Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports The matchups won’t be announced for a few more weeks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a stab at guessing what the schedule could be We know a good chunk of Ohio State’s nonconference basketball schedule next season, and unless you are a hardcore devotee of MAC basketball, it’s likely only one more premier game has yet to be released, and that’s Ohio State’s opponent in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. With the Buckeyes already facing multiple top-level teams away from home, whoever they draw in the Challenge is likely to be the best non-Big Ten team to make a trip to Columbus. According to ESPN’s Andy Katz, the matchups are likely to be released in the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make a few informed guesses about who the Buckeyes, or anybody else really, may draw. Based on the history of the event, here’s what we know about ESPN’s thinking: Since the ACC has one more team than the Big Ten for basketball, somebody is going to stay home. Typically, that’s the worst place team in the ACC, but last season, Boston College missed the event instead, so Virginia Tech wouldn’t be left out two years in a row. Virginia Tech finished in last place again, so it’s possible they are left out, but with Buzz Williams as coach and a good recruiting class coming in, my guess is that they have a little higher of a Q score than some of the other ACC teams. Georgia Tech finished second to last in 2014-2015, and they would be my guess for the odd team out. These matchups aim to have relatively equal talent levels, so Duke isn’t going to draw say, Northwestern. The presumed top teams in the league will face the top teams in the other, and so on and so forth. Historically, an effort has been made to make sure teams don’t play on the road two years in a row, and that each conference gets the same number of home games each season, but there have been a few exceptions, because schedules are tricky things. Last year, the Big Ten got eight home games, and they did in 2011 as well. I imagine going 7-7 is the goal, but if there are arena or travel commitments and somebody has to go on the road again, welp, them’s the breaks. With that in mind, here’s some educated guesses on what we may see in a few weeks: Duke at Maryland Indiana at UNC Virginia at Michigan State Louisville at Wisconsin Miami at Ohio State Purdue at Florida State Notre Dame at Illinois Michigan at NC State Minnesota at Syracuse Boston College at Northwestern Iowa at Pitt Rutgers at Virginia Tech Clemson at Nebraska* Penn State at Wake Forest A few notes here: The ratings appeal for those top three games would be undeniable…
Continue Reading: What will the matchups be for the 2015 ACC-Big Ten Challenge?
