University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Welcome Miami for B1G/ACC Challenge
6/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After one of the most successful seasons in school history, the Minnesota men's basketball team added a premier home game to its 2017-18 schedule as the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge pairings were announced Thursday.
The Gophers will host the University of Miami in this year's edition of the Challenge, as Minnesota and the Hurricanes will square off at Williams Arena in November.
Game date, time and television broadcast information, along with ticket information, will be announced at a later date. Fans can secure their spot in the Barn for the game by purchasing season tickets here.
"I have the utmost respect for Coach Larrañaga and his staff for the job they do every year at the University of Miami," said Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. "This will be a terrific opportunity to play a top-25 team in our building in the non-conference season. We look forward to the game and can't wait to play in front of our terrific fans."
November's meeting will be the third between the two schools, having split the prior two. Minnesota dropped a 63-58 decision in Coral Gables on Dec. 2, 2009 as part of the Challenge, while the Gophers topped the Hurricanes, 78-60, in the 2012 NIT Second Round, also on Miami's home court.
Miami is coming off its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, winning 21 games and finishing tied for seventh in the ACC a year ago. The Hurricanes will welcome back three starters and seven returners from last year's squad, which fell in the NCAA First Round to Big Ten foe Michigan State.
The Gophers have found success in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge under Pitino, winning three out of four times in his tenure. Last season, Minnesota dropped a 75-67 decision at Florida State snapping a five-game winning streak in the challenge, a game which was the Gophers' only non-conference loss of the regular season. Overall, the Gophers are 9-9 all-time since the annual event began in 1999.
Minnesota's full non-conference schedule will be announced at a later date. The Gophers will return four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad which won 24 games, finished fourth in the Big Ten standings and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The full list of Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchups is listed below.
2017Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule (dates, networks & times will be announced at a later date)
- Northwestern at Georgia Tech
- Duke at Indiana
- Notre Dame at Michigan State
- Miami at Minnesota
- Penn State at NC State
- Boston College at Nebraska
- Michigan at North Carolina
- Clemson at Ohio State
- Louisville at Purdue
- Florida State atRutgers
- Maryland at Syracuse
- Wisconsin at Virginia
- Iowa at Virginia Tech
- Illinois at Wake Forest
