ACC/Big Ten Challenge Preview

Another week of exciting action is in the books, capped this Sunday night by Clemson and FSU pulling out 1 point wins. It was an interesting week. Among the headlines was Duke's dominance in New York. Their win over Connecticut opened some eyes, and they still look like the best team in the conference. Clemson lost a non-conference game, which almost never happens. And North Carolina escapes with a win at home over Nevada -- it's clear this team will take a while to gel. Miami, NC State and Duke are the only teams left undefeated.

So with that, let's look ahead to the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The ACC has won the challenge every year since it began, but most media pundits think the Big Ten is the better league this year. Here are this year's games:

Monday:

Penn State at Virginia (7:00 pm) - Penn State has really struggled early this season, and Virginia's coming off a decent win over Cleveland State. Should be a fairly ugly, low scoring game that Virginia can steal for the ACC.

Tuesday:

Northwestern at NC State (7:00 pm) - Northwestern was dealt a serious injury blow at the beginning of the year, but they responded with a big upset win over Notre Dame. NC State is surprisingly undefeated. I think the Pack take care of business at home.

Wake Forest at Purdue (7:00 pm) - Wake inexplicably lost at home to William and Mary this week. Purdue is coming off a big tournament win over Tennessee in the Virgin Islands. The trends continue in this one, Purdue wins one for the Big Ten.

Maryland at Indiana (7:30 pm) - I don't know how Maryland got to play Indiana this year. The Hoosiers are still a ways away with Tom Crean. Terps roll, even on the road.

Michigan State at UNC (9:00 pm) - This is a very interesting matchup. Michigan State lost to a surging Florida team, while UNC is still trying to figure out its identity. Carolina usually rises to the challenge in these big games, but the Spartans are too good.

Virginia Tech at Iowa (9:30 pm) - The Hokies have played very poorly thus far this year, almost losing to Delaware. Iowa hasn't been very good either. This will be a very ugly game that probably won't get out of the 50s. I'll give the edge to the home team Hawkeyes.

Wednesday:

Illinois at Clemson (7:15 pm) - Clemson has to be disappointed with its performance in Anaheim. Illinois has to be even more disappointed with its performance this past week, losing to two unranked teams. Clemson wins this one going away.

Minnesota at Miami (7:15 pm) - Tubby Smith has done a great job with the Gophers. They won't be intimidated at Miami. But the Canes have really surprised so far this year and should win a tight one at home.

Boston College at Michigan (7:30 pm) - The Eagles had a good win on the road against Providence. They're gonna have a tough time with John Beilein's 1-3-1 defense though. I expect Michigan to win at home.

Duke at Wisconsin (9:15 pm) - The Badgers have a ridiculously good home record under Bo Ryan in the last few years. But they don't play a lot of teams like Duke. The Devils should win, even on the road.

Florida State at Ohio State (9:30 pm) - The Seminoles played great in the Old Spice Classic. But Ohio State, with Evan Turner, is going to be very tough to beat at home. I like the Buckeyes.

So with my math, the ACC wins the challenge again by a slim 6-5 margin. Should be a great week of games!