ACC–Big Ten Challenge
Beginning in 1999, the ACC - Big Ten Challenge (or Big Ten - ACC Challenge - the named order changes each year) is an in-season NCAA college basketball series, matching up teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference. ESPN was a key part of the creation of the challenge, and holds the broadcast rights to all the games. Although some of the series have been close, the ACC has won every challenge thus far.
The ACC-Big Ten Challenge occurs early in the season, typically around late November/early December. The games are hosted by each of the schools. Nine games were played for each of the first 6 challenges, leaving two teams from the 11-team Big Ten Conference without an opponent. With the expansion of the ACC to 12 teams with the addition of Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech, the field was expanded to 11 games in 2005, meaning that one ACC team would not play.
ESPN, the ACC and the Big Ten announced in early 2005 that they were extending the challenge for an additional six years.[1]
Only one Big Ten team, Michigan State University, has managed a winning record in the challenge. Despite the ACC's decided advantage, both conferences have had significant success on the national stage. Since the inception of the Challenge, a total of 9 teams from these two conferences have gone on to play in the Final Four, with 2000 national champion Michigan State, 2001 national champion Duke, 2002 national champion Maryland, and 2005 national champion North Carolina among them.
Team records
Atlantic Coast Conference (9-0)
| Institution | Wins | Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Duke Blue Devils | 9 | 0 |
| Boston College Eagles | 2 | 0 |
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 7 | 1 |
| Clemson Tigers | 7 | 2 |
| Florida State Seminoles | 6 | 3 |
| Maryland Terrapins | 6 | 3 |
| Virginia Cavaliers | 5 | 3 |
| NC State Wolfpack | 5 | 4 |
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 4 | 5 |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | 4 | 5 |
| Virginia Tech Hokies | 1 | 2 |
| Miami Hurricanes | 0 | 2 |
| Overall | 56 | 30 |
Big Ten Conference (0-9)
| Institution | Wins | Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Michigan State Spartans | 5 | 3 |
| Michigan Wolverines | 3 | 4 |
| Indiana Hoosiers | 3 | 4 |
| Illinois Fighting Illini | 3 | 6 |
| Wisconsin Badgers | 3 | 6 |
| Minnesota Golden Gophers | 3 | 6 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 2 | 5 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 2 | 5 |
| Iowa Hawkeyes | 2 | 5 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 2 | 5 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 2 | 7 |
| Overall | 30 | 56 |
Results
1999
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | Wisconsin | WF 67-48 | Winston-Salem, NC | X | |
| Maryland | Iowa | UMD 83-65 | Baltimore, MD | X | |
| Duke | Illinois | Duke 72-69 | Chicago, IL | X | |
| Virginia | Minnesota | MINN 74-62 | Minneapolis, MN | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Michigan | MICH 80-77 | Atlanta, GA | X | |
| N.C. State | Purdue | NCSU 61-59 | West Lafayette, IN | X | |
| Clemson | Penn State | PSU 85-75 | State College, PA | X | |
| North Carolina | Michigan State | MSU 86-76 | Chapel Hill, NC | X | |
| Florida State | Northwestern | FSU 60-46 | Evanston, IL | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 5 | 4 |
Notes: Indiana and Ohio State did not play.
2000
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | Michigan | WF 71-60 | Ann Arbor, MI | X | |
| Duke | Illinois | Duke 78-77 | Greensboro, NC | X | |
| Clemson | Northwestern | CLEM 57-44 | Clemson, SC | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Iowa | Iowa 85-67 | Iowa City, IA | X | |
| North Carolina | Michigan State | MSU 77-64 | East Lansing, MI | X | |
| NC State | Penn State | NCSU 84-76 | Raleigh, NC | X | |
| Virginia | Purdue | UVA 98-79 | Charlottesville, VA | X | |
| Maryland | Wisconsin | WISC 78-75(OT) | Milwaukee, WI | X | |
| Florida State | Minnesota | MINN 79-71 | Tallahassee, FL | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 5 | 4 |
Notes: Indiana and Ohio State did not play.
