ACC/Big Ten Challenge 2016: Scores, Highlights and Reaction from Monday

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge kicked off Monday with two of the best conferences in the nation looking for bragging rights.

While top teams like North Carolina, Indiana, Duke and Wisconsin won't be in action until later in the week, there was a lot of talent on display on the first day of competition.

Wins by Florida State and Northwestern created a 1-1 tie to start the challenge, but there is still a long way to go before one of the leagues can claim supremacy. 

Florida State 75, Minnesota 67

A dominant second half helped Florida State pull away and give the ACC its first win of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. 

Down 33-31 at halftime, the Seminoles found better shots in the second half while outscoring Minnesota 44-34 after intermission. A late run kept the final score close, but Florida State did enough to earn the 75-67 win and hand the Golden Gophers their first loss of the season.

Defense was the key for Florida State in this one, holding Minnesota to 32.2 percent shooting from the field plus 17 turnovers. Nate Mason was the most effective player with 11 points.

Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat described the feeling late in the game:

Dwayne Bacon was a big reason for the improved offense in the second half, finishing with 18 points after scoring just four in the first. Jonathan Isaac also came up big with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

These players helped the Seminoles pull out a win despite 2-of-16 shooting from three-point range.

It was an ugly start to the game with both teams seemingly totaling more turnovers and fouls than points. Tim Linafelt of Seminoles.com described the early play of Michael Ojo, who had seven first-half points:

Minnesota earned a 33-31 halftime lead, but Joe Reedy of the Associated Press noted the struggles offensively for both sides:

With 19 combined first-half turnovers, neither team was likely happy going in to the locker room.

Florida State's defense, which was solid in the first half, looked even better in the second as nothing was easy for Minnesota, as described by Curt Weiler of the Orlando Sentinel:

A 17-4 run helped the Seminoles pull away in the second half, featuring a lot of defense turning in to offense. Safid Deen of the Orlando Sentinel described one big momentum-grabbing play:

The Gophers struggled to remain competitive as the game continued, unable to do much offensively, while Bacon and company had no problem getting points for Florida State.

Minnesota charged late to cut what was once a 19-point lead down to single digits, but this only masked what was an easy win for Florida State.

Both teams will now continue their nonconference season in neutral-court games over the weekend.

Minnesota will get another chance to beat a power-conference opponent with a home game against Vanderbilt on Saturday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Florida State's next game will be against George Washington on Sunday in Washington, D.C., as part of the BB&T Classic.

Postgame Reaction

Minnesota coach Richard Pitino gave plenty of credit to his opponent after his team's first loss of the year.

"That's a really good team," the coach said, per Ariya Massoudi of ACC Network. "They're very talented and will give a lot of teams issues with their length."

Florida State certainly looked like an ACC contender at times in this game.

Northwestern 65, Wake Forest 58

Paul Beaty/Associated Press

Bryant McIntosh came through with his best effort of the season to lead Northwestern to a 65-58 win over Wake Forest.

The junior guard finished with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a stretch of 10 straight Wildcats points late in the second half to pull away for the win.

Leading scorer Vic Law was held to just seven points, and the team shot just 40.9 percent from the field and 6-of-26 from three-point range, but Northwestern did enough to secure the win.

John Collins was a big factor for the Demon Deacons, finishing with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.

Joshua Riddell of DraftExpress praised the sophomore's performance during his breakout season:

Unfortunately, he was contained offensively for much of the second half, and aside from Konstantinos Mitoglou (11 points, 11 rebounds), the rest of the team didn't provide much help.

Both teams are now 5-2 on the season.

Although Wake Forest built as much as an eight-point lead in the first half, it was extremely competitive in the early going as the two sides battled to a one-point game at halftime. The visitors held a 31-30 lead at intermission, although defense was a key part of the game plan for both teams.

Nick Medline of Big Ten Network summed up the start for Northwestern:

Collins kept getting baskets for Wake Forest in the second half, but Lindsey was just as strong to lead Northwestern. This play was a big momentum boost to get the fans on their feet:

The lead stayed within four points for much of the second half with both teams struggling with their shot.

As the game progressed, Northwestern turned to its most consistent player to help pull away. McIntosh scored led a personal 7-2 run, leading to this message from the team's official account:

His three-pointer with just over one minute remaining gave the Wildcats a six-point lead, which became a dagger for the Demon Deacons trying to make a comeback.

A pair of Sanjay Lumpkin baskets were then enough for the Wildcats to close out the seven-point win.

Wake Forest will follow this game up with another on the road, traveling to face Richmond on Saturday. The squad will also take on UNC Greensboro and Xavier in road games before the nonconference season ends.

Northwestern will have a local battle Saturday against DePaul with easier matchups against New Orleans and Chicago State to follow.

Postgame Reaction

McIntosh came through with an outstanding performance, but was quick to give credit to the fans after the game.

"It was awesome," the guard said, per the team's Twitter account. "It's great what a student section can do. It gave us the momentum."

Northwestern is now 4-0 at home this season.

Remaining ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Nov. 29	Pittsburgh at Maryland	7 p.m.	ESPN2
Nov. 29	Georgia Tech at Penn State	7 p.m.	ESPNU
Nov. 29	Syracuse at Wisconsin	7:30 p.m.	ESPN
Nov. 29	North Carolina State at Illinois	9 p.m.	ESPNU
Nov. 29	Iowa at Notre Dame	9 p.m.	ESPN2
Nov. 29	Michigan State at Duke	9:30 p.m.	ESPN
Nov. 30	Virginia Tech at Michigan	7:15 p.m.	ESPN2
Nov. 30	Purdue at Louisville	7:15 p.m.	ESPN
Nov. 30	Rutgers at Miami	7:15 p.m.	ESPNU
Nov. 30	Nebraska at Clemson	9:15 p.m.	ESPNU
Nov. 30	North Carolina at Indiana	9:15 p.m.	ESPN
Nov. 30	Ohio State at Virginia	9:15 p.m.	ESPN2

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