Ohio State, Purdue, and Louisville Among the Winners in the ACC Big Ten Challenge

Every college basketball season since 1999, members of the ACC and Big Ten conferences meet in the ACC Big Ten Challenge and we are treated to some pretty good non conference matchups on the hardwoods.

The Challenge opened with a pair of games on December 2nd between unranked teams. Miami edged Illinois 81-79 while Minnesota beat Clemson 78-60.

On December 3rd, top ranked Louisville hosted #4 Michigan. The Wolverines went from being unranked all the way to #4 after beating Iowa State, then #6 North Carolina (another ACC team) and then #8 Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving. But the Cardinals showed why they’re ranked #1 by easily beating Michigan 58-43. The Wolverines shot just 26% from the floor.

Over in East Lansing, #11 Michigan State hosted #10 Duke. The Blue Devils were up 45-29 over the Spartans at halftime and prevailed 87-76. Michigan State was ranked #1 in the preseason polls, but fell to 5-3 with the loss. Indiana upset #17 Florida State 80-64 for the only Big Ten win over a Top 25 team for the day. Northwestern beat Boston College 82-64, Iowa topped Syracuse 68-54, and Pittsburgh beat Rutgers 71-60 in other games.

On December 4th, unranked Purdue blew out defending champion and #5 Virginia 69-40. The Cavaliers are known for their defense, but the Boilermakers are pretty good at that sort of thing, too; they are allowing just 56 points per game.

Third ranked Maryland beat Notre Dame 72-51 and #6 Ohio State beat #7 North Carolina 74-49 in Chapel Hill. The Terrapins and Buckeyes are positioning themselves as the teams to beat in the Big Ten. In other games, Georgia Tech beat Nebraska 73-56, Penn State beat Wake Forest 76-54, and North Carolina State closed it out with a 69-54 win over Wisconsin.

Since the ACC has one more team than the Big Ten, somebody had to sit this one out. This year, it was Virginia Tech’s turn. The Big Ten won this year’s edition of the Challenge 8-6, but the ACC has won more challenges and leads the series 12-6, with three ties.