2001
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | Minnesota | WF 85-79 | Winston-Salem, NC | X | |
| Duke | Iowa | Duke 80-62 | Chicago, IL | X | |
| NC State | Ohio State | OSU 64-50 | Columbus, OH | X | |
| Maryland | Illinois | UMD 76-63 | College Park, MD | X | |
| North Carolina | Indiana | IND 79-66 | Chapel Hill, NC | X | |
| Clemson | Penn State | CLEM 79-66 | State College, PA | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Wisconsin | GT 62-61 | Atlanta, GA | X | |
| Florida State | Northwestern | NW 57-50 | Evanston, IL | X | |
| Virginia | Michigan St. | Richmond, VA | |||
| RESULT | ACC | 5 | 3 |
Notes:
- Michigan and Purdue did not play.
- Michigan State vs. Virginia, at Richmond Coliseum, was cancelled during the game's second half due to unsafe court conditions. (Virginia led 31-28 after a 12-0 run to begin the second half)
2002
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | Iowa | FSU 80-67 | Tallahassee, FL | X | |
| Duke | Ohio State | Duke 91-76 | Greensboro, NC | X | |
| North Carolina | Illinois | ILL 92-65 | Champaign, IL | X | |
| Maryland | Indiana | IND 80-74(OT) | Indianapolis, IN | X | |
| Clemson | Penn State | CLEM 79-70 | Anderson, SC | X | |
| Wake Forest | Wisconsin | WF 90-80 | Madison, WI | X | |
| NC State | Northwestern | NCSU 74-49 | Raleigh, NC | X | |
| Virginia | Michigan State | MSU 82-75 | East Lansing, MI | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Minnesota | MINN 64-63 | Minneapolis, MN | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 5 | 4 |
Notes:
- Michigan and Purdue did not play.
- The Indiana/Maryland game was a rematch of the 2001-02 NCAA national title game in Indianapolis, IN.
2003
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | Northwestern | FSU 71-53 [2] | Tallahassee, FL | X | |
| Wake Forest | Indiana | WF 100-67 [3] | Winston-Salem, NC | X | |
| NC State | Michigan | MICH 68-61[4] | Ann Arbor, MI | X | |
| North Carolina | Illinois | UNC 88-81[5] | Greensboro, NC | X | |
| Maryland | Wisconsin | UMD 73-67[6] | College Park, MD | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Ohio State | GT 73-53[7] | Columbus, OH | X | |
| Clemson | Purdue | PUR 76-64[8] | West Lafayette, IN | X | |
| Duke | Michigan State | Duke 72-50[9] | East Lansing, MI | X | |
| Virginia | Minnesota | UVA 86-78[10] | Charlottesville, VA | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 7 | 2 |
Notes: Iowa, Penn State did not play.
2004
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC State | Purdue | NCST 60-53[11] | Raleigh, NC | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Michigan | GT 99-68[12] | Atlanta, GA | X | |
| Florida State | Minnesota | FSU 70-69[13] | Minneapolis, MN | X | |
| Duke | Michigan State | Duke 81-74[14] | Durham, NC | X | |
| Maryland | Wisconsin | WISC 69-64[15] | Madison, WI | X | |
| Wake Forest | Illinois | ILL 91-73[16] | Champaign, IL | X | |
| Clemson | Ohio State | CLEM 80-73[17] | Clemson, SC | X | |
| Virginia | Northwestern | UVA 48-44[18] | Evanston, IL | X | |
| North Carolina | Indiana | UNC 70-63[19] | Bloomington, IN | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 7 | 2 |
Notes: Penn State, Iowa, Miami, Virginia Tech did not play.
