Miami Hurricanes Play Hawaii in Diamond Head Classic Opener
The Miami Hurricanes will face host Hawaii in the opener of the Diamond Head Classic in December. The Hurricanes are one of seven teams traveling to Honolulu to play in the Rainbow Warriors annual tournament.
The other first round matchups will be Davidson vs. New Mexico State, Middle Tennessee vs. Princeton and USC vs. Akron. USC will likely be the Miami Hurricanes co-favorite in the tournament.
Miami and USC have received a lot of attention in the early preseason top 25 rankings for the 2017-18 season. Five of the eight teams in the Diamond Head Classic advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Akron barely missed the NCAA tournament after dominating the Mid-American Conference last season. The Zips were the number one seed in the conference tournament but lost to sixth seeded Kent State.
USC and Middle Tennessee State pulled off two of the biggest first round upsets in last season’s NCAA Tournament. The 11th seeded Trojans upset sixth seed Southern Methodist in the first round to matchup with Baylor in the second round.
Middle Tennessee State pulled off a big upset for the second straight season. After upsetting second seed Michigan State in the first round in 2015 as a 15 seed, the Blue Raiders upset fifth seeded Minnesota as a 12 seed this past season.
Both USC and Middle Tennessee State lost in the second round. Princeton and New Mexico State were the other 2017 NCAA Tournament team that will play in Hawaii.
The Aggies lost to USC’s second round opponent Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Princeton was a 12 seed and narrowly lost 60-58 to Notre Dame in the first round.
The Miami Hurricanes return three starters and bring in a top 15 recruiting class this fall. Guard Lonnie Walker is the star of the Hurricanes 2017 class. He is ranked in the top 15 of the 2017 class. Walker will be coming off of torn meniscus in his knee he suffered earlier this month.
There has been no clear timetable on when he will return. Miami does expect him back for the team’s season opener on November 10 against Gardner-Webb.
Live Feed
Busting Brackets
Miami’s 2017-18 team will be built around Walker and returning guards Bruce Brown and Ja’Quan Newton. Brown has been receiving All-American mention in the offseason.
The Miami Hurricanes and USC will be the overwhelming favorites to get to the championship game. USC returns likely future first round draft picks Bennie Boatwright and Chimezie Metu.
Boatwright averaged 15.1 points per game and shot 36.4 percent from three-point range last season. The 6’11 Metu averaged 14.8 PPG, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocked shots.
The matchups were reported by FanRag’s Jon Rothstein. If Miami wins its opener they would face the New Mexico State-Davidson winner in the second round.
Hawaii got throttled in its opener in the Diamond Head Classic by Illinois State last season. The Redbirds sent the host to the consolation bracket with a 71-45 victory. Hawaii lost its second game to Utah 66-52.
The Rainbow Warriors finally salvaged a game in the seventh place game by defeating Southern Miss. Hawaii has never advanced to the championship game in the tournament’s eight years of existence.
USC is the only team in the field that is a past champion. The Trojans won the inaugural tournament in 2009.
Next: Is Lonnie Walker Injury Comparable to Duke’s Harry Giles?
San Diego State is the only team in Diamond Head Classic history to advance to two tournament championship games. The Aztecs lost to Arizona in the 2012 championship game. They defeated San Francisco for last season’s title.