Hurricanes to Face NCAA Tournament Participant Winthrop in MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

June 28, 2007

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – For the 14th-consecutive year, the University of Miami men’s basketball team will participate in the Orange Bowl Committee’s annual double-header as the Hurricanes take on perennial NCAA Tournament participant Winthrop in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic held Dec. 29 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla.

This year’s MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic will also feature a match-up with Florida and Temple.

Game times have yet to be determined; however fans will be able to watch two games for as low as $10 dollars. Tickets can be purchased through the Orange Bowl Committee Ticket Office at (305) 341-4701 or by visiting www.orangebowl.org.

For more than a decade, the Orange Bowl Committee has delivered exciting college basketball action to South Florida. The Classic’s traditional anchor schools – Miami, Florida and Florida State – have taken on the nation’s most celebrated and successful programs, including: Louisville, North Carolina, Indiana, Georgia Tech, UNLV, Gonzaga, Michigan, Nebraska, UAB, Xavier, Charlotte, Ohio State, Temple, Tennessee, DePaul, and Providence.

The Hurricanes, led by head coach Frank Haith, have been associated with the Classic since its inception. During Haith’s tenure at Miami, the Hurricanes faced Louisville in the OB’s first-ever nationally-televised basketball game in 2005.

New Winthrop coach Randy Peele, an Eagle assistant coach for the past four years, was hired in April to replace Gregg Marshall. He takes over a program that has captured three-consecutive Big South Conference championships and made three trips to the NCAA tournament during his four years on the Eagle coaching staff. This will be the first time Winthrop has taken part in the OB Classic.