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Minnesota Gophers basketball fans have been eagerly awaiting the match ups of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Rumors had been flying all around that either Duke or Louisville may be headed to Minneapolis. Now, it appears that won’t be the case. But, it does appear the Gophers will host a potential Top 25 match up with the Miami Hurricanes.
Here’s an intriguing Big Ten-ACC Matchup: Miami at Minnesota, per source. Two likely preseason Top 25 teams. Love this one.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 8, 2017
*** EDIT** The Big Ten has now confirmed the match ups
Matchups for the 19th annual #B1GACC Challenge have been announced. #B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/okOepagYa8
— Big Ten Men's Hoops (@B1GMBBall) June 8, 2017
Miami finished the 2017-17 season with a 21-12 record, and finished1 0-8 in the ACC, good enough for a tie for 7th place. They were a #8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round to Michigan State. Miami will lose their leading scorer in Davon Reed who averaged 14.9 points per game, but will return senior guard Ja’Quan Newton who averaged 13.5 points per game and 3.4 assists per game. Sophomore shooting guard Bruce Brown also returns after averaging 11.8 points per game a season ago.
The game with the Hurricanes is now added to the tough non-conference schedule the Gophers will face. Already announced are road games at Arkansas and Providence , and two neutral site games in Brooklyn, NY against UMass and Alabama .
Goodman also tweeted out that Duke will be playing at Indiana, Michigan will be playing at North Carolina, and Notre Dame will be playing at Michigan State. The official announcement of all of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge match-ups is expected to be announced Thursday afternoon.