It’s that time once again. The annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge tips off at 7:00 PM EST on the ESPN family of networks, with 12 more games to come on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (schedule below). Some matchups are of course better than others, but there is plenty of quality among the 28 teams and national bragging rights on the line. Keep in mind that the ACC hasn’t won this event since 2008 after winning the first 10 in a row. To prep for tonight’s start to the big event, the ACC and Big Ten microsites are here to defend the teams they cover. Brad Jenkins (ACC) and Brendan Brody (Big Ten) lead off the week by breaking down why their sides will prevail in tonight’s two games.
Wake Forest at Rutgers (7:00 PM EST, ESPNU)
- Brad: Wake Forest is coming off an impressive performance in the Maui Invitational, beating UCLA for a third place showing in that event. The Demon Deacons have already claimed a Big Ten scalp in rallying to knock off a ranked Indiana squad a week ago, but the main reason Wake should win tonight is that Rutgers just doesn’t appear to be very good at basketball right now.
- Brendan: They don’t appear to be very good at basketball right now, but they are 3-0 at home. The Scarlet Knights get to play this one in their own gym and they surprised everyone last season by knocking off Clemson in this event. Look for Wake to be feeling somewhat full of itself after its surprising performance in Hawaii, and look for Rutgers to shake off its perimeter shooting drought with Mike Williams leading the charge.
Clemson at Minnesota (9:00 PM EST, ESPN2)
- Brendan: Minnesota has been pretty brutal in guarding the three-point line this season (36.8%), but Clemson doesn’t have anyone shooting over 40 percent from distance. These teams appear even on paper, but look for sophomore Bakary Konate and the improving freshman class to show progress as the Gophers squeak out a close win.
- Brad: Clemson is a slight underdog on the road in Minneapolis, but the Tigers should be used to traveling as their home games this season are located 30 miles from campus. And they say that defense travels. Neither team looks like an offensive juggernaut this season, but Minnesota’s defense (133rd nationally) is also suspect. Brad Brownell’s unit has held opponents to 0.83 points per possession thus far, so expect that defense to carry them to a win tonight.