Eleventh Annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge Matchups Announced |
Clemson, SC – The Clemson men’s basketball team will host Illinois on Wednesday, December 2 in the 11th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The game, which will serve as a rematch from the 2008 event, will be nationally televised by ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. Time and network designations will be determined at a later date. The three-day event will feature 11 games at various ACC and Big Ten school sites. The ACC has won each of the 10 challenges to date.
This will serve as the fourth meeting between the two schools, and second consecutive matchup in the event. Last season, Clemson overcame a 40-32 halftime deficit to rally for a 76-74 win in Champaign. Demontez Stitt scored a team-high 18 points to ignite the come-from-behind win for the Tigers. Four players scored in double figures for Clemson, including Trevor Booker with 16, and K.C. Rivers and Raymond Sykes with 14 apiece. Behind 56 percent shooting in the opening half, Illinois opened up its largest lead at eight points, as Mike Davis knocked down a jumper in the final seconds. However, the Tigers quickly answered with seven straight points out of the halftime break to cut the deficit to just one point after a layup by Stitt. Clemson took the lead with just over 11 minutes left on a layup by Sykes. Illinois led by three with just under six minutes remaining after a pair of baskets by Chester Frazier. But once again Clemson found an answer, as Rivers hit a pair of layups to give the Tigers a lead. Clemson extended its lead to five as David Potter drove the lane for a pullup jumper. Demetri McCamey hit a pair of free throws to cut Clemson’s lead to 76-74 in the final minute. After Stitt missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity at the free throw line, the Illini failed to get a shot off against Clemson’s defense as the game clock expired. Illinois won the first two games in the series in back-to-back seasons (1997-98, 1998-99). The two teams first played on December 13, 1997. The Fighting Illini won 71-61 over the 17th-ranked Tigers, coached at the time by Rick Barnes. The second meeting between the two came at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC on December 29, 1998. Illinois won by a score of 67-50, holding the Tigers to 29 percent shooting. Under the watch of Bruce Weber, Illinois has competed in five of the last six NCAA Tournaments. Last season, Weber’s club compiled a record of 24-10 and earned a #5 seed in the South Region. The Illini lost to #12 Western Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois will return three starters in 2009-10, including Davis, who scored a season-high 28 against Clemson as a sophomore. Clemson will return three starters next season, including leading scorer and rebounder Trevor Booker. He was a second-team All-ACC selection, and All-ACC Defensive Team member as well. The Tigers finished the 2008-09 season with a #24 final ranking by the Associated Press and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Clemson was 23-9 overall and improved its winning percentage for the fifth straight season under Head Coach Oliver Purnell. Clemson has an 8-2 record in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Only Duke (10-0) and Wake Forest (8-1) have a better record than Clemson in the history of the event. The Tigers have won five straight in the event and boast a 4-2 record on the road in the event, having won its last three away challenge games (at Penn State, at Minnesota, and at Illinois).
2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule (times and networks are to be determined):
Monday, Nov. 30
Penn State at Virginia
Tuesday, Dec. 1
Maryland at Indiana
Michigan State at North Carolina
Northwestern at N.C. State
Virginia Tech at Iowa
Wake Forest at Purdue
Wednesday, Dec. 2
Boston College at Michigan
Duke at Wisconsin
Florida State at Ohio State
Illinois at Clemson
Minnesota at Miami
History: The ACC has won each of the 10 Challenges played to date with ACC teams winning 62 of the 97 games. Duke (10-0) and Boston College (3-0) are the only undefeated teams in Challenge play.
Last Year: A year ago, the ACC won its tenth-straight Challenge by a 6-to-5 margin. Road teams won six of the 11 games in 2008 and six of the contests were decided by five points or less, including four by two points.
NCAA Tournament Notes: The ACC (.665) and the Big Ten (.617) rank first and third, respectively, among conferences in NCAA Tournament winning percentage. Since 1988, the ACC (22) and the Big Ten (16) have had 38 of the 88 teams in the Final Four and have won nine national titles.
