Bad timing: UM basketball, football at same time

Talk about an unfortunate scheduling decision: The 10th-ranked University of Miami men’s basketball team, fresh off a big road win at No. 12 Minnesota, plays Princeton on Saturday in the Hoophall Miami Invitational and tipoff is at 8 p.m., exactly when the Hurricanes football team plays top-ranked Clemson for the ACC Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The UM-Princeton game is part of a double-header at AmericanAirlines Arena, and ESPN gave the 5:30 p.m. time slot to the game between No. 2 Kansas and Syracuse. The UM game is on ESPNU.

Realizing that getting UM fans to leave their TV sets Saturday night will be near-impossible, the school will be hosting an ACC Championship football game watch party at the arena’s Xfinity East Plaza during the basketball game.

The Canes are 6-0 heading into the game, and Princeton is 2-4. Miami’s defense is among the best in the nation so far this season, and the team has proven to have size, speed and balance. Dewan Huell, a 6-11 sophomore, scored a career-high 23 points in 27 minutes against Minnesota. Chris Lykes, an electric 5-7 freshman, picks up the pace of the game every time he touches the ball. Bruce Brown continues to impress, DJ Vasiljevic is a threat from outside, and Ja’Quan Newton had nine assists and one turnover against the Gophers.

Tickets for the double-header start at $25 and are available through TicketMaster and the arena box office.

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Bad timing: UM basketball, football at same time."