Who will win the "conference challenges"?

[Plebe]

The two big "conference challenges" will be played from Wednesday to Sunday (Dec. 1-5). Which two conferences will emerge with the all-important bragging rights?

Big Ten/ACC Challenge

ACC home games:​

• Rutgers at Pitt (Wed.)
• Nebraska at Wake Forest (Wed.)
• Ohio State at Syracuse (Wed.)
• Penn State at Boston College (Thu.)
• Michigan at Louisville (Thu.)
• Northwestern at Clemson (Thu.)
• Iowa at Duke (Thu.)

Big Ten home games:​

• Georgia Tech at Purdue (Wed.)
• Virginia Tech at Wisconsin (Wed.)
• North Carolina at Minnesota (Wed.)
• Notre Dame at Michigan State (Thu.)
• NC State at Indiana (Thu.)
• Florida State at Illinois (Thu.)
• Miami at Maryland (Thu.)

(Not participating: Virginia)​

Big 12/SEC Challenge

SEC home games:​

• West Virginia at Kentucky (Wed.)
• Iowa State at LSU (Thu.)
• Kansas State at South Carolina (Fri.)
• Oklahoma State at Auburn (Sun.)
• Texas at Texas A&M (Sun.)

Big 12 home games:​

• Georgia at Texas Tech (Thu.)
• Mississippi State at Oklahoma (Sat.)
• Missouri at Baylor (Sat.)
• Florida at TCU (Sun.)
• Vanderbilt at Kansas (Sun.)

(Not participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee)​

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Lots of good games on here. Few things of note:

1. Who picks these?? Could be better. Swap out Missouri and South Carolina for starters. Baylor would be a better match up for the Gamecocks.

2. Duke has a shot here because i worry what Iowa will look like coming off that covid break.

3. Nebraska vs Wake is a battle of undefeated and should be a good one.

4. LSU vs ISU and Texas/TAMU should be good ones as well.

 

[Plebe]

Lots of good games on here. Few things of note:

1. Who picks these?? Could be better. Swap out Missouri and South Carolina for starters. Baylor would be a better match up for the Gamecocks.

2. Duke has a shot here because i worry what Iowa will look like coming off that covid break.

3. Nebraska vs Wake is a battle of undefeated and should be a good one.

4. LSU vs ISU and Texas/TAMU should be good ones as well.

I think one of the constraints is that teams are generally supposed to alternate year to year between home and away games. Without having looked back at previous years, I'm guessing Baylor and South Carolina were both due home games in the challenge?

But that doesn't explain why they couldn't, for example, have Florida State or Virginia Tech play at Maryland (and let Miami play Illinois or Wisconsin). So yeah, plenty of head-scratchers.

Wake Forest has played absolutely nobody. Nebraska isn't winning any scheduling awards either but they do have a win over Creighton.

 

[triaddukefan]

Some Big Ten Homers in here...

Oops.. Did my math wrong

 

[undersized]

I've bolded the teams that I see as clear favorites, and italicized the games I see as toss-ups in the Big Ten/ACC challenge*:

ACC home games:

• Rutgers at Pitt
• Nebraska at Wake Forest
• Ohio State at Syracuse
• Penn State at Boston College
• Michigan at Louisville
• Northwestern at Clemson
• Iowa at Duke (Probably a toss-up because of Iowa's COVID uncertainty)

Big Ten home games:

• Georgia Tech at Purdue (But, Purdue had a surprisingly good win over FSU a while GT had a surprisingly bad loss against Auburn.)
• Virginia Tech at Wisconsin
• North Carolina at Minnesota
• Notre Dame at Michigan State (I would have said toss-up two weeks ago but MSU is trending down.)
• NC State at Indiana
• Florida State at Illinois
• Miami at Maryland

*Differing opinions are welcomed!

When you look at it this way, you notice that the away teams have the upper hand in the majority of games, which could get neutralized by the homecourt advantages of the underdogs. So does that make it a wash?

