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          Men's College Basketball Blog

          Times/networks for Big Ten/ACC Challenge

          • ESPN.com staff
          Aug 15, 2013, 11:00 AM ET

          The times and networks have been finalized for the 15th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which will take place Dec. 3-4 on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

          All 12 Big Ten teams and 12 of the 15 ACC schools will participate in the 2013 Challenge, including the three newest ACC members (Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Syracuse). Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest will not play in this year's event.

          The ACC and Big Ten split last year’s Challenge with six wins each. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner’s Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year, which was the Big Ten in 2011. The ACC holds a 10-3-1 Challenge record, winning the first 10 events (1999-2008) before the Big Ten won the next three (2009-2011).

          For an analysis of this year's matchups, check out Eamonn Brennan's take from back in May. As for the times and networks, here they are ...

          Tuesday, Dec. 3 (all times ET)

          7:15 - Indiana at Syracuse (ESPN)

          7:15 - Illinois at Georgia Tech (ESPN2)

          7:30 - Penn State at Pittsburgh (ESPNU)

          9:15 - Michigan at Duke (ESPN)

          9:15 - Notre Dame at Iowa (ESPN2)

          9:30 - Florida State at Minnesota (ESPNU)

          Wednesday, Dec. 4 (all times ET)

          7:00 - Maryland at Ohio State (ESPN or ESPN2)

          7:00 - Wisconsin at Virginia (ESPN or ESPN2)

          7:30 - Northwestern at NC State (ESPNU)

          9:00 - North Carolina at Michigan State (ESPN)

          9:00 - Boston College at Purdue (ESPN2)

          9:30 - Miami at Nebraska (ESPNU)

          A few notes on this year's matchups:

          • Seven of the 12 games will mark first-time Challenge matchups: Michigan-Duke, Maryland-Ohio State, Miami-Nebraska and Boston College-Purdue, plus the debut of the three new ACC members Syracuse (vs. Indiana), Notre Dame (at Iowa) and Pitt (vs. Penn State).

          • In addition to first-time Challenge games, several of the teams are infrequent opponents: Nebraska holds a 3-1 record against Miami; Purdue won both previous meetings against BC; Ohio State and Maryland last played in 1985 with OSU three out of the five all-time games; and Notre Dame will play Iowa for the first time since 1990 and holds a 8-5 series record.

          • Old Pennsylvania rivals Pitt and Penn State will meet for the first time since 2005. The Panthers have won the past five contests.

          • Illinois/Georgia Tech and Wisconsin/Virginia will follow their first-time Challenge meetings in 2012 with a rematch in the 2013 event. The Illini and Cavaliers won last year's matchups.

          • Best Three Out of Five: North Carolina/Michigan State and Minnesota/Florida State will meet in the Challenge for the fifth time. Both series are 2-2.

          • Rubber Match: Northwestern and NC State will square off in the Challenge for the third time. Northwestern won in 2009 and NC State in 2002.

          • Syracuse and Indiana have met five previous times in non-Challenge games, with the Orange winning the past four, including last season’s Sweet 16 matchup.