Next Year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge

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Pewterschmidt

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I looked back and couldn't find a recent thread discussing this topic, otherwise I wouldn't start a new one.

Now that the season is over, it's appealing to me to predict what next year's Challenge will look like. I looked at previous matchups, rules, and predictions for next year's teams to come up with my rough draft as to how I think it'll work out for the matchups.

First the rules/guidelines for the '10 Challenge:

1. ACC gets 6 homes games to the BT's 5.
2. Miami sits out this year because they finished last in the ACC standings this year, which is a shame because they look to be really improved next year. Virginia will be the ACC's worst team. Moses is leading the exodus out of Charlottesville right now.
3. Purdue is guaranteed to play on the road. They're the only team in the challenge to have home games the past 2 years.
4. Florida St is guaranteed to play at home. They're the only team in the challenge to have road games the past 2 years.

So here's my best guess:

ACC Home Games
Purdue at Duke - matchup of #1 vs #2 in the country possibly. Think this game is a lock.
Wisconsin at FSU - 2 teams with top 25 talent
Michigan at Maryland - Both lose their top players from this year
Ohio St at Wake Forest - It'll be interesting to see if Wake can retain four 4-star recruits. Battle of teams with some good freshman coming in.
Iowa at BC - Two teams with new coaches and definitely in the rebuilding stage. ESPNU type of game.
Indiana at Va Tech - Don't know what to make of these 2 teams and that's why I have them playing each other.

BT Home Games
UNC at Illinois - 2 teams with disappointing seasons try to turn it around with influx of talent
GT at MSU - Could be a big mismatch in BT's favor. No other intriguing matchup for MSU. Played UNC the past 2 years so that's not really an option this year
Clemson at Minnesota - 2 tourney teams. Played once before in the challenge and it got Monson fired. New coach coming to Clemson
NC St at PSU - NC St could be a surprise team in the ACC, as could PSU in the BT
Virginia at Northwestern - As it stands right now, NW would demolish UVa.

What do you guys think?
 

My guess for the Gophers is NC State at Williams Arena.

Purdue/Duke does appear to be the no-brainer in the bunch.

If Malcolm Delaney comes back, gotta' believe Va Tech will get someone better than Indiana. Tech has a chance to be pretty good next year, and we shouldn't have to hear Seth Greenberg whine if the field expands to 96.
 

Word around the VaTech campus is that Delaney is 95% gone. I think they're kind of happy about that though, a lot of fans thought he hogged the ball too much and think Dorezno Hudson is ready to step up and lead that team.
 

SelectionSunday said:
My guess for the Gophers is NC State at Williams Arena.

Purdue/Duke does appear to be the no-brainer in the bunch.

If Malcolm Delaney comes back, gotta' believe Va Tech will get someone better than Indiana. Tech has a chance to be pretty good next year, and we shouldn't have to hear Seth Greenberg whine if the field expands to 96.
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Any chance the Gophers could get a team we havent played before? I would love to see UNC at the barn but would settle for Maryland...
 

We won't play UNC, as they are in the same tournament (Puerto Rico) as the Gophers.
 


SelectionSunday said:
We won't play UNC in the ACC/BT Challenge, as they are in the same tournament (Puerto Rico) as the Gophers.
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Fixed it for you. :)

Would love to have an opportunity for the Gophers to beat 'Ol Roy, even if it takes leaving the lower 48.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Purdue/Duke does appear to be the no-brainer in the bunch.

.
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I disagree - it's hardly a no-brainer. OSU @ Duke (or Duke @ OSU) should be the matchup before Purdue @ Duke and the more I think about it, the more certain I become. First of all, they make the matchups based on who wins the conference the prior season. OSU won the conference tourney, which I think gives them a leg up on Purdue even though both teams shared the regular season title with MSU. Both teams lost in the S16. If any team gets the Duke matchup other than OSU, it should be MSU because both MSU and Duke made the Final Four. Secondly, it is not possible to conclude with certainty at this point that Purdue will be significantly better than OSU next year, so picking Purdue over OSU on that basis is inappropriate. Thirdly, Purdue has had their chances against Duke, OSU has not. Simply stated, they shouldn't go for a "rematch" of a game that has been decided by 13+ points in favor of Duke twice the past 2 years (neither at Cameron Indoor, where this one would have to be) when there is another, just as logical if not more logical option. Additionally, OSU has not had a real marquee matchup in the challenge in either of the past 2 years, drawing Miami and FSU while PU had Duke and WF.

There are 3 Big Ten champs from this year and only 2 from the ACC, so at least one champ from the Big Ten will have to get a team that wasn't an ACC champ from this year - in all fairness, it shouldn't be OSU because they haven't gotten the marquee matchups that PU and MSU have gotten the past 2 years, and OSU has done just as much if not more to earn the marquee matchup than Purdue based on their overall performances this season.
 