At any rate, looking forward to an exciting slate of games.

But that doesn't explain why they couldn't, for example, have Florida State or Virginia Tech play at Maryland (and let Miami play Illinois or Wisconsin). So yeah, plenty of head-scratchers.

Do we know if individual programs have any input on the relative strength of their assigned opponent? Like, Maryland just played three top-10 games last week (Baylor, NC State, and Stanford), and the week after this challenge they play #1 South Carolina. So I could certainly understand why Brenda wanted a break... Then again, I don't know whether these matchups were assigned before or after programs were lining up their non-conference schedules.

 

[undersized]

Predictions just for fun: (I haven't watched most of these teams this year yet)
Big 12/SEC Challenge

SEC home games:

• West Virginia at Kentucky (Wed.)
• Iowa State at LSU (Thu.)
• Kansas State at South Carolina (Fri.)
• Oklahoma State at Auburn (Sun.)
• Texas at Texas A&M (Sun.)

Big 12 home games:

• Georgia at Texas Tech (Thu.)
• Mississippi State at Oklahoma (Sat.)
• Missouri at Baylor (Sat.)
• Florida at TCU (Sun.)
• Vanderbilt at Kansas (Sun.)

 

[Plebe]

ACC home games:

• Rutgers at Pitt
• Nebraska at Wake Forest
• Ohio State at Syracuse
• Penn State at Boston College
• Michigan at Louisville
• Northwestern at Clemson
• Iowa at Duke (Probably a toss-up because of Iowa's COVID uncertainty)

Big Ten home games:

• Georgia Tech at Purdue (But, Purdue had a surprisingly good win over FSU a while GT had a surprisingly bad loss against Auburn.)
• Virginia Tech at Wisconsin
• North Carolina at Minnesota
• Notre Dame at Michigan State (I would have said toss-up two weeks ago but MSU is trending down.)
• NC State at Indiana
• Florida State at Illinois
• Miami at Maryland

*Differing opinions are welcomed!

I like your analysis. I'd categorize Georgia Tech–Purdue as more of a toss-up, just because GT has suffered significant personnel losses due to injury.

But yeah, it's weird that the only home teams that are clear favorites out of all 14 games are Maryland and Pitt. (Yikes, when was the last time Pitt was a clear favorite in anything?)

I also wouldn't be shocked if Duke upsets Iowa, given the circumstances. All in all, I'd say the ACC is likely to get 8 wins. [But if it ends in a 7-7 tie, I'm giving the win to the Big Ten, since the ACC's nonparticipating team (Virginia) is a walking L this season.]

SEC home games:

• West Virginia at Kentucky (Wed.)
• Iowa State at LSU (Thu.)
• Kansas State at South Carolina (Fri.)
• Oklahoma State at Auburn (Sun.)
• Texas at Texas A&M (Sun.)

Big 12 home games:

• Georgia at Texas Tech (Thu.)
• Mississippi State at Oklahoma (Sat.)
• Missouri at Baylor (Sat.)
• Florida at TCU (Sun.)
• Vanderbilt at Kansas (Sun.)

To me, the WV–KY, TX-TAMU, Vandy-KU, and FL-TCU games are all toss-ups. I do consider Oklahoma a slight favorite over MSU. Both have exceeded expectations to some degree so far, and it would hardly surprise me if the Bulldogs steal one in Norman.

In the Iowa State-LSU game I think anything can happen. In addition to home court, Mulkey will have the additional advantage of extreme familiarity with Iowa State's roster and style, whereas Fennelly is starting from scratch in scouting LSU's roster. But then again, Iowa State was perhaps the closest thing to a nemesis that Baylor had in the Big 12 in recent years.

 

[DefenseBB]

Ya know some of the blatant ingratiating comments by @Plebe to curry favor with a few well known posters needs to be called out.
"I also wouldn't be shocked if Duke upsets Iowa, given the circumstances." I mean come on, both @triaddukefan and Kara need a basket full of napkins for all the cupcakes they have been feasting on....