2005
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Tech | Ohio State | OSU 69-56[20] | Columbus, OH | X | |
| Wake Forest | Wisconsin | WF 91-88[21] | Winston-Salem, NC | X | |
| Florida State | Purdue | FSU 97-57[22] | Tallahassee, FL | X | |
| Clemson | Penn State | CLEM 96-88[23] | State College, PA | X | |
| North Carolina | Illinois | ILL 68-64[24] | Chapel Hill, NC | X | |
| Miami | Michigan | MICH 74-53[25] | Ann Arbor, MI | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Michigan State | MSU 88-86[26] | East Lansing, MI | X | |
| Maryland | Minnesota | UMD 83-66[27] | College Park, MD | X | |
| Virginia | Northwestern | UVA 72-57[28] | Charlottesville, VA | X | |
| Duke | Indiana | Duke 75-67[29] | Bloomington, IN | X | |
| NC State | Iowa | Iowa 45-42[30] | Iowa City, IA | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 6 | 5 |
Notes:
- Boston College did not play.
- The North Carolina/Illinois match-up was a rematch of the 2004-05 NCAA Championship game.
2006
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC State | Michigan | NCSU 74-67[31] | Raleigh, NC | X | |
| Maryland | Illinois | UMD 72-66[32] | Champaign, IL | X | |
| Florida State | Wisconsin | WISC 81-66[33] | Madison, WI | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Penn State | GT 77-73[34] | Atlanta, GA | X | |
| Duke | Indiana | Duke 54-51[35] | Durham, NC | X | |
| Miami | Northwestern | NW 61-59[36] | Evanston, IL | X | |
| Boston College | Michigan State | BC 65-58[37] | Chestnut Hill, MA | X | |
| Virginia | Purdue | PUR 61-59[38] | West Lafayette, IN | X | |
| Virginia Tech | Iowa | VT 69-65[39] | Blacksburg, VA | X | |
| North Carolina | Ohio State | UNC 98-89[40] | Chapel Hill, NC | X | |
| Clemson | Minnesota | CLEM 90-68[41] | Minneapolis, MN | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 8 | 3 |
Notes: Wake Forest did not play.
2007
| ACC Team | Big Ten Team | Outcome | Location | ACC | B10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | Iowa | WF 56-47[42] | Iowa City, IA | X | |
| Georgia Tech | Indiana | IND 83-79[43] | Bloomington, IN | X | |
| Florida State | Minnesota | FSU 75-61[44] | Tallahassee, FL | X | |
| Virginia | Northwestern | UVA 94-52[45] | Charlottesville, VA | X | |
| Duke | Wisconsin | Duke 82-58[46] | Durham, NC | X | |
| Clemson | Purdue | CLEM 61-58[47] | Clemson, SC | X | |
| NC State | Michigan State | MSU 81-58[48] | East Lansing, MI | X | |
| Maryland | Illinois | UMD 69-61[49] | College Park, MD | X | |
| Boston College | Michigan | BC 77-64[50] | Ann Arbor, MI | X | |
| North Carolina | Ohio State | UNC 66-55[51] | Columbus, OH | X | |
| Virginia Tech | Penn State | PSU 66-61[52] | State College, PA | X | |
| RESULT | ACC | 8 | 3 |
Notes: Miami did not play.
2008
The highlight of the 2008 edition of the ACC - Big Ten Challenge will be a game between North Carolina and Michigan State, two of their respective conferences' perennial powers, at Detroit's Ford Field on December 3. The game has been dubbed "BasketBowl II". The Ford Field contest will serve as a prelude to the 2009 Final Four to conclude that season on April 4 and April 6 in Detroit.
The remaining games are as follows:
- December 1 - Wisconsin at Virginia Tech.
- December 2 - Duke at Purdue, Clemson at Illinois, Ohio State at Miami (Florida), Virginia at Minnesota, Iowa at Boston College.
- December 3 - Indiana at Wake Forest, Michigan at Maryland, Florida State at Northwestern, Penn State at Georgia Tech.
Due to their last-place finish in the ACC in 2007-08, North Carolina State will not play in the challenge this year.