Miami to Face Minnesota in B1G-ACC Challenge

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball team will face the University of Minnesota as part of the 19th annual Big Ten-ACC Challenge, a 14-team event to be played on campus sites in late November.

The event – in which each conference hosts seven games – matches all 14 Big Ten teams against all but one ACC member. Network assignments and tip times will be announced at a later date.

The Hurricanes are 1-1 against Minnesota, including an 0-1 record under the guidance of Coach Jim Larrañaga. This will be the first matchup between the two squads at Williams Arena. Miami last defeated the Golden Gophers on Dec. 2, 2009, when Miami earned its first victory in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, 73-68.

Riding a three game winning-streak, Miami is 5-5 overall in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, with a 1-4 mark on the road and a 4-1 record at home. The Canes have defeated a pair of ranked teams during Larrañaga’s tenure, downing No. 13 Michigan State, 67-59, in 2012 and No. 24 Illinois, 70-61, in 2013.

Miami in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge 
2005 (ACC won 6-5): Michigan d. Miami, 74-53
2006 (ACC 8-3): Northwestern d. Miami, 61-59
2007 (ACC 8-3): DNP
2008 (ACC 6-5): Ohio State d. #21 Miami, 73-68
2009 (Big Ten 6-5): Miami d. Minnesota, 63-58
2010 (Big Ten 6-5): DNP
2011 (Big Ten 8-4): Purdue d. Miami, 76-65
2012 (Tied 6-6): Miami d. #13 Michigan State, 67-59
2013 (Tied 6-6): Nebraska d. Miami, 60-49
2014 (Big Ten 8-6): #15 Miami d. #24 Illinois, 70-61
2015 (Big Ten 8-6): #21 Miami d. Nebraska, 77-72
2016 (ACC 9-5): Miami d. Rutgers, 73-61

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the event, matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioner’s Cup. All games will also be available to stream via the ESPN app.

Seven teams are ranked in Myron Metcalf’s ESPN.com way-too-early preseason top 25 poll: No. 3 Michigan State, No. 5 Duke, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 10 Louisville, No. 12 Miami, No. 20 Northwestern and No. 21 Notre Dame.

Team highlights:

• Fifteen teams competed in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship: NCAA champion North Carolina; Sweet 16 teams Michigan, Purdue, Wisconsin, as well as early-round participants Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
• The Challenge field has eight players ranked in the top 25 of 2017 ESPN Recruiting Nation 100, including four of the top 10: No. 4 Wendell Carter (Duke), No. 5 Trevon Duval (Duke), No. 7 Gary Trent (Duke), No. 8 Jaren Jackson (Michigan State), No. 12 Lonnie Walker (Miami-Fla.), No. 13 Brian Bowen (Louisville), No. 20 Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), No. 25 M.J. Walker (Florida State)
• Duke boasts the No. 2 incoming class, followed by No. 6 Louisville, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 Miami and No. 15 Michigan in the top-15 of the 2017 ESPN Recruiting Nation Class Rankings, with a total of 10 programs in the top 40

2017 Big Ten-ACC Challenge Schedule 
Dates, Networks & times will be announced at a later date

• No. 20 Northwestern at Georgia Tech
• No. 5 Duke at Indiana
• No. 21 Notre Dame at No. 3 Michigan State
• No. 12 Miami at Minnesota
• Penn State at NC State
• Boston College at Nebraska
• Michigan at No. 7 North Carolina
• Clemson at Ohio State
• No. 10 Louisville at Purdue
• Florida State at Rutgers
• Maryland at Syracuse
• Wisconsin at Virginia
• Iowa at Virginia Tech
• Illinois at Wake Forest

The ACC recaptured the Commissioner’s Cup in 2016, winning nine of the 14 matchups last season. The ACC won the first 10 Challenges (1999-2008), while the Big Ten won five of the next seven (2009-2015), as the confrences split six Challenge games each in 2012 and 2013. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner’s Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year. The ACC holds the 11-5-2 winning record in the previous 18 years.