W Hoops at Minnesota in Big Ten/ACC Challenge
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten announced on Tuesday the matchups for the 2013 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge. This year’s challenge will mark the seventh year of the event that has been extended to 2016.
The Hurricanes will travel north to face Minnesota at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., on Dec. 5. The Gophers finished the 2012-13 season with an 18-14 overall record, 7-9 inside Big Ten play. Minnesota fell to ball state in the opening round of the WNIT.
“I’m pleased to add another tough non-conference opponent to the schedule,” said Miami head coach Katie Meier. “As we have built this program, we have had a ‘we will play anyone, anywhere’ type of philosophy.
“Our university is so well known nationwide, we feel like we can reach alums, fans and recruits all across America. Playing at Minnesota will be a terrific matchup and a great opportunity to expose our program.”
Miami, 21-11 in 2012-13, is coming off a season that saw it reach the NCAA tournament for a program-best third consecutive season.
All 12 Big Ten teams and 12 of the 15 ACC teams will participate in the 2013 Challenge, including Notre Dame and Syracuse, which will join the league on July 1, 2013.
The Hurricanes own a 2-2 all-time record in the Challenge and have won two straight. Last season, they defeated then No. 6 Penn State, 69-65. In 2011, Miami traveled to East Lansing, Mich., to face the Spartans, coming away with a 76-60 victory.
Challenge games will be contested in a two-day format, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 4. Georgia Tech and Florida State will host games on the first day, while Notre Dame and Virginia Tech will be on the road. On Dec. 5, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia will host Big Ten foes, and NC State, Boston College, Syracuse and Miami visit their inter-conference foes.
A year ago, ACC teams combined for a 7-5 mark against its Big Ten counterparts to win its fifth Challenge title. The ACC owns a 41-27 edge over the Big Ten in the Challenge. The two leagues each earned six wins in 2011 to mark the only tie in Challenge history.
The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2013 event will be referred to as the Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences’ Challenge agreement for men’s basketball.
The ACC and the Big Ten have long been among the most dominant conferences on the women’s basketball scene. Last season, the ACC was represented by six overall postseason squads, including five teams in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. The five teams in the tournament marked the 19th consecutive season at least four ACC teams have been selected to the field. Overall, the ACC has made 14 Final Four appearances.
For the sixth time in conference history, the Big Ten had at least six teams selected to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship in 2013, and Big Ten teams have appeared in the NCAA Sweet 16 in 27 of the last 29 years.
2013 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date. For more information about The Challenge, including a complete schedule, visit theacc.com.
2013 CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, December 4
Notre Dame at Penn State
Illinois at Georgia Tech
Virginia Tech at Indiana
Michigan State at Florida State
Thursday, December 5
NC State at Northwestern
Boston College at Wisconsin
Syracuse at Iowa
Purdue at Duke
Ohio State at Maryland
Nebraska at North Carolina
Michigan at Virginia
Miami at Minnesota
ACC (41-27)
Boston College: 2-3
Clemson: 2-4
Duke: 5-1
Florida State: 4-2
Georgia Tech: 5-1
Maryland: 6-0
Miami: 2-2
North Carolina: 4-2
NC State: 2-4
Virginia: 5-1
Virginia Tech: 2-4
Wake Forest: 2-3
Big Ten (27-41)
Illinois: 3-3
Indiana: 3-3
Iowa: 1-5
Michigan: 4-2
Michigan State: 4-2
Minnesota: 2-4
Nebraska: 0-2
Northwestern: 2-4
Ohio State: 2-4
Penn State: 2-4
Purdue: 1-5
Wisconsin: 3-3
2012 CHALLENGE RESULTS (ACC 7, BIG TEN 5)
November 28
North Carolina 57, Ohio State 54
Florida State 83, Iowa 69
Virginia Tech 47, Wisconsin 38
Duke 71, Michigan 54
Maryland 90, Nebraska 71
Purdue 85, Georgia Tech 73
Indiana 52, Clemson 49
Northwestern 67, Boston College 63
November 29
Miami 69, Penn State 65
Michigan State 68, NC State 51
Virginia 90, Minnesota 68
Illinois 95, Wake Forest 82
2011 CHALLENGE RESULTS (ACC 6, BIG TEN 6)
November 30
Iowa 58, Virginia Tech 47
Maryland 74, Michigan 65
Georgia Tech 73, Nebraska 57
Northwestern 76, NC State 59
Ohio State 78, Florida State 75 (OT)
Penn State 103, North Carolina 84
Wisconsin 58, Boston College 50
December 1
Illinois 61, Clemson 50
Virginia 65, Indiana 49
Miami 76, Michigan State 60
Wake Forest 82, Minnesota 65
Duke 64, Purdue 53
2008 CHALLENGE RESULTS (ACC 7, BIG TEN 4)
December 3
Georgia Tech 70, Michigan State 57
Florida State 73, Penn State 60
North Carolina 72, Ohio State 63
December 4
Maryland 70, Purdue 59
Duke 71, Iowa 47
Clemson 78, Northwestern 75 (OT)
Minnesota 80, Boston College 60
Wisconsin 61, Virginia Tech 52
December 5
Michigan 63, NC State 52
Indiana 69, Miami 54
2007 CHALLENGE RESULTS (ACC 8, BIG TEN 3)
November 19
Michigan 65, Miami 50
November 28
Georgia Tech 76, Iowa 57
Wake Forest 60, Northwestern 45
November 29
North Carolina 90, Purdue 72
NC State 61, Illinois 47
Michigan State 68, Clemson 51
Florida State 85, Indiana 78
November 30
Maryland 77, Ohio State 53
Virginia Tech 68, Minnesota 62
Virginia 84, Wisconsin 60
December 2
Penn State 86, Duke 84
