Big 10-ACC Challenge matchups?

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How are they decided? I've always wondered how they choose the match ups and who gets home/away.
 

The series goes on two-year cycles, meaning each team gets a home and away (or virtual home or away) within the two-year cycle. Last year ended the cycle, so there's a good possibility that a team that was home last year will be home again this year and vice versa.

The matchups are usually a rough pairing of teams based on the previous year's finish. It will be interesting to see if they try to match UNC-MSU again and Duke-Purdue again.

For the fun of it, here's my predicted matchups (trying to factor in no rematches, home/road, etc.):

Purdue at UNC
MSU at Duke
Illinois at Wake Forest
Clemson at Wisconsin
FSU at Ohio State
Virginia Tech at Michigan
Minnesota at Boston College
Maryland at Penn State
Northwestern at Miami (FL)
NC State at Iowa
Indiana at Virginia
 

A guess

This year the Challenge starts a new 2-year cycle. NC State sat out last year and now will replace one of the other ACC teams. Since the ACC expanded to 12 teams, Boston College (2005), Wake Forest (2006) and Miami (2007) also sat out previously.

They try to avoid having teams play at home or on the road two years in a row, but that's not always possible when they switch from one 2-year cycle to the next. Based on who played at home & on the road last year, this would be my guess. Knowing that BC, Wake, Miami and NC State have sat out previously, I'll just take a wild guess that Virginia (and its new coach) will sit it out this year.

Boston College at Wisconsin
Georgia Tech at Iowa
Illinois at Florida State
Maryland at Penn State
Miami at Indiana
Michigan State vs. North Carolina (neutral site in NC; can't turn down a national title rematch)
Minnesota at NC State
Northwestern at Clemson
Purdue at Duke (another rematch)
Virginia Tech at Ohio State
Wake Forest at Michigan

These pairings avoid rematches, except for two desirable matchups that would pair up the 4 big boys (Duke, MSU, North Carolina, Purdue).

TJ. ... looks like we were composing at the same time.
 



SelectionSunday said:
This year the Challenge starts a new 2-year cycle. NC State sat out last year and now will replace one of the other ACC teams. Since the ACC expanded to 12 teams, Boston College (2005), Wake Forest (2006) and Miami (2007) also sat out previously.

They try to avoid having teams play at home or on the road two years in a row, but that's not always possible when they switch from one 2-year cycle to the next. Based on who played at home & on the road last year, this would be my guess. Knowing that BC, Wake, Miami and NC State have sat out previously, I'll just take a wild guess that Virginia (and its new coach) will sit it out this year.

Boston College at Wisconsin
Georgia Tech at Iowa
Illinois at Florida State
Maryland at Penn State
Miami at Indiana
Michigan State vs. North Carolina (neutral site in NC; can't turn down rematch)
Minnesota at Clemson
Northwestern at NC State
Purdue at Duke (another rematch)
Virginia Tech at Ohio State
Wake Forest at Michigan

These pairings avoid rematches, except for two desirable matchups that would pair up the 4 big boys (Duke, MSU, North Carolina, Purdue).

TJ. ... looks like we were composing at the same time.
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We played Clemson last year. Don't they like to get new match-ups?!
 


bigmwc said:
We played Clemson 2 years ago in Monson's last game.

@ Fla State last year and vs. Virginia this year.
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Thats right! Thanks, you get my point though. The BC thought seems more likely or Miami
 



ESPN also plays a very large part in determining who plays who in this thing.

There are also other things to take into consideration including building availability and who is playing in tournaments the weekend before and the like.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Minnesota at Clemson
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It won't be Clemson. Clemson is in the 76 Classic in Anaheim with us, so there's a chance we will already be playing them. They will avoid that matchup. I think Minnesota will get Boston College, Maryland, Virginia Tech or Miami (FL).

Also, the Maui Invite features Wisconsin and Maryland, so they won't match up in the Challenge. The Old Spice features Michigan and Florida State so they won't match up. Indiana and Georgia Tech (both last place teams) are in the Puerto Rico Tipoff, so they can't be matched up. Purdue and Boston College are in the Paradise Jam. Ohio State and UNC both participate in the Coaches vs. Cancer tourney.

So, that narrows some of the matchups. I am guessing the ACC leaves out Georgia Tech this year.
 

Forgot about that TJ; good catch. It definitely won't be Clemson. I'll flip-flop the Gophers & Northwestern just to keep things simple and not re-do the whole thing.
 





I know that conventional wisdom is that there are two-year cycles and one plays a home game and an away game, but Wisky played the last two years on the road, so it is by no means gospel that we're guaranteed a home game in the next two years.
 


