For those who wanted Ohio State will have to settle for a rematch of the 2005 East Regional Final. Here is the full schedule via Inside Carolina:
Tuesday, November 29
Miami at Purdue
Northwestern at Georgia Tech
Illinois at Maryland
Michigan at Virginia
Clemson at Iowa
Duke at Ohio State
Wednesday, November 30
Indiana at NC State
Penn State at Boston College
Florida State at Michigan State
Virginia Tech at Minnesota
Wake Forest at Nebraska
Wisconsin at North Carolina
First off, UNC did not get Ohio St. which I thought might happen but it is just as well that it didn't. UNC already has a road game at Kentucky, Michigan St in San Diego on an aircraft carrier and two games at the Las Vegas Invitational. That is a lot of travel for early in the season not to mention playing both UK and Ohio St would be insane. This is a better deal. UNC gets a home game versus a quality, well coached non-conference team in a serious clash of styles. The individual matchup between the Badgers' guard Jordan Taylor and UNC's defensive stopper Dexter Strickland will be fun to watch. The added bonus is Duke has to travel to Columbus. Not Chicago. Not Madison Square Garden. Not Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. On the campus of Ohio St. in a true road game against one of the best big men in the country.
New to the Challenge this year is the fact everyone in the ACC gets to participate with the Big 10/11/12 adding Nebraska. Besides the UNC and Duke games, there are no matchups that really jump out at me. FSU-Michigan St. might be interesting. Michigan at Virginia could cause your eyes to bleed and Penn St at Boston College will have said eyes falling out of your head and scurrying away. The Wednesday of the Challenge will be a busy night for the Zeller family. Tyler Zeller's younger brother Cody will make the trip with his Indiana team to the RBC Center to face NC State. On the same night, UNC will face Wisconsin.
Game times and TV assignments will be released later. However the safe bet is UNC will probably play on November 30th at 9 PM on ESPN.