For the Georgia Tech-Purdue game, Nell has something to prove so I put GaTech as the favorite despite their injuries as they still have better personnel than the Boilermakers.

My initial count had 7-7 in the Big`10-ACC challenge. The SEC Big 12 games seem to be more blatant with mismatches. WVU-KY and Texas-A&M as mildly interesting. All the others, while maybe close, offer no intrinsic interest. As Plebe noted, both Nebraska and WF have played pathetic OOC's thus far. At least Nebraska has played 2 teams in the 50-85 ranking, whereas WF has played 1 team below 150th ranked (107). Both teams will have a hard time earning a bid this year unless they surprise and place top 6 in their league standings, which is not likely.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I’m just hoping LSU can keep it close but don’t think we matchup well with Iowa St at all. This defense is not there yet still and it doesn’t take long for Iowa st to get a giant lead the way they score

Not sure why they have Iowa St playing a SEC team who won 9 games last year

 

[triaddukefan]

Ya know some of the blatant ingratiating comments by @Plebe to curry favor with a few well known posters needs to be called out.
"I also wouldn't be shocked if Duke upsets Iowa, given the circumstances." I mean come on, both @triaddukefan and Kara need a basket full of napkins for all the cupcakes they have been feasting on....

Troy and Dayton ain't no cupcakes... I wouldn't call Bama a cupcake... Perhaps a slice of red velvet cake.. But no cupcake..

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Do we know if individual programs have any input on the relative strength of their assigned opponent? Like, Maryland just played three top-10 games last week (Baylor, NC State, and Stanford), and the week after this challenge they play #1 South Carolina. So I could certainly understand why Brenda wanted a break... Then again, I don't know whether these matchups were assigned before or after programs were lining up their non-conference schedules.

So far as I know they are supposed to be competitively balanced. That is, some games may not be, but the over all slate is. A product of both conferences wanting to win, of course, when they put together the package.

 

[triaddukefan]

Big Ten/ACC Challenge

ACC home games:​

• Rutgers at Pitt (Wed.)
• Nebraska at Wake Forest (Wed.)
• Ohio State at Syracuse (Wed.)
• Penn State at Boston College (Thu.)
• Michigan at Louisville (Thu.)
• Northwestern at Clemson (Thu.)
• Iowa at Duke (Thu.)

Big Ten home games:​

• Georgia Tech at Purdue (Wed.)
• Virginia Tech at Wisconsin (Wed.)
• North Carolina at Minnesota (Wed.)
• Notre Dame at Michigan State (Thu.)
• NC State at Indiana (Thu.)
• Florida State at Illinois (Thu.)
• Miami at Maryland (Thu.)

​

No biases here... but I got 11-3 in favor of the ACC. Again.. no biases.

 

[ReadR00ster]

I really only feel good about South Carolina adn Georgia for the SEC. got to say ACC over Big10 but close and Big 12 have much better match ups vs the SEC so should win big.

 

[Viet Vet]

The two big "conference challenges" will be played from Wednesday to Sunday (Dec. 1-5). Which two conferences will emerge with the all-important bragging rights?

Big Ten/ACC Challenge

ACC home games:​

• Rutgers at Pitt (Wed.)
• Nebraska at Wake Forest (Wed.)
• Ohio State at Syracuse (Wed.)
• Penn State at Boston College (Thu.)
• Michigan at Louisville (Thu.)
• Northwestern at Clemson (Thu.)
• Iowa at Duke (Thu.)

Big Ten home games:​

• Georgia Tech at Purdue (Wed.)
• Virginia Tech at Wisconsin (Wed.)
• North Carolina at Minnesota (Wed.)
• Notre Dame at Michigan State (Thu.)
• NC State at Indiana (Thu.)
• Florida State at Illinois (Thu.)
• Miami at Maryland (Thu.)

