Why The ACC Beat The Big Ten Again

Another ACC-Big Ten Challenge is in the books, and for the eighth time in as many attempts, the ACC has come out on top in the basketball showdown. On four of those occasions, the ACC wound up with a one-game advantage, but this time it was a decisive 8-3 edge. Why did the Big Ten come up short again? Here are some reasons.


Air Force: Wednesday night, the Falcons pummeled Wake Forest - the one ACC team not participating in the Challenge - by 36 points. Clearly, the Big Ten needs to add some service academies to take down the ACC.

Hillary Clinton: The Big Ten is headquartered in Park Ridge, Illinois, hometown of the New York senator. The conference followed her example, since she doesn’t play well in the South.

National Hockey League: The Challenge began on Monday, when visitors from Michigan saw a “Home of the Stanley Cup Champions” sign in Raleigh. Confusion immediately ensued.

Big Ben: “Big Ten” sounds like “Big Ben,” and both Ben Roethlisberger and Ben Wallace had a tough week.

Football Conference Championship: Shortly after a 1-2 matchup between Ohio State and Michigan, Big Ten schools were amused to hear that the ACC football championship game will match Wake Forest and Georgia Tech. Periodic fits of giggling interrupted many Big Ten game plans.

Abbreviations: It’s cool for college students to talk in shorthand. The Atlantic Coast Conference is usually abbreviated, but you never hear anyone call the Big Ten Conference the BTC.

James Delany: The Big Ten commissioner is a North Carolina alumnus, so he still has a soft spot for his old conference.

2004-05 Michigan State: The Spartans lost to Duke in the Challenge but later eliminated the Blue Devils from the Sweet 16. Counting on NCAA tournament rematches, many Big Ten teams thought it would be best to lose now.

Network Programming: ABC and CBS clearly favor the ACC. It’s Boston Legal and CSI: Miami, not Bloomington Legal and CSI: West Lafayette.

The Eyes Don’t Have It: Both the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Ohio State Buckeyes lost their games. Other body parts were undefeated, as the North Carolina Tar Heels triumphed.

Cocktails: The Big Ten fared well in games involving alcoholic drinks, as the Purdue Boilermakers edged Virginia, and Northwestern topped the Miami Hurricanes. Unfortunately, there were nine other matchups. Next year, expect Big Ten press releases to refer to the Duke Blue Hawaiians and the Virginia Tech Fighting Martinis.

Dry Floors: In 2001, a Challenge game between Michigan State and Virginia was cancelled due to condensation on the Richmond Coliseum court. UVA was leading in the second half when the game was called. This year, no courts were too wet for play, so every Big Ten team had to play the entire second half.

Williams: The ACC is the league of the Williams, and Roy and Gary both won their Challenge games. So Minnesota was doomed as it took on Clemson in Williams Arena.

Florida-UCLA: The Big Ten is 2-0 in Challenge games featuring a rematch of the previous spring’s national championship game (Maryland-Indiana in 2002, North Carolina-Illinois in 2005). No such opportunity arose this time, since the Gators and Bruins refused to switch conferences for this event.

Quirky Trophies: Big Ten football showdowns often have a kitschy prize at stake, such as The Old Oaken Bucket or The Little Brown Jug. The conference would take the Challenge more seriously if an item from Cracker Barrel went to the winner.

There's No Place Like Home in the ACC & Big Ten

In today’s world, traveling can bring numerous hassles.  Airport security lines are long, freeways are congested, and zeppelin service is appallingly limited.  Leaving home is especially treacherous thus far during conference basketball play in the ACC and Big Ten.  In these leagues, home is where the victory is.

 

 

In the ACC, the home team won the first ten conference matchups before Duke routed Wake Forest in Winston-Salem Sunday night.  The Deacons were hampered by the Blue Devils’ accuracy from three-point land, as well as by having a mascot with a bow tie on his chin.  Seriously, why does the Demon Deacon have a bow tie on his chin?  Normal deacons wear their ties in the typical spot – do the demonic ones just have to be different?  If any Wake Forest fans are reading, please clear up this mystery for me.

 

 

Similarly, home teams are 9-1 in Big Ten conference play.  As in the ACC, the only road winner was the overwhelming preseason favorite - Northwestern???  Really?  Someone’s messing with me – I need to check this out.  (Pause for “Jeopardy!” theme music).  Okay, it’s actually true!  The Wildcats defeated Minnesota 57-49 in Minneapolis.  With the Vikings’ season completed, another team stepped up to embarrass Twin Cities sports fans.

 

 

No team exemplified the power of the home court more than Illinois.  On Thursday, the sixth-ranked Illini knocked off #7 Michigan State 60-50 in Champaign.  Illinois guard Dee Brown looked like a national player of the year candidate with a career-high 34 points.  In Iowa on Saturday, Brown played like Dee, the sarcastic sister from “What’s Happening!!” – managing a mere six points on 2-13 shooting in a 63-48 defeat.  The ghost of Rerun shed a tear as the Illini fell from the ranks of the unbeaten.

 

 

Other highly-ranked teams found the road to be unkind over the weekend.  Michigan State stumbled again on Sunday – this time at Wisconsin.  #11 Boston College dropped to 0-2 as a new ACC member with a loss at Georgia Tech.  Still not used to its new conference, the Eagles originally traveled to Georgetown before scrambling to Atlanta in time for tip-off.  #14 Maryland succumbed 84-70 at Miami, due largely to dominating performances from Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.

 

 

#13 North Carolina State was hoping to be different on Saturday.  The Wolfpack was in the unaccustomed position of being higher-ranked than hated rival, #25 North Carolina.  The Pack left Chapel Hill in a much more familiar state – on the losing end.  The Tar Heels scored the last 13 points in an 82-69 victory.  UNC’s proficiency from the foul line was key.  The Heels converted 26 of 28 free throw attempts, with freshman star Tyler Hansbrough hitting all 14 of his tries.  As a result, Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek plans to devote extra practice time to improving his team’s free throw defense.

 

 

Surprisingly, this trend was almost disrupted early as Virginia Tech nearly shocked Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 4.  Leading by 11 points with under five minutes remaining, Duke almost collapsed as Mike Krzyzewski believed in his American Express commercials a little too much.  During time-outs, he was heard screaming to his team, “Don’t ask me what to do – I don’t think of myself as a basketball coach!!!”  Only Sean Dockery’s 40-foot buzzer beater saved the Blue Devils from a stunning one-point defeat.  As consolation for the Hokies, Marcus Vick won a halftime “Step on the Most Guys” contest over Christian Laettner.

 

 

It remains to be seen whether the road woes in these powerhouse conferences will continue.  On Tuesday, nationally-ranked Wisconsin and North Carolina travel to unranked Minnesota and Virginia Tech, respectively.  Although favored, Badgers coach Bo Ryan and Tar Heel leader Roy Williams should take no chances.  They should leave the road jerseys at home “by mistake” and have their players suit up in the home whites.