As we expected, Day One of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge was a split: Northwestern beat Wake Forest 65-58, while Florida State took down Minnesota 75-67.
Jonathan Isaac had 14 points and 13 rebounds to pace FSU. Dwayne Bacon had 18. Often turnover-prone, as Barry Jacobs discussed yesterday, the Seminoles have improved and had just 15.
Michael Ojo had 12 points and five rebounds, which is way beyond typical.
Minnesota shot just 32.2% and hit just 19 shots overall.
Lots of fouls in this one: 53 overall.
We pull for the ACC of course but it’s cool that Chris Collins has taken Northwestern this far. The Wildcats are 5-2 with close losses to Butler and Notre Dame.
Wake shot worse than Iowa - just 31.1% - and no one player managed 50%. John Collins was closest - 12 points and 16 boards - but he was limited to 6-13.
The rest of the starters were limited to 15-44. The bench was 4-17.
Northwestern won despite shooting just 5-9 from the line. The Deacs were far better, hitting 15-17, which was a lifeline, but not enough of one.
After the game, coach Danny Manning said “I thought with three minutes to go in the game we were right there. Northwestern came out down the stretch and made some really good plays.”
Key player: junior guard Bryant McIntosh, who had 19 in the second half and basically shot Wake’s hope down in the key stretch of the game.
It was a useful game for Wake, but the Deacs, while talented, have a lot to learn about how to play at an elite level. It’s something all young teams have to figure out and they do it at their own pace.
On Tuesday, it’s conceivable the Big Ten could sweep. We expect Maryland to beat Pitt, Penn State to take Georgia Tech and Wisconsin to knock off the ‘Cuse.
Duke’s injuries give Michigan State an opening, though we think Duke will still win, and while Iowa is mediocre so far, anything can happen.
- NC State’s Mark Gottfried better than fine after difficult offseason
- Wake Forest stumbles in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
- Northwestern-Wake Forest press conference notes
- Bryant McIntosh heats up after halftime as Northwestern beats Wake Forest
- Northwestern beats Wake Forest 65-58 in ACC-Big Ten Challenge
- Big Ten/ACC Challenge offers intriguing matchups
- Men's basketball storms past Wake Forest behind McIntosh's strong second half
- Syracuse basketball shooting a startling 44 percent from the 3-point line
- Cavaliers using committee approach to fill post void
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