(Not participating: Virginia)​

Big 12/SEC Challenge

SEC home games:​

• West Virginia at Kentucky (Wed.)
• Iowa State at LSU (Thu.)
• Kansas State at South Carolina (Fri.)
• Oklahoma State at Auburn (Sun.)
• Texas at Texas A&M (Sun.)

Big 12 home games:​

• Georgia at Texas Tech (Thu.)
• Mississippi State at Oklahoma (Sat.)
• Missouri at Baylor (Sat.)
• Florida at TCU (Sun.)
• Vanderbilt at Kansas (Sun.)

(Not participating: Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tennessee)​

Ask again in March.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think one of the constraints is that teams are generally supposed to alternate year to year between home and away games. Without having looked back at previous years, I'm guessing Baylor and South Carolina were both due home games in the challenge?

But that doesn't explain why they couldn't, for example, have Florida State or Virginia Tech play at Maryland (and let Miami play Illinois or Wisconsin). So yeah, plenty of head-scratchers.

Wake Forest has played absolutely nobody. Nebraska isn't winning any scheduling awards either but they do have a win over Creighton.

Someone mentioned that Baylor and SC have already met in this event.

SC drew Iowa St last year.

Natural opponent would have been Texas with the NCAA meeting, Vic history, and Future conference implications.

But the rivalry game for Texas also makes sense from lots of angles.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

There are a lot of road victories projected in these events.

 

[LETTERL]

There are a lot of road victories projected in these events.

NC State @ Indiana could be the best game in the ACC/Big 10 challenge this year. Indiana returns everyone from last season. With the addition of Diamond Johnson and the return of Kayla Jones, NC State will be better than the team that lost to Indiana in the Sweet 16 last year. Road game...hostile environment. Could go either way. I'll be on the edge of my seat with heart pounding the entire game.

 

[Plebe]

Poll is open for a little bit longer, until shortly before the first challenge game — the highly anticipated showdown between Pitt and Rutgers.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Can I still vote?

ACC w/ a 4-2 lead after Day 1. Both conferences probably picked up at least 1 surprising win. And home court wasn't really worth all that much.

 

[undersized]

Pretty much every result tonight surprised me -- either the winner or the margin of victory ... or both!

-Purdue and Syracuse beating GT and OSU were surprising upsets.
-Nebraska thumping WF by 26 points and VT only besting Wisconsin by 10 were both surprising margins, but for opposite reasons.
-I expected UNC to have less trouble with Minnesota. Minnesota has bounced back as well as one could have been realistically hoped for after their horrible season opener.
-Pitt beating Rutgers 58-50 is, to me, the unsurprising exception.

 

[cancontent]

Pretty much every result tonight surprised me -- either the winner or the margin of victory ... or both!

-Purdue and Syracuse beating GT and OSU were surprising upsets.
-Nebraska thumping WF by 26 points and VT only besting Wisconsin by 10 were both surprising margins, but for opposite reasons.
-I expected UNC to have less trouble with Minnesota. Minnesota has bounced back as well as one could have been realistically hoped for after their horrible season opener.
-Pitt beating Rutgers 58-50 is, to me, the unsurprising exception.

I don't think Purdue is as surprising especially after their game against Florida State. They're building a good resume for March that's for sure though.

 

[billybud]

I don't think Purdue is as surprising especially after their game against Florida State. They're building a good resume for March that's for sure though.

Purdue is very good..But

FSU was missing their starting point guard (at brother's funeral...leukemia). missing their starting center (ankle) and backup center (strain)...

Playing without those two seven footers and the point guard against maybe the best team in the B1G was too much.

 

[visitingcock]

Nice lineup of games tonight. scoreboard will be interesting at about bedtime.

 

[undersized]

Playing without those two seven footers and the point guard against maybe the best team in the B1G was too much.

You're saying Purdue is "maybe the best team in the B1G"?