Season Preview: ACC/Big 10 Challenge

Due to the lack of decent matchups on Monday, I instead present to you my preview of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. It's another year of the pointless made for ESPN event that everybody makes a much bigger deal over than it actually is. Okay, maybe I'm just upset that Purdue got killed in their game last year. It always provides some good matchups to look forward to. Here are my sneak peaks and picks for each game:

Mon., Nov. 30th

Penn State @ Virginia: A game that doesn't really mean anything but will help decide which conference wins anyway. Virginia has the "better" losses so far.

Virginia 68, Penn State 64

Tues., Dec 1st

Wake Forest @ Purdue: I'm guessing when this game was scheduled, people still thought Jeff Teague and James Johnson would be in Wake uniforms. Bottom line, Purdue is the better team and should win this game.

Purdue 80, Wake Forest 67

Northwestern @ NC State: NC State is 5-0, but they haven't beaten anybody, and NU has wins over Notre Dame and Iowa State without Coble. I'll take the Wildcats.

Northwestern 65, NC State 59

Maryland @ Indiana: The Terps did not look all that impressive, but will be good enough to defeat the Hoosiers, who are at least a year away from competing for a tournament spot.

Maryland 80, Indiana 70

Virginia Tech @ Iowa: The worst team in the Big 10 vs. not the worst team in the ACC. I'll take the latter.

Virginia Tech 67, Iowa 52

Michigan State @ UNC: Likely the best game of the challenge. Michigan State got killed last year, but this isn't nearly the same UNC team as last year. Namely, they're not going to run people off the court. Michigan State will have the advantage on the perimeter. However, the Spartans have struggled with turnovers in big games up until this point. That and the fact that this game is in Chapel Hill makes this a more even game than it looks. The Spartans will not create a lot of turnovers defensively, but they do a good job of forcing opponents into bad perimeter jumpers, and I would expect them to force the Heels to make shots to beat them. That, plus the fact that UNC has had turnover problems of their own, convinces me that Sparty will gain revenge from last year's slaughter(s).

Michigan State 81, UNC 77

Wed, Dec 2nd

Illinois @ Clemson: I had a feeling the Illinin were going to win this game, but that was before the loss to Bradley. Plus, it's at Clemson. Advantage Tigers

Clemson 78, Illinois 71

Minnesota @ Miami (FL): This is one of those swing games that will determine the outcome of the challenge. Miami gets to prove if they're for real.

Minnesota 76, Miami 74

Boston College @ Michigan: BC has not looked good at all early. Manny Harris should dominate against a somewhat suspect Eagle defense.

Michigan 85, Boston College 71

Florida State @ Ohio State: Another game that could come down to the wire. Buford and Diebler will need to hit some big shots to win.

Ohio State 73, Florida State 66

Duke @ Wisconsin: Two reasons to believe Wisconsin could pull off the upset. One, the Badgers will not get killed on the boards as badly as UConn did against Duke. Secondly, Bo Ryan will have his guys prepared and Wisconsin will keep the game slow and low-scoring. However, Duke is simply too talented to lose this game. At least, I think so.

Duke 70, Wisconsin 63

FINAL RESULT: Big Ten wins, 6-5