Miami Unveils 2017 Non-Conference Slate
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team will host five non-conference games at the Watsco Center this fall, head coach Jim Larrañaga announced Thursday.
“I think we have a great non-conference schedule with several games and events that will have both us and our fans excited,” Larrañaga said. “The first being the ESPN exempt event in Hawaii, the Diamond Head Classic, where we are likely to face some of the best teams in the country on national television.”
After starting the campaign with an exhibition game against Newberry College on Nov. 1, the Hurricanes will open the regular season with the Gardner-Webb on Nov. 10. The Canes will then welcome the Navy to the Watsco Center on Nov. 12.
In the fourth consecutive home game, newly hired director of basketball operations Lamont Franklin and the Hurricanes will welcome his former squad, Florida A&M, to Coral Gables on Nov. 16.
“We have two games that we have scheduled for particular reasons with this group. First, we are going to be traveling to Reading, Pa., to play La Salle University out of Philadelphia, to bring Lonnie Walker IV, one of our outstanding incoming freshmen, back to his hometown,” Larrañaga said. “We will also be playing in Washington, D.C., against George Washington University. That is the hometown of another outstanding [incoming] freshman, Chris Lykes.”
After facing FAMU, Miami will battle the Explorers on a neutral court setting in Reading, Pa., on Nov. 22. Walker IV, who is expected to arrive on the UM campus in time for the Summer B session of classes, will be making a return to his hometown where he recently led Reading High School to its first PIAA Class 6A championship.
The Hurricanes will once again compete at a neutral site when they return to South Florida on Dec. 2, as they face Princeton in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s third annual Hoophall Miami Invitational, a premier college basketball showcase held at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Miami will later conclude its non-conference home slate against Boston University on Dec. 5, before traveling to the nation’s capital on Dec. 16. In the only true road game scheduled during non-conference play, the Canes will face the Colonials.
The Hurricanes are also set to join seven other schools in the 2017 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, which will be played Dec. 22, 23, and 25, 2017 at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. Click HERE for more information.
Season tickets for the 2017-18 men’s basketball season will go on sale Friday, June 2 at 9 a.m. After back-to-back season ticket sellouts in 2015-16 and 2016-17, the demand for season tickets is at an all-time high.
“We have sold out our season tickets for the last two season and we anticipate that this will be the third year in a row that you will not be able to buy a ticket, once our season begins in November,” Larrañaga said. “With the preseason polls picking us in the top 25, with one poll picking us top-5 in the country, and with our recruiting class being selected the sixth best recruiting class in the country by ESPN, there is a lot of genuine excitement for our basketball program. It might be at an all-time high to start the season. So, we encourage all of our season ticket holders to be sure they sign up now, don’t wait, because there won’t be any available soon.”
A limited amount of season tickets will be available to purchase beginning at only $150. Call 1-800-GO-CANES (Option No. 1) and speak to a seating specialist today.
Nov. 1 – Newberry College (Exhibition)
Nov. 10 – Gardner-Webb
Nov. 12 – Navy
Nov. 16 – Florida A&M
Nov. 22 – vs. La Salle (Reading, Pa.)
Nov. 25 – North Florida
Dec. 2 – vs. Princeton ^
Dec. 5 – Boston University
Dec. 16 – at George Washington
Dec. 22, 23, 25 – Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic
^ Hoophall Miami Invitational, American Airlines Arena, Miami
