Let’s be honest here. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge has been like stealing candy from a baby.
Since its inception in the 1999-2000 season the Big Ten has never won the challenge. It’s been straight ACC domination for the last decade, as the conference owns a 64-percent winning percentage in head-to-head competition with Big Ten teams.
Anything BUT a challenge.
But this year’s matchups may present the Big Ten’s most compelling shot to come out on top. For the first time in a long time, over half of the teams in the conference made this year’s Preseason AP Top 25: Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, and Minnesota.
Not too shabby.
It may be a little too early to start declaring Fab Five status but mark my words the Big Ten is BACK. And Tuesday night’s championship rematch between No. 9 Michigan State and No. 10 North Carolina is the first BIG test on a national stage to prove just that.
This game is a must win for Sparty. But it’s even more important for the Big Ten if the conference plans to convince the college basketball world of its return to greatness.
I witnessed the Man vs. Boy beat-down last year in Detroit. It wasn’t pretty. But thankfully Psycho T, Ty Lyson, Wayne Ellington and Co. graduated to the NBA, taking five of the Tarheels top seven scorers from last year’s title team along with them. But that doesn’t mean the 2010 Heels are a bunch of scrubs. Roy Williams has a group of talented youngsters on his hands that were recruited, as he says, “to win and win now.”
The biggest question mark surrounding this Carolina team, however, is its guard play or lack there of. This is definitely good news for Tom Izzo and his guard-heavy Michigan State team that Lindys College Basketball selected as the nation’s best backcourt with juniors Durrell Summers and 2009 Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas.
The Spartans also bring experience and return seven of the team’s top nine scorers from last year’s Final Four squad, as well as a surprisingly stingy defense that’s been able to limit opponents to 36.9 percent on the season.
As the team’s given leader and captain, it’s critical that Lucas do his best Mateen Cleaves imitation and expose UNC’s weakness at the guard position, as well as motivate his teammates in a hostile environment on the road.
Yes. Every game played in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge counts and is important. But the burden of the Big Ten’s reputation as a contender or pretender rests heavily on the shoulders of the Spartans.
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About the Author
Upon graduating from Purdue University in 2007, Mary-Rachel Dick began working as a reporter for Big Ten Network. For the last two years, she has been a part of the Network’s coverage of Big Ten men’s football and basketball.
Aside from her work with BTN, Mary-Rachel has also hosted ESPN and Voom HD’s 10 episode series “Sports and Muscle in Monterey” highlighting Russo and Steele’s collector car auctions. She also got to spend some time with Michael Phelps during the USA Swimming National Championships as the poolside reporter alongside Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines.
You can check out Mary-Rachel’s work at http://maryracheldick.com/.
