The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten announced on Wednesday (June 28) the matchups for the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge. Virginia will host Maryland on Wednesday, Nov. 29 in John Paul Jones Arena. The game time will be announced at a later date.
This year’s Challenge marks the 11th year of the event that made its debut for the 2007-08 season. All 14 Big Ten teams and all of the ACC teams except Boston College will participate in the 2017 Challenge.
Challenge games will be played in a two-day format, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 29. Along with Virginia, Pittsburgh and North Carolina will host games on the first day, with Notre Dame and Florida State playing on the road. Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Miami and Duke will host, while Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Clemson and NC State will play on the road on Thursday, Nov. 30.
A year ago, the ACC won its seventh women’s Challenge title with a 9-5 advantage over the Big Ten. The ACC’s success in the Challenge was parlayed throughout the season as a league-record seven teams finished the 2016-17 ranked in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll – the most of any league.
The ACC also sent 11 teams to postseason tournaments, including seven in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Three teams advanced to the Sweet 16 – No. 1 seed Notre Dame,
No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 4 seed Louisville, while the Fighting Irish and the Seminoles advanced to the Elite 8. The seven league teams combined for a 12-7 mark in the NCAA Tournament, while the ACC’s four WNIT participants went 10-4 in the WNIT with Georgia Tech advancing to the championship final.
The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season, and the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2017 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.
Game times, as well as television coverage for the 2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, will be announced at a later date.
2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule
Wednesday, Nov. 29
- Notre Dame at Michigan
- Wisconsin at Pittsburgh
- Florida State at Iowa
- Maryland at Virginia
- Minnesota at North Carolina
Thursday, Nov. 30
- Wake Forest at Penn State
- Purdue at Georgia Tech
- Northwestern at Syracuse
- Louisville at Indiana
- Virginia Tech at Illinois
- Michigan State at Miami
- Ohio State at Duke
- Clemson at Nebraska
- NC State at Rutgers
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Chris Graham
