Behind the Mic

ACC-Big Ten Challenge Close.....But Perception That ACC is Better Still Present

Posted by: Brian Barnhart

Thursday, December 4, 2008 10:48 AM

The final tally on the ACC-Big Ten Challenge was closer than most people expected (6-5 ACC).  The Atlantic Coast Conference has won the Challenge for the 10th straight year ...but not without a fight from the Big Ten Schools...

And hey...if the Ilini hit one more shot against Clemson...the Big Ten pulls off the "upset".

Although the two conferences were close in the number of respective wins....the national perception of the Big Ten  conference probably wasnt helped with the Duke smashing of Purdue at Mackey Arena...or the North Carolina blowout of Michigan State at Ford Field.  With Dickie V in attendance  to watch the two Big Ten favorites go down in flames....the fact that the Blue Devils and the Tar Heels were so dominant in those games is likely to be repeated by the ESPN announcer at some point this season.

By the way....North Carolina may be the best team to come around in a long time.  There are several teams that have been very  tough to beat in recent years (including the 2004-05 Ilini and last year's Memphis team)...but this year's Tar Heel team  looks "scary good" to me.  The Heels remind some older college basketball fans of those dominant UCLA Bruin teams from the 1970's...teams that destroyed about everyone they played.

However...they remind me of the UNLV team of 1991.... or maybe the "Phi Slamma Jamma" Houston Cougar team of 1983.  Of course ...neither one of those teams won the NCAA tournament....and that may wind up being the case this year.  But we have a long way to go until March.

One final thought....Some Illini fans may have come away disappointed after Tuesday night's loss to Clemson...but I thought the Illini played very well against a team that may be just slightly behind North Carolina and Duke in ability.  I am looking forward to see how well they bounce back against Georgia on Saturday at the United Center.

 

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