Duke Will Host Indiana in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge Next Season
By Chris Brown
ESPN has recently announced the Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-ups for the upcoming season. Duke will be hosting the Indiana Hoosiers in Cameron Indoor Stadium for the 17th annual event between the ACC and Big Ten. The 2015 Challenge will take place Novermber 30-December 2 with 14 games between schools in both conferences.
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The match-up between the Hoosiers and the Blue Devils on December 2nd will pit two of the most storied programs in college basketball history against each other. Duke will have some key veterans returning and lots of young talent next season with the top incoming recruiting class led by 5-star prospect Brandon Ingram. After a first round loss to Wichita State in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Indiana should bring back a preseason Top 25 team next season with star guard Yogi Ferrell deciding to return for his senior year.
There will be several very intersting match-ups this year with 13 total teams from both conferences making the NCAA Tournament and three teams making it to the the 2015 Final Four. The most notable game will be long-time ACC competitors Maryland vs. UNC, who will both most likely be preseason Top 10 teams and with the news that former Blue Devil Rasheed Sulaimon announced he will be transferring from Duke to join the Terrapins next season.
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Additionally, Louisville and Michigan State will play in a rematch of an Elite Eight game in tournament this year, defending ACC champion Virginia will head to Ohio State, and National Runner-Up Wisconsin will travel to Syracuse. The rest of the match-ups can be seen here, with the specific times and networks to be released in August closer to the start of the season. Since the Atlantic Coast Conference now has 15 teams, Georgia Tech will not be participating. The ACC leads overall in the challenge after winning the first 10 in a row, but the last six have been either Big Ten wins or ties with the B1G winning last year’s challenge 8-6.
Despite the recent success of the Big Ten, Duke has dominated the challenge with a 14-2 overall record which is the best from either conference. In last season’s Challenge, the Blue Devils went to then-#2 ranked Wisconsin and won 80-70. Duke also beat the top two finishers in the Big Ten, Michigan State in the Final Four and the Badgers again in the national championship game, en route to winning the 2015 NCAA title.