s No. 1 seed for just the second time in program history, the other coming a decade ago when Miami ended a three-day run at the program’s only ACC tournament championship.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.