Miami basketball can stay hot in 2021 ACC-Big 10 Challenge versus Penn State

The Miami basketball team will have a chance to stay hot in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge when they travel to Penn State on November 30. Miami has won six of its last seven games in the competition. Penn State also enters the 2021 ACC-Big 100= challenge with six wins in their last seven appearances.

Miami won 58-54 over Purdue last year at the Watsco Center. An unranked Penn State team upset then number 15 Virginia Tech 75-55 in Blacksburg. Miami finished 10-17 in 2020-21 for its third straight losing season. The Nittany Lions were 11-14 which was its third losing season in the last five years.

Miami last made the NCAA Tournament in 2018. Penn State has not played in an NCAA Tournament since 2011. The Nittany Lions likely would have made the canceled 2020 NCAA Tournament according to Andy Katz of NCAA.Com. Miami will try to recover from injuries, suspensions and transfers in recent years.

Miami lost five players to transfer from its 2020-21 team. The Hurricanes add transfers, Jordan Miller, from George Mason and Charlie Moore from DePaul. Moore will be playing with his fourth program. Moore began his career with one season at California before two seasons with Kansas and DePaul each.

Miami at Penn State will be a part of six games on the third and final day of the 2021 ACC-Big 10 Challenge. Notre Dame at Illinois and Iowa at Virginia will tip off the Challenge two days prior to Miami and Penn State on November 29. Miami is 8-6 all-time in the ACC-Big 10 Challange and 7-3 under head coach Jim Larranaga.

Larranaga and the Miami basketball team will reunite with a familiar face in State College. Longtime Miami assistant coach Adam Fisher left for Penn State during the offseason. Penn State has won all four games against Miami. The meetings all occurred between 1986-1995 with two on each home court.