ACC-Big Ten Challenge Games Reportedly Set

Although it hasn’t been officially announced yet, the pairings for the ACC-Big Ten Challenge are reportedly set:

• Indiana at Duke
• North Carolina at Michigan
• Michigan State at Louisville
• Nebraska at Clemson
• Minnesota at Boston College
• Syracuse at Ohio State
• NC State at Wisconsin
• Purdue at Florida State
• Virginia at Maryland
• Rutgers at Miami
• Virginia Tech at Penn State
• Pitt at Iowa
• Georgia Tech at Northwestern
• Notre Dame at Illinois

We’ll look at the matchups more closely after things are official and when the rosters are a bit more set.

However, in the short term, it’s fun to look at a Maryland reaction: why can’t we play Duke?

From the Diamondback: “The obvious choice would be Duke, but it seems unlikely Maryland will get a chance at the Blue Devils as long as Coach K is still the boss in Durham.”

Well,it’s not the obvious choice for everyone, but there are a couple of reasons why it’s not likely to happen.

First, Maryland is mediocre and Duke is pretty good. And second, as the Diamondback rightly notes, Coach K has no interest in playing Maryland. As he said when the Terps left the ACC, if you want to maintain the rivalries you care about then don’t change conferences.

We wouldn’t count on a game with Duke anytime soon.