Big Ten/ACC Challenge: Picking the Winners in Each Game

The ACC has traditionally wiped the floor with the Big Ten in the annual tournament between the two conferences, but the matchup looks more competitive this year. Each league has three teams in the Top 25, and the Big Ten has five unbeaten teams against just one (Duke) in the ACC.

The premier matchups of the tourney pit the No. 6 Blue Devils against No. 3 Ohio State and top-ranked North Carolina against No. 11 Wisconsin. Look for terrific point guard play all around, with Aaron Craft going against Austin Rivers and Jordan Taylor facing off with Kendall Marshall.

Read on for a look at every team’s early-season performance and a pick for the winner of each of the 12 games in the tournament.

Michigan at Virginia

Virginia’s 5-1 record is nice enough, but their one loss—at home to unimpressive TCU—suggests that the Cavaliers aren’t as good as their winning percentage.

PF Mike Scott (14.8 points and 10 rebounds per game) has been off to a strong start, but after him and sophomore guard Joe Harris, the talent drops off fast.

Michigan, on the other hand, has lost only to No. 6 Duke in Maui, and earned an impressive win at that tournament over No. 8 Memphis.

The Wolverines have earned their No. 15 ranking behind a deep backcourt anchored by star guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (17.2 points a game).

Pick: Michigan

The Wolverines offense has been too efficient for Virginia to match, even in Charlottesville.

Northwestern at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech isn’t off to the best start, at 4-2, but even after losses to St. Joseph’s and LSU, the Yellow Jackets have shown promise.

Glen Rice Jr. has dominated, averaging 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists a night, while sophomore center Daniel Miller is pulling in 8.2 rebounds and blocking three shots a game.

Northwestern, for its part, beat that same LSU team in winning the Charleston Classic.

Senior John Shurna is running the show as expected (21.2 points and 6.2 boards a game), but he’s getting plenty of help from junior swingman Drew Crawford, whose scoring average has jumped from 12.1 to 19 points a game.

Pick: Northwestern

Georgia Tech doesn’t have enough offensive weapons to trade baskets with the high-scoring Wildcats, or enough defense to stop them.

Illinois at Maryland

The Illini have jumped out to a 6-0 start, including a win over Richmond at the Cancun Challenge. Sophomore center Meyers Leonard has come into his own, and the seven-footer has averaged 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.6 blocks a night.

Maryland’s fortunes have risen and fallen with the performance of sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin, a high-volume shooter who’s averaging 20.2 points a game (nearly double the scoring from the next-best Terrapin).

Alabama and Iona have contained Stoglin and come away with wins, but Colorado (against whom he scored 32 with four rebounds and three assists) wasn’t so lucky.

Pick: Maryland

Leonard and Stoglin will probably dominate on their respective offensive ends, which should make for a tight game. Maryland gets the nod here on the strength of home-court advantage against a team playing its first true road game.

Miami at Purdue

After four straight wins, Miami came back to earth a bit with a disappointing loss at a weak Ole Miss team.

SG Malcolm Grant has been impressive, scoring 17.8 points a game, but without hulking center Reggie Johnson—sidelined until January or so with a knee injury—the frontcourt has been lacking.

Purdue’s frontcourt, however, has been a strength thanks to the return of a healthy Robbie Hummel (19.3 points, 4.9 rebounds per game).

With fellow seniors Ryne Smith and Lewis Jackson, he’s led the Boilermakers to a 6-1 start, marred only by a loss to No. 13 Alabama in Puerto Rico.

Pick: Purdue

Without Johnson’s physical presence inside, the Hurricanes don’t have the weapons to crack Purdue’s punishing defense.

Clemson at Iowa

Clemson will be playing its first game outside of South Carolina, having lost a pair of tough home games to dangerous Coastal Carolina and College of Charleston teams in a 3-2 start.

The Tigers have relied heavily on the inside-outside duo of 6’9” Milton Jennings (12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game) and 5’9” Andre Young (14.4 points and 3.8 assists).

Iowa, meanwhile, has one of the nation’s deepest rotations, with coach Fran McCaffrey giving double-digit minutes to 10 different Hawkeyes.

The team has taken a pair of blowout losses (to No. 25 Creighton and a less impressive Campbell squad), but they’re still averaging better than 80 points a night.

Pick: Iowa

Iowa’s depth will wear down the thinner Tigers in a close contest, and Hawkeye seniors Matt Gatens and Bryce Cartwright will be able to handle Young’s pressure.

Duke at Ohio State

Ohio State has largely beaten up on cupcakes to establish its 6-0 record, but a strong home win over No. 9 Florida showed that these Buckeyes will be just as dangerous as last year’s No. 1 seed.

National Freshman of the Year Jared Sullinger is showing no signs of a sophomore slump, averaging 18.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game thus far.

Duke played brilliantly in winning the Maui Invitational, beating No. 15 Michigan and No. 14 Kansas.

The Blue Devils' backcourt of Seth Curry (Stephen’s brother and Dell’s son) and Austin Rivers (son of Doc) has combined for 29.5 points a game, while 6’10” brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee are accounting for 15.3 rebounds a night.

