The line-up for the ACC-Big 10 Challenge were announced this afternoon, confirming some speculation regarding projected match-ups – particularly that NC State will travel to Ann Arbor to battle the (projected) Top 20 ranked, Michigan Wolverines.
ESPN says the event will be highlighted by UNC at Indiana and outlines the entire schedule in this link.
Tuesday, Nov. 27
Minnesota @ Florida State
North Carolina @ Indiana
NC State @ Michigan
Maryland @ Northwestern
Iowa @ Virginia Tech
Nebraska @ Wake Forest
Wednesday, Nov. 28
Purdue @ Clemson
Ohio State @ Duke
Georgia Tech @ Illinois
Michigan State @ Miami, FL
Boston College @ Penn State
Virginia @ Wisconsin
NC State-related notes:
- NC State is 5-7 all-time in the Challenge, with one of the Wolfpack’s premiere victories coming in 2006 against Michigan (74-67) in the RBC Center in Sidney Lowe’s first season as head coach of the Wolfpack.
- The Wolverines current head coach, John Beilein, was in line to become NC State’s head coach in 2006 when the Wolfpack’s administration did a last minute about-face and scuttled the prospective deal. At the time, speculation existed that certain key boosters were not pleased with the selection and would not financially support the compensation/buyout package to which they had previously committed. There was also speculation that NC State (and Lee Fowler) had not taken into account the tax consequences of paying 50% of Beilein’s $3 million buyout and ultimately did not have the cash it needed to secure Beilein, who ended up at Michigan shortly thereafter. For more about how this topic played itself out in the year(s) after 2006, you should click here for a quick read.
- You can click here for a really nice historical perspective of the entire history of the Challenge