No offense Ole, but I think Duke v. Wisconsin is really good for the Big 10's chances of finally winning one of these. I don't anticipate that Wisconsin will be one of the Big 10's top teams next year, at least not early in the season as they adjust to replacing Landry & Krabbenhoft. Duke always seems to roll early in the season and has been especially tough in the Challenge. Outside of Duke and UNC, the ACC is pretty average and looks to be next year too (unless Teague comes back to Wake). Having Duke, a top 2 ACC team, take on Wisconsin, a projected middle of the pack Big 10 team, frees up the Michigan States, Purdues, Ohio States for a more favorable matchup. You can always count on Duke winning their game in this thing, it'll work out nicely that they're not taking out one of the Big 10's (projected) top teams.

And everything I keep reading on draft express is that it seems just a formality that Henderson will be declaring for the draft with an agent in tow, which should be good news for the Badger chances. It's quite a different looking Duke team without him (unless John Wall makes it to Durham).
 

Take it for what it is worth - this is literally "a friend of a friend heard this" - but my friend who occasionally comes up with a good nugget of news told me on Sunday that he heard Minnesota will be playing Miami (FL). Both teams hosted games last year, so I wonder who will host this year. A trip to Florida in early December wouldn't be too bad. I might have to make that roadie, if true.
 

Miami does nothing for me...would be bummed if thats the matchup.
 

tjgopher said:
Take it for what it is worth - this is literally "a friend of a friend heard this" - but my friend who occasionally comes up with a good nugget of news told me on Sunday that he heard Minnesota will be playing Miami (FL). Both teams hosted games last year, so I wonder who will host this year. A trip to Florida in early December wouldn't be too bad. I might have to make that roadie, if true.
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Have we ever played Miami? I know we've never played their football team.
 




According to Eric Thrall's website, we've never played Miami (Fla) in basketball. Count me in the camp with Rouser; since there's no way I'll be there for the game, it's a pretty underwhelming opponent, especially with Jack McClinton's eligiblity up.
 

If Duke plays Wisconsin, seems likely that Purdue and UNC would match up, with Michigan State taking on Wake perhaps? You would think that they would avoid the Michigan State-UNC matchup after the two blowouts this past season and the Spartans wouldn't fall too far down the chain of ACC teams. Anyway, I guess we'll find out all the matchups soon enough.
 

The only redeeming value of playing Miami is if it is a road game, it gives one a reason to go to South Florida, do a little golfing, hang out on South Beach, and watch the Gophers. I rank all of those things high in things I enjoy doing. Other than that - the simple act of MN-MIA isn't all that great, I agree.
 

anticallihan said:
How would one team know, and one else know?

Does not make any sense.
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I think all the teams probably know who they are playing. We're getting to almost May, I would guess the schedules are set for the entire season for most teams at this point. For whatever reason, teams keep it quiet until later in the summer when they release their schedules.
 

It's now official:

The U at The U. Gophers at Miami on Wednesday, December 2.
 

Hopefully one of these years we get one of the biggies in the ACC. Winning at Miami won't be easy.

If we do in fact have KU this year, we really can't afford to lose more than a game out in Anaheim or any mis-steps the rest of the way in the NC.

Go Gophers!!
 

tjgopher said:
I think all the teams probably know who they are playing. We're getting to almost May, I would guess the schedules are set for the entire season for most teams at this point. For whatever reason, teams keep it quiet until later in the summer when they release their schedules.
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From Yahoo, here are the matchups: MSU at UNC, Mich at BC, Penn State at Virginia, Maryland at Indiana, Northwestern at North Carolina State, Virginia Tech at Iowa, Wake Forest at Purdue, Duke at Wisconsin, Florida State at Ohio State, Illinois at Clemson and Minnesota at Miami.

These aren't favorable matchups. Our two horrible teams have the home advantage, which won't do them any good, and the closest matched teams tend to be at the ACC court (and they have one more home game than we do.)


My projected outcomes (if anyone cares) are:


1. Good game, but UNC too tough at home--and MSU tends to be better late season.
2. MIchigan surprises BC at home.
3. Virginia has no one to match up with Battle, but they're at home. PSU in a close game.
4. Maryland destroys Indiana
5. An even match between two lesser teams, but NCS wins because they're at home
6. Iowa will be horrible next year, and VT clobbers them
7. Purdue wins at home in a good battle between 2 good teams.
8. Duke defeats Wisc for the reasons coolhand described above.
9. OSU wins at home
10. No idea. Which Illinois team will show up? Which Clemson team? Clemson seems to be an early season team, and Ill has a bunch of new players, and it's at Clemson, so that's who I'd gues, but...

11. Gophers win. Of course I'm not biased or anything.

That works out to a 6-5 ACC win (again). But the Big Ten gets more teams into the Tourney, which counts for more in my book.

Having said all that, it's a long way to the beginning of the season, and certainly things can happen in the meantime to change perspectives.
 

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