April 15, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest will host Indiana in the 10th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday, Dec. 3, as announced by ESPN and the ACC on Tuesday afternoon.

The Demon Deacons and Hoosiers have met just once previously on the hardwood, a 2003 Challenge matchup that saw Wake take down IU, 100-67, in Winston-Salem.

Wake Forest is 7-1 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The mark is the second-best among the schools in the two conferences. The Deacs are 4-0 at home and 3-1 on the road. Last season, the Deacons picked up a 56-47 defeat of Iowa on Nov. 26 in Iowa City.

Indiana is 3-4 all-time in the Challenge, including a 1-2 mark on the road. The Hoosiers have lost four of their last five in the event but picked up an 83-79 win at Georgia Tech in 2007.

IU will be under the direction of new head coach Tom Crean in 2008-09. Last season, Indiana went 25-8 and 14-4 in the Big Ten under Kelvin Sampson and interim head coach Dan Dakich. The Hoosiers, who finished third in the final conference standings, were bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Arkansas.

Wake Forest ended the 2007-08 campaign with a 17-13 overall record and a 7-9 mark in the ACC. The Deacs will return all five starters from last season.

The ACC has won the Commissioner's Cup each of the previous nine years, going a combined 56-30 in the annual event.

For the fourth consecutive year, the event will feature 11 games (an increase from nine in the six previous years) and include two telecasts on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network. ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise the remaining nine games. The event will be played on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday after Thanksgiving (Dec. 1-3). Times and networks for each of the 11 games are to be determined.

2008 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule:

Monday, Dec. 1
Wisconsin at Virginia Tech

Tuesday, Dec. 2
Duke at Purdue
Clemson at Illinois
Ohio State at Miami
Virginia at Minnesota
Iowa at Boston College

Wednesday, Dec. 3
North Carolina vs. Michigan State (Ford Field, Detroit, Mich.)
Indiana at Wake Forest
Michigan at Maryland
Florida State at Northwestern
Penn State at Georgia Tech

2008 Challenge Highlights:

First-Ever Meeting: Wisconsin and Virginia Tech will square off in the first meeting between the two programs.

Pursuing Perfection: Two teams will look to continue their undefeated streaks in the Challenge: Duke is 9-0 while Boston College is 2-0.

First Time Around: Six of the 11 games will feature the first Challenge matchup between the schools: Wisconsin at Virginia Tech, Clemson at Illinois, Ohio State at Miami, Iowa at Boston College, Duke at Purdue, Michigan at Maryland.

Unfamiliar Opponent: Iowa and Boston College's first Challenge matchup will also mark the first time the teams have met since 1974, a Boston College victory.

Commissioner's Cup: The ACC has won the Commissioner's Cup the previous nine years.

Since 2000, the ACC (8) and the Big Ten (7) have combined for 15 Final Four appearances (42 percent of the Final Four field) and four national titles - North Carolina (2005), Maryland (2002), Duke (2001) and Michigan State (2000). The ACC and the Big Ten also rank 1-2, respectively, in all-time NCAA Tournament bids, NCAA Tournament victories and Final Four appearances.

Challenge Notes:

**The ACC has won each of the nine ACC-Big Ten Challenges played to date ... ACC teams have won 56 of the 86 games played in the Challenge ... Duke (9-0) and Boston College are the only undefeated teams in Challenge play.

**The ACC (.667) and the Big Ten (.619) rank first and third, respectively, among conferences in NCAA Tournament winning percentage.

**Teams from the ACC (329) and the Big Ten (296) have combined for 625 NCAA Tournament victories.

**The ACC (27) and the Big Ten (18) have combined to produce 39 percent of the No. 1 seeds since the NCAA started assigning seeds in 1979.

**47 of the 86 Challenge games played to date have had at least one ranked team playing ... 22 games have had both teams ranked ... the 2001 game between Michigan State and Virginia that was cancelled because of a slippery floor, both teams were ranked.

**Home teams are 56-21 in ACC-Big Ten Challenge play ... the ACC is 33-4 on its home court while the Big Ten is 23-17 ... there have been nine "neutral site" games, with the ACC holding a 6-3 advantage.