***University of Miami Release***
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference Champion University of Miami will host nine ACC games this season, including nationally televised matchups against Duke on ESPN2 and Syracuse on CBS, the league announced Thursday.
Mar 28, 2013; Washington, D.C., USA; The Miami Hurricanes mascot poses before the start of the semifinals against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the East regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
“There is no doubt in my mind that the ACC will be the strongest league in the nation this season and our conference schedule will be the most challenging in our program’s history,” said Coach Jim Larrañaga. “With Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame joining the ACC, we have added quality and depth to an already great basketball conference.”
Miami will also face North Carolina on ESPN2, and both Virginia Tech and Florida State on ESPNU, along with seven Regional Sports Network (RSN) and six ACC Network broadcasts.
“We will be playing seven of our 18 conference games against six previous national champions,” added Larrañaga. “Winning the ACC regular season and tournament championship will be far tougher than ever before for all 15 teams. We are excited to get the season started.”
The Canes, who played in the 2013 NCAA Sweet 16, will face six teams (eight games) that played in the NCAA Championship a year ago, and three teams (four games) that made an NIT appearance.
After opening the ACC portion of the schedule Dec. 8 against Virginia Tech, Miami hits the road for matchups against ACC newcomer Syracuse (Jan. 4) and North Carolina (Jan. 8). Syracuse, who played in the 2013 Final Four, ended the 2012-13 campaign No. 3 in the country and North Carolina made an appearance in the NCAA’s Third Round after finishing third in the ACC a season ago.
Over a 10-day stretch, Miami will have home battles with Florida State (Jan. 15), Duke (Jan. 22) and Syracuse (Jan. 25), along with a Jan. 18 matchup at Georgia Tech. Duke made an Elite Eight appearance in 2013 before finishing No. 5 nationally while Florida State ended sixth in the league.
Following the Jan. 29 game at Maryland, UM hosts Pittsburgh (Feb. 5) and NC State (Feb. 8) at the BankUnited Center. Pitt, an NCAA tournament team, was fourth in the final season of the BIG EAST Conference as NC State made an NCAA tournament appearance.
Five of Miami’s final eight games are on the road, beginning with games at Florida State (Feb. 10) and Virginia Tech (Feb. 15) before returning to Coral Gables for matchups against Notre Dame (Feb. 19) and Boston College (Feb. 22). Newcomers Pittsburgh and Notre Dame finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the BIG EAST a season ago and Boston College returns the ACC Freshman Player of the Year as well as all five starters.
The Canes hit the road for three-straight games at Virginia (Feb. 26), NC State (March 1) and Clemson (March 4) then wrap up the regular season in the BankUnited Center on March 8 against Wake Forest.
The 61st Annual ACC Tournament will be held March 12-16 at the Greensboro Coliseum in North Carolina.
All 135 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season league games and each of the 14 ACC Tournament games are slated to be televised on an ESPN network, the ACC Network, CBS Sports, or on one of the league’s 10 regional cable networks.
Of the 149 games, 83 will be aired nationally. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will televise 78 contests, including all 14 ACC Tournament games while CBS Sports will televise five contests. The ACC Network will carry 52 league matchups, including the ACC Tournament in its entirety, while the Regional Sports Network will air 28 games.
All conference games carried on an ESPN network will also be available on WatchESPN. Conference games carried on the ACC Network or a regional sports network will also be available on ESPN3.
The 2013-14 slate of conference games marks the inaugural ACC campaign for Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The ACC’s new membership further enhances a league that has historically been college basketball’s strongest.
The 15 schools that will comprise the ACC in 2013-14 have made 51 trips to the Final Four and have captured 13 NCAA National Championships. Current league members have won 22,151 games, including 532 in NCAA Tournament play and have had 681 NBA draft picks, including 221 first-round selections.
Additionally, three of the top five, four of the top 10 and five of the top 25 winningest programs in NCAA Division I basketball history currently reside in the ACC.
Three of the five active Division I coaches that have been selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame – Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim – are in the ACC. When Louisville’s Rick Pitino joins the league’s coaching ranks in 2014-15, the ACC will have four of the five active Naismith Hall of Fame coaches.
The 61st annual ACC Tournament on March 12-16 will continue to be televised on a variety of ESPN platforms and the ACC Network. The Championship will begin with three first-round games on Wednesday, followed by the second round, quarterfinals, semifinals and title contest in successive days.
http://www.hurricanesports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=28700&ATCLID=209224885