Teams from the ACC (338) and the Big Ten (305) have combined for 643 NCAA Tournament victories. The ACC (28) and the Big Ten (18) have combined to produce 38 percent of the No. 1 seeds since the NCAA started assigning seeds in 1979.
Since 2000, the ACC (9) and the Big Ten (8) have combined for 17 Final Four appearances and five national titles - North Carolina (2009 and 2005), Maryland (2002), Duke (2001) and Michigan State (2000). The ACC and the Big Ten also rank 1-2, respectively, in all-time NCAA Tournament bids, NCAA Tournament victories and Final Four appearances.
Familiar Foes: In addition to meeting in the Championship Game and last year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Michigan State and North Carolina played in the first two Challenges (1999 and 2000) with the Spartans winning both games. North Carolina won both games last year.
First-Ever Meeting: Minnesota and Miami will square off in the first meeting between the two programs.
Pursuing Perfection: Two teams will look to continue their undefeated streaks in the Challenge: Duke is 10-0 while Boston College has won all three of its games.
First Challenge Matchup: In addition to Minnesota at Miami, Penn State at Virginia, Wake Forest at Purdue and Florida State at Ohio State will all meet for their first-ever Challenge showdown.
Unfamiliar Opponent: Ohio State has won all four of its games against Florida State with a victory in 2000’s Great Alaska Shootout the most recent. Penn State and Virginia last played in the 1984-85 season (Virginia holds a 5-2 series lead) while Purdue and Wake Forest last played in 1989 (Purdue holds a 3-2 series lead).
Results by Year:
1999 (ACC 5-4) Score Series
Wake Forest d. Wisconsin 67-48 ACC 1-0
Maryland d. Iowa 83-65 ACC 2-0
Duke d. Illinois 72-69 ACC 3-0
Minnesota d. Virginia 74-62 ACC 3-1
Michigan d. Georgia Tech 80-77 ACC 3-2
NC State d. Purdue 61-59 ACC 4-2
Michigan St. d. N. Carolina 86-76 ACC 4-3
Florida State d. Northwestern 60-46 ACC 5-3
Penn State d. Clemson 85-75 ACC 5-4
2000 (ACC 5-4) Score Series
Wake Forest d. Michigan 71-60 ACC 1-0
Clemson d. Northwestern 57-44 ACC 2-0
Duke d. Illinois 78-77 ACC 3-0
Iowa d. Georgia Tech 85-67 ACC 3-1
Virginia d. Purdue 98-79 ACC 4-1
Michigan State d. N. Carolina 77-64 ACC 4-2
Minnesota d. Florida State 76-71 ACC 4-3
Wisconsin d. Maryland (ot) 78-75 Tied 4-4
NC State d. Penn State 84-76 ACC 5-4
2001 (ACC 5-3) Score Series
Maryland d. Illinois 76-63 ACC 1-0
Ohio State d. NC State 64-50 Tied 1-1
Duke d. Iowa 80-62 ACC 2-1
Wake Forest d. Minnesota 85-79 ACC 3-1
Georgia Tech d. Wisconsin 62-61 ACC 4-1
Michigan St. & Virginia cancelled
Clemson d. Penn State 79-66 ACC 5-1
Indiana d. North Carolina 79-66 ACC 5-2
Northwestern d. Florida State 57-50 ACC 5-3
2002 (ACC 5-4) Score Series
Florida State d. Iowa 80-67 ACC 1-0
Duke d. Ohio State 91-76 ACC 2-0
Clemson d. Penn State 79-70 ACC 3-0
