Miami vs. Princeton: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Miami Hurricanes have jumped into the top ten in the polls for the first time this season. They’ll look to keep it that way against the defending Ivy League champions Princeton.

TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 2, 8:00 p.m. ET. ESPNU

Arena: American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida

While much of the attention has been focused on the very top of the ACC (Duke, North Carolina, and Notre Dame), the Miami Hurricanes (6-0) have flown under the radar to start out this week. That stopped when they traveled to Minnesota for a top-15 matchup. Jim Larranaga and his team made a statement with a big 86-81 win over the Gophers led by Dewan Huell, who had with 23 points on 10/16 from the field. Bruce Brown had 16 and point guard Ja’Quan Newton had 12 points and nine assists.

Where Miami has played best is on the defensive end, where they’re seventh in the nation in scoring defense at 58.5 ppg allowed. Huell has been the defensive anchor of the team down low but more importantly has exploded on offense, scoring nearly ten more points than a year ago to a 15.0 ppg average. Brown and Newton have performed as expected, and freshmen Chris Lykes and Lonnie Walker have contributed for a combined 14.1 ppg.

The perimeter for the Hurricanes will be tested by the Princeton Tigers (2-4), whose offensive production comes completely from the guards. Devin Cannady, Myles Stephens, and Amir Bell make up over 60% of the offense for the Tigers, with Cannady (20.0 ppg) being the leader.

In their previous game, an 85-76 loss to Lehigh, the trio combined for 54 out of 76 points. Last season, Princeton overwhelmed their opponents in the Ivy to an undefeated season thanks in part to the depth they had, particularly in the frontcourt. This season there isn’t depth, which explains the early losses to start out the season.

Next: Arizona-UNLV by the position

The battles on the perimeter will be fun to watch, but Princeton has no answer for Huell, who is riding high in momentum. The Tigers should still compete in the Ivy League this season, but they lack the firepower to compete for 40 minutes with power conference opponents. No matter what Cannady does, it’s not gonna be enough.

Prediction: Miami 83 – Princeton 59