Minnesota and Florida State will be meeting for the ninth time in each school’s history, including the second-straight matchup in the Challenge.
The University of Minnesota men’s basketball team will host Florida State in the 15th Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the conferences announced today. The Gophers and Seminoles will square off on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Williams Arena. The time has not been determined.
Minnesota and Florida State will be meeting for the ninth time in each school’s history, including the second-straight matchup in the Challenge. Minnesota defeated the Seminoles 77-68 last season at the Tucker Center in Tallahassee. In all, the schools have met a total of four times as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Gophers are 6-8 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge after posting victories in their past two matchups. The ACC leads the series 10-3-1 after the 2012 event ended in a 6-6 tie.
This year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge features three ACC newcomers in Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse. Seven of the 12 matchups are first-time Challenge games, while three are repeats from last year.
Minnesota returns three of its top five scorers – Andre Hollins (14.6 ppg), Austin Hollins (10.7 ppg), Joe Coleman (8.7 ppg) – from a team that finished the season with 21 wins, including a victory over UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA victory was the first for the Gopher program since the 1989-90 team won three games en route to the Elite Eight (vacated years not included).
The Seminoles return three starters to their 2013-14 squad, including senior All-American candidate Okaro White (12.4 ppg and a team-leading 5.9 rpg), point guard Devon Bookert (6.5 ppg and 2.4 apg) and guard Aaron Thomas (6.0 ppg and 2.4 rpg) to their starting line-up. Florida State finished the 2012-13 season with an 18-16 record and played in the NIT, marking their school record eighth consecutive postseason tournament appearance.
Due to the 6-6 tie last season, the Commissioner Cup remained in possession of the Big Ten Conference for the fourth consecutive event.