April 15, 2008
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech will host Penn State in the 2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the two conferences and ESPN announced Tuesday. The tipoff time and network for the game have not been determined.
The Yellow Jackets and Nittany Lions have met twice before, most recently in the 2006 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, won by Tech, 77-73, at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets lost the other meeting, 75-70, also at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in the 1998 National Invitation Tournament.
Penn State joins a tough non-conference lineup for Georgia Tech in 2008-09 that includes home games with Georgia and Vanderbilt. Those dates, as well as the entire Tech basketball schedule for 2008-09, will be announced in August.
Tech finished the 2007-08 campaign with a 15-17 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, tying for seventh place. The Nittany Lions were 15-16 overall and finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 7-11 record.
The Yellow Jackets are 4-5 in their previous ACC-Big Ten Challenge meetings, including an 83-79 loss at Indiana last December. Tech has won all three of its Challenge games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, and dropped the only neutral court meeting, an 80-77 verdict against Michigan in 1999 at Philips Arena. The Jackets are 15-29 all-time against the Big Ten.
Tech has played five Challenge games on Big Ten homecourts, including an 88-86 loss at Michigan State in 2005, a 73-53 win at Ohio State in 2003, a 64-63 loss at Minnesota in 2002 and an 85-67 loss at Iowa in 2000.
For the fourth consecutive year, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will feature 11 games and include two telecasts on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the remaining nine games.
The event will be played on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after Thanksgiving (December 1-3). Times and networks for each of the 11 games are to be determined
2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule:
Monday, Dec. 1Wisconsin at Virginia Tech
Tuesday, Dec. 2 Duke at Purdue Clemson at Illinois Ohio State at Miami Virginia at Minnesota Iowa at Boston College
Wednesday, Dec. 3 North Carolina vs. Michigan State (Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan) Indiana at Wake Forest Michigan at Maryland Florida State at Northwestern Penn State at Georgia Tech
