Last year’s preseason No. 1 team, North Carolina, will visit the team likely to inherit that mantle, the Indiana Hoosiers, in what stands clear as the featured game for the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The pairings for the event were announced Monday afternoon, with the IU-UNC matchup at Assembly Hall in Bloomington headlining the first night of competition on Nov. 27. There will be a second high-level matchup that night with possible ACC favorite N.C. State visiting a talented Michigan squad that figures to have a great shot at defending the Big Ten title it shared with Ohio State and Michigan.
The second night of competition, Nov. 28, features a rematch at Cameron Indoor Stadium between Duke and Ohio State, which blew out the Blue Devils in this past season’s event. The games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The games also will be available on WatchESPN, the network’s app for smartphones and tablets, and internet service ESPN3.
Indiana returns all five starters from the team that challenged eventual NCAA champion Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, eventually bowing 102-90 to end the season at 27-9. IU’s stature as the likely preseason No. 1 was underscored when top scorers Cody Zeller and Christian Watford decided to return for the 2012-13 season rather than entering the NBA draft.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL'S BEST:
Point guards | Shooting guards | Small forwards | Power forwards | Centers
IU wings Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey also had impressive moments as sophomores. Guard Jordan Hulls is one of the NCAA’s most accurate 3-point shooters. And the team adds several high-level recruits, including McDonald’s All-American point guard Yogi Ferrell.
Having lost forwards Harrison Barnes and John Henson and guard Kendall Marshall to the NBA draft along with senior center Tyler Zeller, Cody’s older brother, North Carolina has fewer proven players, but perhaps even more pro-level talent.
Power forward James Michael McAdoo is another who could have filed for early entry and been chosen prominently in the draft but elected to stay in college and work on improving. McAdoo averaged only 15 minutes as a backup to Henson and Zeller, but he scored 15 points in only 19 minutes of the Heels’ Elite Eight loss to Kansas. Wings Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston also have NBA potential, and Carolina will get back guards Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland from injury.
The complete schedule of games:
Tuesday, Nov. 27
North Carolina at Indiana
N.C. State at Michigan
Indiana's Cody Zeller and UNC's James Michael McAdoo will be among the nation's elite big men next season. (AP Photo)
Minnesota at Florida State
Maryland at Northwestern
Iowa at Virginia Tech
Nebraska at Wake Forest
Wednesday, Nov. 28
Ohio State at Duke
Virginia at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Miami
Purdue at Clemson
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Boston College at Penn State
FROM SI.COM
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