Big Ten Basketball: Takeaways from 2019 ACC/Big Ten Challenge pairings

By Adam Childs | Jun 7, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 31: Tre Jones #3 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after his teams 68-67 loss to the Michigan State Spartans in the East Regional game of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – MARCH 14: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini gives instructions to his team against the Iowa Hawkeyes at the United Center on March 14, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

5. The bottom of the Big Ten will decide the challenge

Everybody looks forward to the top matchups when the challenge is released and that is no different this year. We get Virginia at Purdue, Ohio State at North Carolina, Michigan at Louisville and Duke at Michigan State. Those could very easily be split but should be great games.

But then we have some games that look like mismatches on paper. Maryland hosts a Notre Dame team that finished last in the ACC last year. The Terrapins could have a top-five team and should have no trouble with the Irish. Miami goes to Illinois and while the Illini aren’t a power the Hurricanes were not very well last year. They seem to be trending in two different directions.

We should have some pretty good middle of the road games also as Florida State heads to Indiana and Iowa travels to Syracuse. Both of those games could go either way and should be entertaining on their own.

But looking at the matchups it looks like the bottom of the Big Ten will be what decides the challenge. Teams like Northwestern, Rutgers and Penn State will be huge for the Big Ten. They all have games that they can win on paper.

Northwestern travels to Boston College who was solid but not great last year. Rutgers travels to an improving Pitt school, but the Scarlet Knights played well at the end of last year and will look to carry that on into next year. Penn State hosts a Wake Forest team that has been bad. The Big Ten can win two of those games. If they get all three they should have a great shot to take the challenge.

Minnesota and Nebraska will have to prove they are not at the bottom of the Big Ten but could use early wins in the challenge to prove their worth. If the Big Ten can get both of them to win they should be on their way to claiming the cup back.

These games may get overlooked, but they will prove to be important in deciding the challenge. They may not be the sexy matchups but should not be ignored.

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