May 22, 2012
PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The Big Ten and ACC conferences announced today (Tuesday, May 22) the matchups for the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge.
The University of Michigan women's basketball team will host Duke on Wednesday, Nov. 28, at Crisler Center. This will be the fourth meeting between the teams, with Michigan trailing the series, 0-3. The Wolverines dropped a 60-45 decision at Duke on Dec. 7, 2008.
The Wolverines and Blue Devils hold a 4-1 record in the Challenge and are two of three teams with one loss.
Michigan was handed its first-ever Challenge series loss last season at Maryland, 74-65 (Nov. 30, 2011), but holds victories over Wake Forest (91-58, 2010), Virginia Tech (71-51, 2009), N.C. State (63-52, 2008) and Miami (65-50, 2007). The match-ups with the Hokies and Hurricanes came on the road, with the Demon Deacons and Wolfpack visiting Crisler.
The Wolverines finished the 2011-12 season with a 20-12 overall record and 8-8 in Big Ten play, reaching the postseason in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.
The Blue Devils posted a 27-6 overall record last season and went 15-1 in the ACC. Duke reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament before falling to No. 2-ranked Stanford.
The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge will rotate each year. The 2012 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women's Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences' Challenge agreement for men's basketball.
The ACC and the Big Ten have long been among the most dominant conferences on the women's basketball scene. For the first time in league history, the Big Ten had seven conference teams selected to the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship in 2012. Last season, the ACC was represented by seven overall postseason squads, including four teams in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship that were tabbed as top-four seeds.
Challenge games will be contested over two days, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 28, and ending Thursday, Nov. 29. Game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date.
2012 CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 28
Ohio State at North Carolina
Iowa at Florida State
Wisconsin at Virginia Tech
Duke at Michigan
Maryland at Nebraska
Georgia Tech at Purdue
Clemson at Indiana
Northwestern at Boston College
Thursday, November 29
Penn State at Miami
Michigan State at NC State
Virginia at Minnesota
Wake Forest at Illinois
CHALLENGE RECORDS
Big Ten (22-34)
Illinois: 2-3
Indiana: 2-3
Iowa: 1-4
Michigan: 4-1
Michigan State: 3-2
Minnesota: 2-3
Nebraska: 0-1
Northwestern: 1-4
Ohio State: 2-3
Penn State: 2-3
Purdue: 0-5
Wisconsin: 3-2
ACC (34-22)
Boston College: 2-2
Clemson: 2-3
Duke: 4-1
Florida State: 3-2
Georgia Tech: 5-0
Maryland: 5-0
Miami: 1-2
North Carolina: 3-2
NC State: 2-3
Virginia: 4-1
Virginia Tech: 1-4
Wake Forest: 2-2
Media Contact: Zena Lewis (734) 763-4423