Pick: Duke

In the showcase game of the tournament, Sullinger will be brilliant, but won’t be able to outplay the deeper Blue Devils by himself.

Indiana at North Carolina State

C.J. Leslie, last year’s freshman standout at NC State, is shining once again (16.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a night), and this year he’s getting a little help.

Point guard Lorenzo Brown (6.5 assists a game) had five steals and 16 points in a win over Princeton, and the Wolfpack have also notched a win over Texas on the young season.

The Hoosiers, meanwhile, haven’t even been challenged in a 6-0 start, winning every game by at least 16 points (the margin by which they took down Butler).

Freshman Cody Zeller (brother of North Carolina’s Tyler) has been an instant hit, with 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds a game.

Pick: Indiana

The length of the 6’11” Zeller and 6’9” Christian Watford will be too much for the Wolfpack frontcourt, while Brown will meet his match in Hoosiers senior Verdell Jones III.

Penn State at Boston College

No ACC team is off to a worse start than Boston College, which has gotten blown out at home by UMass and on the road by Holy Cross, Saint Louis and New Mexico (the latter two in the 76 Classic in Anaheim).

Freshman guard Patrick Heckman (15.8 points a game) and seven-foot classmate Dennis Clifford (six rebounds a night) have shown promise, but inexperience and weak point guard play have doomed the Eagles.

Point guard play is far from a problem for Penn State, which has beaten South Florida and Radford (though not, unsurprisingly, No. 2 Kentucky) in a 5-2 start.

With Talor Battle having graduated, his former backcourt mate Tim Frazier has carried the Nittany Lions with 19.1 points, 7.1 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Pick: Penn State

The Eagles are reeling, and with little leadership and no answer for the red-hot Frazier, they’ll go down in their fifth defeat.

Florida State at Michigan State

After an 0-2 start against No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke, the Spartans have thrashed four overmatched foes in a row.

Draymond Green has dominated, as expected (12.4 points and 10.8 boards a game), leading a squad that’s 12th in the nation with 42.4 rebounds a night.

Florida State will look to bounce back from a pair of heartbreaking losses at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, having fallen to a very good Harvard team and to No. 4 UConn in OT.

The No. 20 Seminoles have leaned on senior center Bernard James (8.6 boards and 2.4 blocks per game) and junior guard Michael Snaer (the team’s leading scorer at 13.6 points a night).

Pick: Florida State

The Spartans don’t have the offensive firepower to handle Florida State’s suffocating D, and James will keep Michigan State from completely dominating on the glass.

Virginia Tech at Minnesota

Virginia Tech put in an impressive showing in the preseason NIT, losing to No. 5 Syracuse, but taking down Oklahoma State in the consolation game.

The Hokies are 5-1, thanks to a blend of experience (senior guard Dorenzo Hudson, 14.3 points a game) and youth (freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith, 10.8 rebounds a night).

Minnesota, meanwhile, knocked off defending MVC champion Indiana State in a run to the title game of the Old Spice Classic, where they suffered their only loss to Dayton.

Defending Big Ten rebounding leader Trevor Mbakwe is the Gophers' star once again, averaging 14.8 points and 10 rebounds a game to lead the team in both areas.

Pick: Minnesota

The weak Golden Gophers backcourt will struggle with Hudson, but the Hokies don’t have enough big bodies to bang with Minnesota’s physical frontcourt on its home floor.

Wake Forest at Nebraska

The Demon Deacons took a pair of tough losses in the Old Spice Classic (including an 84-56 beat-down from Arizona State) before bouncing back to top Texas Tech.

Junior guard C.J. Harris is having a breakout season with 19.4 points a game, supported ably by last year’s star, sophomore Travis McKie (19 points and 5.4 rebounds a night).

Nebraska’s Pac-12-heavy early schedule has seen them fall to Oregon at home, but win at depleted USC in double OT. The Huskers have been getting sensational play from LSU transfer Bo Spencer, who’s averaged 16 points and 4.2 assists per game.

Pick: Nebraska

Wake will be playing its first true road game, and the Huskers’ defense (featuring 6'10" Brandon Ubel) plus the home crowd will be too much for the Demon Deacons.

Wisconsin at North Carolina

The No. 11 Badgers are off to an unsurprising hot start at 6-0, but also haven’t played any challenging opposition yet. Senior PG Jordan Taylor has dialed back his scoring from last year, but he’s still averaging 5.8 assists and five rebounds a night.

With leading scorer Harrison Barnes suffering an ankle injury in the first half, the top-ranked Tar Heels were upset by UNLV in a de facto road game in the Las Vegas Invitational.

Barnes and his 17.3 points a game are expected back for Wednesday’s meeting with the Badgers, and he’ll have plenty of help from star PG Kendall Marshall (10.8 assists a night).

Pick: North Carolina

Even if Barnes is less than 100 percent, this team is too deep and too talented to lose on its home floor, no matter the opponent.