Big Ten: What We Learned In The ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Despite losing the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Big Ten still has a plenty of upside in the 2016-17 season.

The third night of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge decided the fate of the 18th annual event.

With a 9-5 win over the Big Ten, the ACC earned their first Commissioner’s Cup trophy since 2008. The five Big Ten victories came from Indiana, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Penn State and Illinois.

According to Covers.com, Maryland and Michigan were the only favored teams to lose in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The 23rd-ranked Terrapins came into their showdown at home with Pittsburgh as four-point favorites, only to get trounced by 14.

Michigan blew a 15-point lead to Virginia Tech, losing 73-70. The Wolverines were 6.5-point favorites at home.

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With the loss, the Big Ten cannot call themselves the best power conference. The only way to rectify the loss would be to put the most teams into the NCAA Tournament.

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There was a lot of good, some bad, and then some flat out ugly play from the Big Ten in this year’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The Good:

• After starting the season shooting 24.5 percent from three, Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig finally got hot at the right time. He was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the Badgers’ convincing 77-60 win over No. 22 Syracuse.
• Illinois senior Malcolm Hill got to the free throw line at will in their home win over NC State. He was 12-for-15 from the charity stripe, scoring 22 points. The Illini had lost three straight games, with Hill only scoring a combined 39 points. It’s clear that Illinois will go only as far as Hill can take them.
• Although they lost by 12 to Miami, it was a game that Rutgers would have normally lost by 20 or more. They were down by 21 in the second half but kept playing HARD. This current Scarlet Knights team has completely bought into first-year head coach Steve Pikiell’s system. Rutgers fell to 6-1 on the season, while Miami improved to 5-2.
• Northwestern continued its quest for its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth, winning a tough game over a good Wake Forest team. With the hardest part of its non-conference schedule over with, Northwestern has six cushy games left before conference play starts. If they want to go to the “Big Dance,” they can’t afford any Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne-esque losses.
• Illinois’ throwback uniforms were off the charts, they really jumped off the screen watching them on TV. Look good, play good.

https://twitter.com/IlliniMBB/status/803764332987293697

The Bad:

• Minnesota’s lack of depth was on full display in their loss to Florida State. The Gophers were out-manned down the stretch after taking a small lead into halftime. The tired Minnesota team shot an abysmal 32.2 percent from the floor. Head coach Richard Pitino acknowledged the problem, saying they were “physically manhandled by their bigs.”
• Despite its 7-1 record, Maryland’s starting backcourt has been horrendous shooting the ball. Melo Trimble and Anthony Cowan were a combined 8-for-24 in the loss to Pitt, including only 3-of-12 from three-point land. The Terps have relied on the three-ball way too much, shooting twice as many three-pointers as Pitt (36 to 18). Their success will continue to hinge on their outside shooting, making them a long-shot to be a serious Big Ten contender.

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The Ugly:

• Someone forgot to tell Penn State fans there was a big game taking place Tuesday night. The Bryce Jordan Center was less than half-full for their game against Georgia Tech and it was obvious watching on TV. Announced attendance was just more than 6,000, but even that is hard to believe. Right now, Penn State is still in football mode, but they need to do a better job at getting butts in the seats for basketball games.
• Michigan led for almost the entire game against Virginia Tech and was up by 15 points midway through the first half. After taking a 39-30 lead into halftime, they let it slip away in the second half. Down 73-70 with four seconds left, Duncan Robinson missed a three that would have sent the game into overtime.