There was a thread on this a few weeks ago.

Here's my prediction (which has changed since the last thread):

Big Ten Home Games:
Clemson at GOPHERS
Georgia Tech at Michigan State
North Carolina at Illinois
NC State at Penn State
Virginia at Northwestern

ACC Home Games:
Purdue at Maryland
Ohio State at Duke
Wisconsin at Virginia Tech
Michigan at Wake Forest
Iowa at Florida State
Indiana at Boston College

In addition, we can say for sure that these matchups will NOT happen:

North Carolina-Minnesota (both in Puerto Rice)
Wisconsin-Boston College (both in Orlando)
Penn State-Virginia Tech (both in Anaheim)
Michigan State-Virginia (both in Maui)
Michigan-Georgia Tech (both in Legends)
Maryland-Illinois (both in Coaches vs. Cancer)
Iowa-Clemson (both at Paradise Jam)

I cannot find where Purdue, Ohio State, Indiana or Northwestern are for preseason tourneys.
 

OSUfan said:
I disagree - it's hardly a no-brainer. OSU @ Duke (or Duke @ OSU) should be the matchup before Purdue @ Duke and the more I think about it, the more certain I become. First of all, they make the matchups based on who wins the conference the prior season. OSU won the conference tourney, which I think gives them a leg up on Purdue even though both teams shared the regular season title with MSU. Both teams lost in the S16. If any team gets the Duke matchup other than OSU, it should be MSU because both MSU and Duke made the Final Four. Secondly, it is not possible to conclude with certainty at this point that Purdue will be significantly better than OSU next year, so picking Purdue over OSU on that basis is inappropriate. Thirdly, Purdue has had their chances against Duke, OSU has not. Simply stated, they shouldn't go for a "rematch" of a game that has been decided by 13+ points in favor of Duke twice the past 2 years (neither at Cameron Indoor, where this one would have to be) when there is another, just as logical if not more logical option. Additionally, OSU has not had a real marquee matchup in the challenge in either of the past 2 years, drawing Miami and FSU while PU had Duke and WF.

There are 3 Big Ten champs from this year and only 2 from the ACC, so at least one champ from the Big Ten will have to get a team that wasn't an ACC champ from this year - in all fairness, it shouldn't be OSU because they haven't gotten the marquee matchups that PU and MSU have gotten the past 2 years, and OSU has done just as much if not more to earn the marquee matchup than Purdue based on their overall performances this season.
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I don't think the matchups are based on the previous year's standings at all. The only thing that impacts is which ACC team is left out. I believe it's understood that ESPN has a ton of input over the matchups.

It wouldn't shock me if OSU played Duke but the fact that I think Purdue will be ranked higher in the preseason than OSU (the matchups are set before a single game is actually played) and that Hummel was out in the matchup last month will be enough for Purdue to be the team playing in Durham. OSU v Duke would be a good game but I still think Purdue will be the choice.
 



All good points, but truth of the matter is most of us probably really don't care who Duke, Ohio State or Purdue play in the Challenge. I just want the Gophers to play somebody they haven't played in the Challenge & to avoid having to play one of the dregs of the ACC.

I'll take pretty much take any opponent except for Florida State or Virginia, who we've played 3 times each. Especially Virginia. I hope we don't get stuck with them again.
 

First quickly for preseason tourney. I have heard Purdue is going to play in the Chicago Invite. For a preseason top 5 team that sucks. Hell I mean I couldn't find a website for them. Although it is close to West Lafayette and last year had some decent teams.

As for the ACC/B10 challenge I would be just fine if Purdue didn't have to play Duke. Personally I think UNC could be a bigger test simply because of there size. And they won't make the NIT next year. The will be a good team.

OSUfan if watched the Purdue-Duke game you know that wasn't a 13 point game. Duke hit there freethrows at the end to make the win look bigger that it was. Two years ago at Mackey the killed us, no doubt in that. But these are both different teams. Also I think it is fair to assume that the BEGINNING of the season Purdue will be than OSU. Does OSU have all the pieces to be great yes but to think they will be great at the beginning of season is crazy because it will be difficult to bring the freshmen in to the fold. I think it is fairly safe to say that Purdue will be great at the beginning of season(Hummel should be 100% by then).
 


Zeppelin Gopher said:
Wishful thinking...torn ACL's often take a full year to heal entirely. Hope Hummel can make it back though.
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More like 4-6 months. Kalin Lucas' injury is actually going to take longer to rehab than Hummel's.
 



