Miami basketball to host Purdue in ACC-Big 10 Challenge

According to a report from 247Sports.Com, the Miami basketball team will host Purdue in the Men’s ACC-Big 10 Challenge next month.

The Miami Basketball team will host Purdue in the Men’s ACC-Big 10 Challenge next month according to 247Sports.Com. Miami finished 15-16 last season and would have missed the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year after three straight appearances if it had been played.

Purdue finished 16-15 in 2019-20, failed to win 20 games and would have missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 if it had not been canceled. Miami has lost all three meetings with Purdue. The closest margin was a 73-63 Purdue victory in 1998. The average margin of defeat against Purdue is 16.3 PPG.

Miami won at Illinois in the 2019 ACC-Big 10 Challenge. With the victory, the Hurricanes improved to 7-6 all-time in the series between two of the top conferences in college basketball. Miami is 6-3 in the challenge under head coach Jim Larranaga. Purdue defeated Miami 76-65 when the teams last played in the 2011 Challenge.

The 2011 game was the last time Miami and Purdue played. Miami and Purdue played a home-and-home in 1998 and 1999. The Boilermakers won by 28 in West Lafayette and by 10 in Miami the following season. Purdue lost 7’3 center Matt Haarms who transferred to BYU but returns most of their roster from 2019-20.

Miami returns most of its roster from last season led by guards Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty. Lykes led Miami in scoring last season at 15.4 points per game and McGusty was third at 12.5 PPG. Sophomore guard Harlond Beverly and Issiah Wong provide Miami with an extremely deep backcourt.

Jim Larranaga is entering his 10th season at Miami with a record of 190-113. Larranaga is entering his 35th season as a head coach with a 632-422 record overall. Bowling Green and George Mason were the previous stops for Larranaga before Miami. Larranaga led George Mason on a memorable run to the 2006 Final Four.