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Tech to Visit Northwestern for ACC/Big Ten Challenge

May 1, 2014

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THE FLATS – Georgia Tech will visit Northwestern on Wednesday, Dec. 3 in the 16th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, the two conferences and ESPN announced Thursday. The game will be the third meeting between the two schools in the last five years of the series.

The Wildcats won both prior meetings between the two teams, in 2010 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., and in 2011 at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The teams have never met each other outside of those two games.

The game is part of a non-conference schedule for Tech that includes a road game at Dayton, an NCAA Sweet 16 participant in 2014, and home games against Charlotte, Georgia and Vanderbilt. The Yellow Jackets also are in the field for the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., during Thanksgiving week, which includes NCAA teams Kansas, Michigan State and Tennessee, as well as Marquette, Rhode Island, Rider and Santa Clara as possible opponents.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the three-day event (Dec. 1-3) matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioners Cup. All 14 games will also be available via WatchESPN.

Three of the games will feature a showdown between teams ranked in an ESPN.com early preseason top 25 poll: No. 2 Duke at No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 25 Iowa at No. 6 North Carolina and No. 21 Syracuse at No. 24 Michigan. Additional teams in the Challenge that made the poll include No. 7 Virginia, No. 8 Louisville and No. 18 Michigan State.

All 14 Big Ten teams and 14 of the 15 ACC teams will participate in the 2014 Challenge. Boston College will not play in the 2014 event.

The ACC and Big Ten have split the past two events, winning six Challenge games each in 2012 and 2013. In the event of a tie, the Commissioner’s Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year, which was the Big Ten in 2011. The ACC won the first 10 Challenges (1999-2008) while the Big Ten won the next three (2009-2011).

The ACC holds a 10-3-1 advantage in Challenge play, and an 88-67 lead in Challenge games to date.

The Yellow Jackets are 5-9 in their previous Big Ten/ACC Challenge meetings and are 1-6 in Challenge games played away from home. Tech’s only road win in the series was a 73-53 win at Ohio State in 2003, part of a 12-0 start which helped propel the Yellow Jackets to the 2004 NCAA Final Four. Tech snapped a five-game losing streak in the Challenge last season when it defeated Illinois, 67-64, on Dec. 3 at McCamish Pavilion.

TECH IN THE BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGEOverall record: 5-9 (Home: 4-3, Away: 1-6)Date    Result  Opponent        TR      OR12/3/13 hW      67-64   Illinois        -       -11/28/12        aL      62-75   Illinois        -       22/2211/29/11        hL*     60-76   Northwestern    -       -11/30/10        aL      71-91   Northwestern    -       -2009    did not participate12/30/08        hL      83-85   Penn State      -       -11/27/07        aL      79-83   Indiana -       15/1511/28/06        hW      77-73   Penn State      21/24   -11/30/05        aL      88-86   Michigan State  -       13/1411/30/04        hW      99-68   Michigan        4/4     -12/3/03 aW      73-53   Ohio State      13/15   -12/4/02 aL      63-64   Minnesota       -       20/1711/28/01        hW      62-61   Wisconsin       -       -11/28/00        aL      67-85   Iowa    -       -12/1/99 hL*     77-80   Michigan        -       -*Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.

2014 ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE MATCH UPS:

Monday, December 1 Nebraska @ Florida State Rutgers @ Clemson

Tuesday, December 2 Illinois @ Miami Minnesota @ Wake Forest NC State @ Purdue Ohio State @ Louisville Pittsburgh @ Indiana Syracuse @ Michigan

Wednesday, December 3 Duke @ Wisconsin Georgia Tech @ Northwestern Iowa @ North Carolina Michigan State @ Notre Dame Virginia @ Maryland Virginia Tech @ Penn State

About Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball

Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team is in its third year under head coach Brian Gregory. The Yellow Jackets have been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since 1979, won three ACC Championships, played in the NCAA Tournament 16 times and played in two Final Fours (1990, 2004). Connect with Georgia Tech Men’s Basketball on social media by liking their Facebook Page, or following on Twitter (@GTMBK). For more information on Tech basketball, visit Ramblinwreck.com.

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