ACC wins seventh women’s Challenge title
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference women’s basketball teams combined for nine wins over the Big Ten to win the 2016 ACC/Big Ten Challenge, 9-5. The Challenge title is the seventh in league history as the ACC owns a 7-0-3 advantage in the Challenge.
The outright title for the ACC is the first since 2013, as the two leagues each earned seven wins the previous two Challenges. The ACC owns a 71-51 record against the Big Ten in Challenge games.
After storming out to a 4-2 advantage on Wednesday, the ACC claimed five wins on Thursday, to clinch the title, including No. 18/16 Miami’s dramatic 95-89 overtime win at No. 9/10 Ohio State.
The ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge matches teams from each conference in head-to-head competition, traditionally on the first Wednesday and Thursday after Thanksgiving following the ACC/Big Ten Men’s Basketball Challenge.
The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season, and matchups may repeat from year-to-year in efforts to coordinate similar opponents and reach competitive equity. In addition, the official title of the Challenge will rotate each year. The 2016 event was referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Women’s Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences’ Challenge agreement for men’s basketball.
2016 ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge Results (ACC 9, Big Ten 5)
Wednesday, Nov. 30 (ACC 4, B1G 2)
No. 1/1 Notre Dame 73, at Iowa 58
at No. 20/21 Syracuse 75, RV/22 Michigan State 64
No. 8/8 Florida State 75, at Minnesota 61
Wake Forest 79, at Illinois 70
Purdue 67, at Pitt 61
Penn State 60, at Boston College 56
Thursday, Dec. 1 (ACC 5, B1G 3)
Michigan 92, at Georgia Tech 52
at NC State 84, Indiana 70
at Virginia Tech 76, Nebraska 67
Duke 68, at Rutgers 32
No. 5/5 Maryland 78, at No. 7/7 Louisville 72
No. 18/16 Miami 94, at No. 9/10 Ohio State 89 OT
North Carolina 72, at Wisconsin 59
at Northwestern 69, Virginia 60