ESPN Predicts a 9-5 ACC win in B1G/ACC Challenge

[Franisdaman]

dd

MONDAY

Minnesota at Florida State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

After sputtering through an injury-plagued campaign that ruined their depth, the Seminoles are finally healthy this season and showing off their full array of talent. The Gophers will have a hard time matching up with 6-foot-10 freshman Jonathan Isaac, who has Kevin Durant-like scoring skills.

Florida State 76, Minnesota 69

Wake Forest at Northwestern, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Vic Law has returned from a year off due to injury better than his freshman version of 2014-15, and leads the Wildcats with 17.7 points per game. Northwestern's two losses (Butler, Notre Dame) are by a combined six points.

Northwestern 82, Wake Forest 80 (OT)

TUESDAY

Pittsburgh at Maryland, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Both teams have made a living so far making winning plays down the stretch of tight games starting with Maryland's gift from Georgetown's collapse two weeks ago. Who will be the first to finally lose its moxie late?

Pittsburgh 75, Maryland 73

Georgia Tech at Penn State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU

The Nittany Lions have ushered in a youth movement with three freshmen starting, including co-leading scorer Tony Carr. Young teams always prove to be much more dependable at home.

Penn State 69, Georgia Tech 61

Syracuse at Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Word to Jim Boeheim: This will be the only road trip outside the state of New York for the Orange in nonconference play. The Kohl Center doesn't take kindly to visitors, especially with the Badgers needing to regroup after posting an 0-2 record against ranked teams this season.

Wisconsin 65, Syracuse 61

Iowa at Notre Dame, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

The Hawkeyes defense allows opponents to shoot 41.8 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 321st in Division I. Notre Dame is shooting 40.1 percent from 3-point range, which ranks 34th. Any questions where this is going?

Notre Dame 80, Iowa 69

NC State at Illinois, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Perimeter play is powering the Wolfpack, led by freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr., who is beginning to assert his will over the team. Illinois needs more consistent play from senior guard Malcolm Hill.

NC State 67, Illinois 61

 

[Franisdaman]

Michigan State at Duke, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Duke has gotten really comfortable with its four-guard lineup while awaiting the healthy return of Harry Giles, Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum. The Blue Devils have a wealth of perimeter scorers; Michigan State doesn't have enough of them. Duke adds to its Challenge-record 15 wins.

Duke 79, Michigan State 69

WEDNESDAY

Purdue at Louisville, 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN

Two evenly matched teams should provide one of the most entertaining games of the Challenge. The deciding factor might be how well the Boilermakers' backcourt handles Louisville's pressure. Purdue ranks 255th in turnover percentage, which isn't a winning formula against the Cardinals.

Louisville 66, Purdue 58

Virginia Tech at Michigan, 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Since the 2010-11 season, John Beilein's teams have always shot 35 percent or better from 3-point range. That's why it's a bit of a surprise that the Wolverines currently sit at just 33.6 percent, with senior Zak Irvin at 28.6 percent. Expect Irvin and the Wolverines to regain their shooting touch.

Michigan 67, Virginia Tech 63

Rutgers at Miami, 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPNU

This will be the first meeting in the Challenge between the two programs. The good news for Rutgers is it rebounds roughly half of its missed shots. The bad news is that remarkable stat is due to the fact the Scarlet Knights shoot just 43 percent from the field.

Miami 73, Rutgers 60

North Carolina at Indiana, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN

Grab an oxygen tank: The pace of this game could be breathtaking. Don't be surprised to see the score in the 90s. (Also don't be surprised to see a rematch in Glendale, Arizona, at the Final Four.) Disregard the Hoosiers' loss to Fort Wayne; this game will have all the buzz of an NCAA tournament final. The Tar Heels are playing as well as any team in the nation, but the Hoosiers are bound to land a 3-point barrage at home.

Indiana 94, North Carolina 92

Ohio State at Virginia, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2

No Austin Nichols, no problem for Virginia. The Cavaliers are rebounding by committee and own a plus-13 advantage in rebounding margin. Oh, and they're already playing defense as if it's late in the season. The Buckeyes can look on the bright side: They should score more than 40, which half of UVa's opponents haven't managed to do.

Virginia 62, Ohio State 50

Nebraska at Clemson, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Nebraska's Tai Webster and Clemson's Jaron Blossomgameare kindred spirits in that both their teams are depend on them perhaps too much. Blossomgame has the better supporting cast.

Clemson 65, Nebraska 59

 

[wyohawk]

Pretty sure they predict ACC to win every year and have been consistently, fabulously incorrect.

 

[Auger]

They do predict the ACC every year. ESPN hates the B1G but yet they depend so so much on B1G viewers which = $$$.

 

[And1Hawk]

This year the ACC should win handily. The B1G is down.

 

[rufus-hawk]

Can't necessarily argue with the predictions, just hope they're wrong about some, right about the Hoosiers beating UNC.

 

[Steve Waite]

Their predictions are correct so far for the first two games.
Big is down this year. ACC should win this challenge.
I will be happy if Iowa only loses by 10 points. We are a bad defensive team.

 

[Franisdaman]

ESPN predicted the B1G's record would be 3-5 at this point

After Monday's and Tuesday's games, its all tied up at 4-4

I think we can win 3 of the 6 games on Wed and retain the "traveling trophy"

 

[Auger]

B1G has a shot tomorrow with Purdue, Michigan, Indiana and Nebraska. Indiana plays really well at home in big games. That said I can also see the B1G only winning one of these tomorrow.

 

[spbc7]

Pretty good showing by the B1G despite the record. Three disappointing performances for the conference in Michigan blowing a late lead, Pitt taking it to Maryland, and us not being able to keep it close with ND. 5 teams beat the spread by a significant margin, while the other 6 covered/pretty much held serve.

 

[Franisdaman]

Pretty good showing by the B1G despite the record. Three disappointing performances for the conference in Michigan blowing a late lead, Pitt taking it to Maryland, and us not being able to keep it close with ND. 5 teams beat the spread by a significant margin, while the other 6 covered/pretty much held serve.

Big 10 had a Bad Day today, going 1-5, but like you said, a lot of close games!

ACC wins the Challenge 9 games to 5

 

[ROCKY MOUNTAIN HAWK]

B1G is down finally.

 

[Myvue]

B1G is down finally.

Or the ACC may just be way up this year. It looks like ESPN projected the outcome. I wonder if they were brave enough to pick the teams that would win and if they did how accurate they were on that prediction.

 

[Legend12]

Or the ACC may just be way up this year. It looks like ESPN projected the outcome. I wonder if they were brave enough to pick the teams that would win and if they did how accurate they were on that prediction.

Did you read the very first post in this thread?

 

[Cydkar]

Or the ACC may just be way up this year. It looks like ESPN projected the outcome. I wonder if they were brave enough to pick the teams that would win and if they did how accurate they were on that prediction.

For real?

 

[Ronman]

I wasn't overly stunned with any of the outcomes, but I was a bit surprised that Ohio St. had a chance to win at the buzzer at Virginia, especially after the beating we took on a neutral floor against them.

I still feel that the upper echelon of the Big Ten is a bit down right now, but the lower tier might actually be a bit better than usual. Not sure that is going to be advantageous for us.