Indiana d. Maryland (ot) 80-74 ACC 3-1
Illinois d. North Carolina 92-65 ACC 3-2
Minnesota d. Georgia Tech 64-63 Tied 3-3
NC State d. Northwestern 74-49 ACC 4-3
Michigan State d. Virginia 82-75 Tied 4-4
Wake Forest d. Wisconsin 90-80 ACC 5-4
2003 (ACC 7-2) Score Series
Florida State d. Northwestern 71-53 ACC 1-0
Wake Forest d. Indiana 100-67 ACC 2-0
Michigan d. NC State 68-61 ACC 2-1
North Carolina d. Illinois 88-81 ACC 3-1
Maryland d. Wisconsin 73-67 ACC 4-1
Georgia Tech d. Ohio State 73-53 ACC 5-1
Purdue d. Clemson 76-64 ACC 5-2
Duke d. Michigan State 72-50 ACC 6-2
Virginia d. Minnesota 86-78 ACC 7-2
2004 (ACC 7-2) Score Series
NC State d. Purdue 60-53 ACC 1-0
Georgia Tech d. Michigan 88-68 ACC 2-0
Florida State d. Minnesota 70-69 ACC 3-0
Duke d. Michigan State 81-74 ACC 4-0
Wisconsin d. Maryland 69-64 ACC 4-1
Illinois d. Wake Forest 91-73 ACC 4-2
Clemson d. Ohio State 80-73 ACC 5-2
North Carolina d. Indiana 70-63 ACC 6-2
Virginia d. Northwestern 48-44 ACC 7-2
2005 (ACC 6-5) Score Series
Ohio State d. Virginia Tech 69-56 Big Ten 1-0
Wake Forest d. Wisconsin 91-88 Tied 1-1
Florida State d. Purdue 97-57 ACC 2-1
Clemson d. Penn State 96-88 ACC 3-1
Illinois d. North Carolina 68-64 ACC 3-2
Michigan d. Miami 74-53 Tied 3-3
Michigan St. d. Georgia Tech 88-86 Big Ten 4-3
Maryland d. Minnesota 83-66 Tied 4-4
Virginia d. Northwestern 72-57 ACC 5-4
Duke d. Indiana 75-67 ACC 6-4
Iowa d. NC State 45-42 ACC 6-5
2006 (ACC 8-3) Score Series
NC State d. Michigan 74-67 ACC 1-0
#19 Maryland d. Illinois 72-66 ACC 2-0
#12 Wisconsin d. Florida State 81-66 ACC 2-1
#21 Georgia Tech d. Penn State 77-73 ACC 3-1
#10 Duke d. Indiana 54-51 ACC 4-1
Northwestern d. Miami 61-59 ACC 4-2
Boston College d. Michigan State 65-58 ACC 5-2
Purdue d. #25 Virginia 61-59 ACC 5-3
Virginia Tech d. Iowa 69-65 ACC 6-3
#6 North Carolina d. #1 Ohio State 98-89 ACC 7-3
Clemson d. Minnesota 90-68 ACC 8-3
2007 (ACC 8-3) Score Series
Wake Forest d. Iowa 56-47 ACC 1-0
Indiana d. Georgia Tech 83-79 tied 1-1
Virginia d. Northwestern 94-52 ACC 2-1
Florida State d. Minnesota 75-61 ACC 3-1
#7 Duke d. #20 Wisconsin 82-58 ACC 4-1
#18 Clemson d. Purdue 61-58 ACC 5-1
Boston College d. Michigan 77-64 ACC 6-1
#10 Michigan State d. NC State 81-58 ACC 6-2
Maryland d. Illinois 69-61 ACC 7-2
#1 North Carolina d. Ohio State 66-55 ACC 8-2
Penn State d. Virginia Tech 66-61 ACC 8-3
2008 (ACC 6-5) Score Series
Wisconsin d. Virginia Tech 74-72 Big Ten 1-0
Boston College d. Iowa 57-55 Tied 1-1
Ohio State d. Miami 73-68 Big Ten 2-1
Clemson d. Illinois 76-74 Tied 2-2
Duke d. Purdue 76-60 ACC 3-2
Minnesota d. Virginia 66-56 Tied 3-3
Wake Forest d. Indiana 83-58 ACC 4-3
Penn State d. Georgia Tech 85-83 Tied 4-4
Maryland d. Michigan 75-70 ACC 5-4
North Carolina d. Michigan State 98-63 ACC 6-4
Northwestern d. Florida State 73-59 ACC 6-5
Results by Team:
ACC H R N W-L
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