Pewterschmidt said:
BT Home Games
UNC at Illinois - 2 teams with disappointing seasons try to turn it around with influx of talent
GT at MSU - Could be a big mismatch in BT's favor. No other intriguing matchup for MSU. Played UNC the past 2 years so that's not really an option this year
Clemson at Minnesota - 2 tourney teams. Played once before in the challenge and it got Monson fired. New coach coming to Clemson
NC St at PSU - NC St could be a surprise team in the ACC, as could PSU in the BT
Virginia at Northwestern - As it stands right now, NW would demolish UVa.
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UW is expecting a home game next season. They got the short end of the scheduling early on, such that they are planning on a home game for the second challenge in a row.
 

rcpratt said:
More like 4-6 months. Kalin Lucas' injury is actually going to take longer to rehab than Hummel's.
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No chance. Have you seen Al Jefferson this year? You may be able to play after 6 months but I'm talking about making it all the back.
 


UWOle said:
UW is expecting a home game next season. They got the short end of the scheduling early on, such that they are planning on a home game for the second challenge in a row.
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If they try to "even" it up, then Michigan State would likely be the team to have to play two road games in a row. MSU has played 6 home games and 5 road games in the entire Challenge series. Wisconsin has done just about the opposite over the life of the Challenge (4 home/6 road/1 nuetral). Everyone else in the Big Ten is either even or has more road games over the course of the event. So, assuming Wisky gets a home game and MSU gets a road game, then here's my predicted matchups:

Big Ten Home Games:
Clemson at GOPHERS
Georgia Tech at Illinois
North Carolina at Wisconsin
NC State at Penn State
Virginia at Northwestern

ACC Home Games:
Purdue at Maryland
Ohio State at Duke
Michigan State at Wake Forest
Michigan at Virginia Tech
Iowa at Florida State
Indiana at Boston College
 

SelectionSunday & Pewterschmidt said:
We won't play UNC in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, as it's in the same tournament (Puerto Rico) as the Gophers.
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Fixed it for BOTH of you. Big Ten should be listed first. :)
 

Purdue's Chicago Invitational Challenge opponents

MNBoiler,

Looks like Arkansas, Southern Illinois and Wright State will be the other three teams @ the Chicago Challenge. I would expect SIU to be the weakest of the 4. No pairings as of yet.
 


SelectionSunday said:
MNBoiler,

Looks like Arkansas, Southern Illinois and Wright State will be the other three teams @ the Chicago Challenge. I would expect SIU to be the weakest of the 4. No pairings as of yet.
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There have been a ton of rumors going around in Carbondale. None good. Rumors are Booker and Dillard are leaving (our two best players). We just signed 2 jucos. Fans were heckling Booker on facebook and he got mad saying nothing is true. Everyone says if Lowery is our coach still, dont expect any good. The program is going down the drain. Hopefully everything turns out ok in the end, but it is very doubtful at the moment.
 

For everyone who says that Brad Stevens has to stay at Butler I give you the Lowery example. Just a few years ago he was as hot as hot could be. Turned down chances to interview at major programs to stay at S Illinois. Now it looks like his job may be on life support.

Everyone in the media gives examples of coaches leaving like Licklighter/Heath or staying and making Butler into Gonzaga like Few. But it can also go the other way when a coach has his opportunity and turns it down only to never have it again.

Im not saying Stevens made the wrong choice, but i dont blame a coach for taking a shot at a Major conference. Just like I dont blame a coach for staying.
 

dingo said:
For everyone who says that Brad Stevens has to stay at Butler I give you the Lowery example. Just a few years ago he was as hot as hot could be. Turned down chances to interview at major programs to stay at S Illinois. Now it looks like his job may be on life support.

Everyone in the media gives examples of coaches leaving like Licklighter/Heath or staying and making Butler into Gonzaga like Few. But it can also go the other way when a coach has his opportunity and turns it down only to never have it again.

Im not saying Stevens made the wrong choice, but i dont blame a coach for taking a shot at a Major conference. Just like I dont blame a coach for staying.
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Indeed, Lowery was left begging for the DePaul job this spring and he never really got a serious look. Three or four years ago it would have been considered a major victory to get Lowery to DePaul from SIU-C. Altman at Creighton has probably seen his window of opportunity for a bigger job close, too.

Now, in Altman's case, he's making $1 million per year and seems comfortable. Lowery is making good money, too. Stevens is making good money, too.

But, if Stevens has aspirations to go to another Final Four, he'll probably have to eventually change jobs. He has a chance next year again, but after that, who knows?
 

Salukigopher said:
There have been a ton of rumors going around in Carbondale. None good. Rumors are Booker and Dillard are leaving (our two best players). We just signed 2 jucos. Fans were heckling Booker on facebook and he got mad saying nothing is true. Everyone says if Lowery is our coach still, dont expect any good. The program is going down the drain. Hopefully everything turns out ok in the end, but it is very doubtful at the moment.
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There was a rumor flotting around on the Purdue Rivals board a while back that if Lowery was let go from SIU that Paul Lusk, the Purdue's Associate Head Coach was the guy. Nothing ever came of it because of money I believe. I would like to say personally and from Purdue fans in general, Thank You for not taking him. I know it's going to happen sooner or later but I would just assume it would be later.
 

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