Big Ten Basketball: 5 takeaways from the 2018 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Big Ten Basketball just went toe-to-toe with the ACC and came out with a 7-7 tie in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. What did we learn about the Big Ten and who had the best game?

After winning or tying seven out of the previous eight challenges the Big Ten was absolutely embarrassed last year losing 11 of the 14 games. They were completely outmatched and honestly did not even belong on the same court as the ACC. Purdue, Nebraska, and Michigan State were the only ones to win and many others got blown out. It was just a sign of things to come as the Big Ten was possibly the worst power five conference in the country last year.

What a difference a year makes. The Big Ten looks like they are back this year and it showed in their games. Four of their seven losses were by five points or fewer and more importantly, the middle of the pack looked like competent basketball teams.

A year after only getting four bids for the NCAA tournament this looks like a seven or eight bid team this year. The middle has caught the top and that is a good thing. There were four very good teams last year with Nebraska right behind them and then the conference completely dropped off. It is what caused the Cornhuskers to miss out on an at-large bid because they just feasted on weak conference opponents.

The early season showed some definite promise, but this set of games showed the country that the Big Ten is hoping to make last season seem like a mirage.

So what exactly did we learn the past three days? We take a look at five things we can take away