No. 10/13 Canes Travel to No. 12/12 Minnesota in Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Nov. 29, 2017 | 9:15 p.m.
Williams Arena | Minneapolis, Minn.
No. 10/13 Miami (5-0) at No. 12/12 Minnesota (7-0)
Roster | Coaches | Schedule | Game Notes
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The No. 10/13 Miami men’s basketball team plays its first true road game of the season Wednesday evening when it travels to No. 12 Minnesota in the 2017 edition of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Game time is slated for 9:15 p.m. ET at venerable Williams Arena in Minneapolis as the Hurricanes make their first visit to the state of Minnesota.
ESPN2 has the live television broadcast, while WQAM 560-AM broadcasts the game locally. The telecast also will be streamed through the WatchESPN app.
Ranked No. 10 nationally in the Associated Press Poll and No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, Miami (5-0) is 5-5 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, including 4-2 under Jim Larrañaga with three straight victories. UM has 1-4 road mark and 4-1 home record in the event.
The ACC owns an 11-5-2 edge in the previous 18 events and a 109-88 record overall. Ten of the 18 challenges have been decided by a single game.
Miami is averaging 79.8 points per game while yielding just 54 per game. The Hurricanes rank second in the ACC and third nationally in scoring defense. UM also is limiting its opponents to 34.8 percent shooting, which is second in the ACC and eighth in Division I, and 24.5 percent shooting from 3-point range, which tops in the ACC and ranks 11th nationally.
The Hurricanes’ balanced attack on offense features eight players who average at least 6.8 points per game. Dewan Huell leads UM in scoring at 13.4 points per game, while Ja’Quan Newton is averaging 11.6. Bruce Brown Jr. is averaging 9.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He leads all ACC guards in rebounding this year.
Minnesota (7-0) won the Barclays Center Classic on Saturday, topping then-No. 25 Alabama, 89-84, in the championship game. Jordan Murphy has been a double-double machine, averaging 22 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He leads four Gophers in double figures in scoring, including Nate Mason (13.7), Amir Coffey (12.4) and Reggie Lynch (11.3). Minnesota is averaging 90.7 points per game and is 4-0 on its home court this season.
Miami and Minnesota have met just twice previously, with the schools splitting the games, each of which came in the last eight years in Coral Gables. The Hurricanes took the first game, 63-58, on Dec. 2, 2009, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, while the Gophers prevailed, 78-60, on March 19, 2012, in the second round of the NIT.
Miami takes on Princeton Saturday (Dec. 2) in an 8 p.m. neutral-site contest at the Hoophall Miami Invitational at AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami.
To keep up with the University of Miami men’s basketball team on social media, follow @CanesHoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
