Big Ten Ends ACC-Big Ten Challenge Drought in Style

| Posted on |

Going into the third and final day of the 2019 ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the two conferences were tied with four wins apiece. The situation was a familiar one; including this year, the two historic leagues have been tied going into the final day four out of the last five years (’15-19).

The tie wasn’t broken last year, as the two teams tied with seven wins apiece, and the ACC won the two challenges prior to last year’s event. For all the success they have had, the Big Ten hadn’t won the ACC-Big Ten Challenge since 2015 and overall, they entered this year with just five wins in the competition’s 20-year history.

This year turned out to be different. The final day saw Big Ten programs win four games, giving them the eight wins needed to clinch the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. What’s more, the Big Ten finished in style; all four of their victories on the final day came via blowout — Purdue, Maryland, Penn State, and Ohio State all won by 21 points or more on Wednesday, and two of the ACC teams that fell were top 10 programs (No. 5 Virginia, No. 7 North Carolina). The average Big Ten victory on the final day was by 24.3 points.

Final Day Big Ten Victories:

  • Purdue 69, #5 Virginia 40
  • #3 Maryland 72, Notre Dame 51
  • Penn State 76, Wake Forest 54
  • #6 Ohio State 74, #7 North Carolina 59

Additionally, it should be noted that every win by the Big Ten in the 2019 ACC-Big Ten Challenge was by at least 14 points, including an upset by Indiana over No. 17 Florida State. For the whole event, the average margin of victory for the Big Ten was 20.4 points.

Other Big Ten Victories:

  • Minnesota 78, Clemson 60
  • Northwestern 82, Boston College 64
  • Iowa 68, Syracuse 54
  • Indiana 80, #17 Florida State 64

As for the ACC, they racked up six wins, including five double-digit victories. Ironically, the only game in the entire event that wasn’t by 10-plus points was Game 1 between Miami and Illinois (Miami beat Illinois 81-79 behind 28 points from Chris Lykes).

READ:  2019 ACC-Big Ten Challenge Highlights (All 14 Games)

All ACC Victories:

  • Miami 81, Illinois 79
  • #1 Louisville 58, #4 Michigan 43
  • Pittsburgh 71, Rutgers 60
  • #10 Duke 87, #11 Michigan State 75
  • Georgia Tech 73, Nebraska 56
  • NC State 69, Wisconsin 54

As it stands now, the ACC and Big Ten have seven of the 10 highest-rated KenPom teams.

READ: Steelers QB Duck Hodges Pops Up At ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Complete highlights and results from the 2019 ACC-Big Ten Challenge can be found here.