Virginia to Face Michigan State in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
June 11, 2018
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia women’s basketball will play at Michigan State in the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge on Wednesday, Nov. 28. Tip-off times and television coverage for this year’s Challenge will be announced at a later date.
The 2018 Challenge marks the 12th season of the event, which debuted in 2007. All 14 Big Ten teams and all ACC teams with the exception of Boston College will compete in 2018. The ACC has never lost the Challenge, winning eight times with three ties.
Challenge games will be played over the course of two days, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 28. Along with Virginia, Clemson, Duke, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest will play on the first day. The remaining nine games will follow on Thursday, Nov. 29.
The meeting is just the second all-time between the Cavaliers and Spartans. Virginia earned a 91-74 victory in the only previous matchup, coming back in 1990. Virginia is 5-6 all-time and 2-3 on the road in the Challenge.
Virginia is entering its first season under head coach Tina Thompson. The Cavaliers finished the 2017-18 season at 19-14 overall and earned a No. 10 seed in returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. Virginia advanced to the second round with a win over seventh-seeded Cal.
The ACC captured the 2018 women’s Challenge with a record 10 wins. The league went on to place 10 teams in postseason tournaments, including a record-tying eight teams in the NCAA Tournament field. A pair of ACC squads advanced to the Final Four, including eventual national champion Notre Dame.
The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season, and the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2018 event will be referred to as the ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences’ Challenge agreement for men’s basketball.
2018 ACC/B1G Women’s Basketball Challenge
Wednesday, Nov. 28
Illinois at Clemson
Rutgers at Virginia Tech
Indiana at Wake Forest
Duke at Wisconsin
Virginia at Michigan State
Thursday, Nov. 29
Iowa at Notre Dame
Nebraska at Louisville
Georgia Tech at Maryland
Penn State at Florida State
Pittsburgh at Northwestern
North Carolina at Ohio State
Miami at Purdue
Syracuse at Minnesota
Michigan at NC State