Brad Underwood’s Illini basketball team, along with everybody else participating in the B1G/ACC Challenge, learned their draw today. Illinois will travel to Wake Forest, in a rematch of the famed 2004 contest that helped vault Illini basketball to the highest perch that the program has seen in recent memory.
On a historical “paint the hall orange” night, #3 Illinois destroyed #1 Wake Forest 91-73, in a contest that was actually way more lopsided than that final score would indicate.
Both the Wake Forest and Illini basketball programs have obviously fallen way down from that level since, but this contest should evoke memories of better days; at least for one night. Illinois fans can channel their inner Al Bundy, and relive the glory days, as what a special Champaign campaign 2004-05 was.
Game date, time, and television details will be announced later this summer.
The ACC won last year’s Challenge by the count of 9-5, to regain possession of the Commissioners Cup. The Big Ten has won five of the last eight Challenges (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015). The ACC and Big Ten split the 2012 and 2013 Challenges, with each conference notching six victories. Until 2009, the B1G NEVER won the challenge, with the ACC taking each edition from 1999-2008.
2017 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Matchups
· Northwestern at Georgia Tech
· Duke at Indiana
· Notre Dame at No. 3 Michigan State
· Miami at Minnesota
· Penn State at NC State
· Boston College at Nebraska
· Michigan at No. 7 North Carolina
· Clemson at Ohio State
· No. 10 Louisville at Purdue
· Florida State at Rutgers
· Maryland at Syracuse
· Wisconsin at Virginia
· Iowa at Virginia Tech
· Illini basketball at Wake Forest
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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