Feast Week is over, and Thanksgiving leftovers should have energized the Consumer Nation for the official Most Wonderful Time of the Year.
But when you need a break from the shopping malls or a respite from scouring the Internet for cyber deals, tune in to the 13th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
In 2011, the Big Ten will look to pick up its third consecutive victory in this interconference duel, after a decade of futility. When the challenge started in 1999, the ACC simply controlled the entire thing, winning the first 10 challenges. However, the Big Ten is starting to turn the tide, winning six games to five in the past two challenges.
However, there’s no guarantee either conference will win this year. With the addition of Nebraska to the Big Ten, we have an even 12 teams in both conferences. Considering seven of the first 12 challenges were decided by one game, the addition of another game makes ties in the challenge almost an inevitability.
But not this year. I might be an ACC guy by nature as a UNC alum, but I’m going with the Big Ten to win its third consecutive ACC/Big Ten Challenge, by a count of 7-5. Here’s the schedule for the week (all times EST).
- Michigan at Virginia: Tuesday, 7 pm
- Northwestern at Georgia Tech: Tuesday, 7:15 pm
- Illinois at Maryland: Tuesday, 7:30 pm
- Miami at Purdue: Tuesday, 9 pm
- Clemson at Iowa: Tuesday, 9:15 pm
- Duke at Ohio State: Tuesday, 9:30 pm
- Indiana at North Carolina State: Wednesday, 7:15 pm
- Penn State at Boston College: Wednesday, 7:15 pm
- Florida State at Michigan State: Wednesday, 7:30 pm
- Virginia Tech at Minnesota: Wednesday, 9:15 pm
- Wake Forest at Nebraska: Wednesday, 9:15 pm
- Wisconsin at North Carolina: Wednesday, 9:30 pm
Challenge highlights:
Quick! Besides Nebraska, which is new to the challenge, name the only team that has won every ACC/Big Ten Challenge game it has played? Duke? Michigan State? Wrong. Boston College. The Eagles will put their 5-0 record on the line against Penn State when the Nittany Lions come to Chestnut Hill Wednesday night.
Northwestern plays its first true road game at Georgia Tech, a game in which the Wildcats will be favored. The Wildcats are one of a small handful of teams that have never made it to the NCAA Tournament, and this is the type of game that they must win.
Duke and Ohio State are no strangers to the NCAA Tournament, and this game will be a top-notch quality win for the victor. Duke is the only team from either conference to have double figure wins (11-1), while the Buckeyes are 5-5 in the challenge. Another point of intrigue is the coaching match up. At age 44 and possessor of 298 career wins, Thad Matta is one of the few coaches alive who has any prayer of coming close to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who recently passed Bob Knight for the most Division I wins in NCAA coaching history.
It’s hard to tell how good Indiana is after rolling to a 6-0 start against mostly cream puff opponents. The Hoosiers will start getting into the beef of their schedule when they come to Raleigh to play NC State. The Wolfpack are 4-1 at home in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and this game will be a test of the development of this talented team.
North Carolina is still smarting from its loss in Sin City to UNLV. The Tar Heels return home to face one of the top teams in the Big Ten when Wisconsin storms the Dean Dome. On paper, the Badgers look like they could cause trouble for the Tar Heels as they can shoot very well from the perimeter, and they have a sure-handed point guard in Jordan Taylor who can slice and dice his way through North Carolina’s defense to set up his teammates.
Prediction time:
Virginia wins a hard-fought, low-scoring battle at home against Michigan.
Northwestern takes care of business in Atlanta, beating Georgia Tech by at least six points.
Illinois hands Maryland its first home loss in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in a game that gets ugly in the second half.
Purdue gets past Miami in a game that features several big runs and shaky defense. In the end, Miami falls short as Purdue rebuilds a late lead.
Clemson sneaks past Iowa in a game that is harder for the Tigers than expected, coming down to clutch free throws.
Ohio State wins the marquee game of Tuesday night by beating up the Blue Devils and then shooting them out of the building for a somewhat surprising double-digit win.
NC State protects the lair against a competitive Indiana team that remains close until the final minute.
Penn State joins Illinois as the only Big Ten teams with three roads wins in the challenge by beating Boston College.
Michigan State wins a very physical game that features prolonged scoring droughts, especially by Florida State.
Virginia Tech migrates north to beat Minnesota and Tubby Smith, as Dorenzo Hudson and Erick Green have big games from the perimeter.
Nebraska starts to like this whole challenge thing with an easy win against Wake Forest.
North Carolina gets past Wisconsin in a game that keeps the fans in blue nervous until the final minutes as the Tar Heels show some grit in getting past a Wisconsin team that controls the pace.
