TV Schedule for 2008 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

On April 15, I posted the matchups for the 10th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, an event won by the ACC every year so far. Member schools from that conference have gone a combined 56-30 over that span, thoroughly dominating their brethren from the Big Ten en route to the Commissioner's Cup.

You can take a look at that post here (http://englishsoccertalk.blogspot.com/2008/04/2008-big-tenacc-challenge.html) for more information about the competition itself, but the complete TV schedule was announced today so I want to get that out there right now.

Once again, all 11 games will be televised -- 2 on ESPNU, 5 on ESPN2, and 4 on ESPN -- and they'll take place during the first three days of December.

As I'm sure you all know by now, I'm a huge Michigan Wolverines fan, and if you didn't know that, trust me, you'll be hearing a lot about them as we get closer to college basketball season. Michigan is a Big Ten school, all of which will be highlighted in bold. Like always, all tipoff times are Eastern.

Monday, Dec. 1
Wisconsin at Virginia Tech (7 PM, ESPN2)

Tuesday, Dec. 2
Ohio State at Miami (FL) (7 PM, ESPN)
Iowa at Boston College (7 PM, ESPNU)
Clemson at Illinois (7:30 PM, ESPN2)
Duke at Purdue (9 PM, ESPN)
Virginia at Minnesota (9:30 PM, ESPN2)

Wednesday, Dec. 3
Indiana at Wake Forest (7:15 PM, ESPN)
Penn State at Georgia Tech (7:30 PM, ESPN2)
**Michigan at Maryland (7:30 PM, ESPNU)**
North Carolina vs. Michigan State (from Ford Field in Detroit) (9:15 PM, ESPN)
Florida State at Northwestern (9:30 PM, ESPN2)

Once again, Michigan's been relegated to ESPNU, which is a relatively big insult in my opinion. Michigan-Maryland should be a much more compelling game than either Penn State-Georgia Tech or Virginia-Minnesota, not to mention Florida State-Northwestern, so frankly I'm a little bit surprised that the TV schedule worked out like this.

The most high-profile matchup is North Carolina-Michigan State, without question. It will be played at Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions, but will still basically be as good as a home game for Tom Izzo's Spartans.

UNC will be the #1 ranked team to start the season; there will be no doubting that with the returns of Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington, and the addition of two highly touted incoming freshman standouts, Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. The Tar Heels are the clear favorite to win the NCAA Tournament next March, but Michigan State is always tough. This game will surely be a sight to see.

The other big game to keep your eye on is Duke-Purdue. If it was being played at Cameroon Indoor Stadium, the toughest place to play in all of American sports for visiting teams, Duke would likely come out on top, but it isn't. Coached by Matt Painter, Purdue is a team on the rise and will be a contender for the Big Ten title this season. They've been young and successful over the last two seasons, but they're expecting to make the jump to the next level and make a deep run in the Big Dance. Duke is Duke: they were young last year as well and with that season to gel, they'll be back at their usual perch at or near the top in the ACC.

I can't wait for this competition. I think this may just be the Big Ten's year to finally break through, and hopefully Michigan helps their conference pick up a win on the way.

2008 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

The slate of games for next year's annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge was released today and I have to be honest, there's only a couple of big-time matchups and I'm fairly disappointed. In past years, there have been four or five different games that were truly must-see TV early in the season, but that won't be the case this time around.

Exact dates, TV schedules, and tipoff times have yet to be determined, but once again, this event will take place in early December.

The ACC has dominated their midwestern brethren over the years, going 9-0 as a conference with their member schools posting a combined 56-30 record. Duke is 9-0 as a team, best in the ACC; they'll pay a visit to West Lafayette, Indiana and Purdue next year. The Boilermakers are just 2-5 in this competition and the Big Ten has only one team, Michigan State, that has posted a winning record so far.

Tom Izzo's squads are 5-3 in their eight games and will host a North Carolina team fresh off another Final Four appearance. Surprisingly, UNC is only 4-5 overall in this competition, and this game in East Lansing is the other must-watch game for fans.

As far as my boys, the Michigan Wolverines, go, they'll head down south to take on Maryland in College Park. Gary Williams' team had a disappointing 2007-2008 season, which ended in the NIT, and lost a few key players from that squad. With Michigan on the rise and Maryland on a downward trend, this is a game Michigan could steal on the road.

Here's the complete list of games (Big Ten team in bold):

Purdue vs. Duke
Michigan State vs. UNC
Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin
Miami (FL) vs. Ohio State
Illinois vs. Clemson
Minnesota vs. Virginia
Boston College vs. Iowa
Georgia Tech vs. Penn State
Wake Forest vs. Indiana
Northwestern vs. Florida State
Maryland vs. Michigan

Update (Wednesday, April 15): The dates have, in fact, been confirmed for each of the 11 Big Ten/ACC Challenge games. The event opens on Monday, December 1 with one game (Virginia Tech-Wisconsin), and will see five games contested on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Here's what we know so far, with tipoff times and TV networks yet to be determined:

Dec. 1: VA Tech-Wisconsin
Dec. 2: Miami (FL)-Ohio State, Illinois-Clemson, Purdue-Duke, Minnesota-UVA, BC-Iowa
Dec. 3: Maryland-Michigan, Wake Forest-Indiana, Georgia Tech-Penn State, Michigan State-UNC (at Ford Field in Detroit, not East Lansing as previously indicated), Northwestern-Florida State