Aug. 7, 2012
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge basketball game at Illinois on Wednesday, Nov. 28, will have a tip time of 9 p.m. Eastern and be televised on ESPN2, the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten and ESPN announced Tuesday.
ESPN has finalized the network and time assignments for the 14th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Challenge features top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioner’s Cup on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 12 Challenge games over a two-day period (November 27-28).
Illinois becomes part of a tough non-conference lineup for Georgia Tech in Brian Gregory’s second season as head coach that features home games against Georgia and Fordham in the Yellow Jackets’ brand-new McCamish Pavilion, as well as a trip to the Anaheim Classic on Thanksgiving weekend, which includes six 2012 post-season teams in California, Saint Mary’s, Xavier, Drexel, Drake and Rice.
The Nov. 28 game will be Tech’s second trip to the Chicago area, home of the Yellow Jackets’ head coach, in the last three years. Gregory has a win over Illinois to his credit while head coach at Dayton, a 77-71 win in Champaign in the 2010 Post-Season NIT.
Tech is 1-6 all-time against the Illini, the lone win coming in the semifinals of the 1985 NCAA East Regional in Providence, R.I. (61-53). The teams last met in 2001, a 105-66 Illinois win in the Las Vegas Invitational, and have met once before in Champaign, a 102-92 double-overtime win for the Illini in 1989. The Jackets are 16-33 all-time against the Big Ten.
The Yellow Jackets are 4-8 in their previous ACC/Big Ten Challenge meetings, including losses each of the past two years to Northwestern, and are 1-5 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge games played on the road (Ohio State in 2003 is the only victory).
All 12 games will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.
The ACC won the first 10 Challenges, while the Big Ten has captured the Commissioners Cup for past three events, including an 8-4 win advantage last year. In the event of a 6-6 tie, the Commissioners Cup will remain with the conference that won the previous year.
The schedule for the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge is as follows:
2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule
(All Times ET)
Tuesday, November 27
7:15 p.m. ESPN2 Minnesota at Florida State
7:15 p.m. ESPNU Iowa at Virginia Tech
7:30 p.m. ESPN NC State at Michigan
9:15 p.m. ESPN2 Maryland at Northwestern
9:15 p.m. ESPNU Nebraska at Wake Forest
9:30 p.m. ESPN North Carolina at Indiana
Wednesday, November 28 7:00 p.m. ESPN2 Virginia at Wisconsin
7:15 p.m. ESPNU Purdue at Clemson
7:30 p.m. ESPN Michigan State at Miami
9:00 p.m. ESPN2 Georgia Tech at Illinois
9:15 p.m. ESPNU Boston College at Penn State
9:30 p.m. ESPN Ohio State at Duke
