Five Takeaways From the 2021 Men's ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Purdue's offense looks unguardable, Michigan's woes might not have a quick fix and second place in the ACC is wide open.

The ACC’s strong final day made things interesting, but the Big Ten took this year’s men's ACC/Big Ten Challenge 8–6 and earned some important wins in the process. Of course, none were bigger than Ohio State’s win over No. 1 Duke, a stunner coming less than a week after the Blue Devils looked like world-beaters against Gonzaga. The event produced a four-overtime game, a double-overtime game, an overtime game and six more matchups decided by five points or less, which would seemingly be a good indicator that the matchups were set relatively well.

Here are five key takeaways from this year’s event.

Purdue’s offensive attack has no holes

Tuesday’s 1.37 points-per-possession explosion by the Boilermakers against an otherwise-sturdy Florida State defense vaulted Purdue into KenPom’s top spot in adjusted offensive efficiency, and a quick look at the tape shows why that shouldn’t be a surprise. Purdue’s offense feels pretty much unguardable right now.

Want to pack the paint and try to slow down Zach Edey, one of most efficient post scorers in the nation? The Boilers will swing the ball around to open shooters and have four guards shooting 42% or better from deep. When he’s in the game, Edey’s gravity creates opportunities for everyone else, and Purdue is loaded with smart players who cut hard and understand spacing. When Edey checks out in favor of Trevion Williams, Matt Painter’s offense unlocks another weapon: a big man who can pass. Williams can hit backdoor cutters from the perimeter or the post while being an impressive post scorer himself.

Purdue’s KenPom page is green pretty much everywhere right now. It dominates the offensive glass, doesn’t really turn the ball over, shoots the three at a high level and gets to the free throw line. This offense is special.

Wolverines freshman Caleb Houstan :: Bob Donnan/USA TODAY Sports

Michigan’s lack of shooting is a problem

The Wolverines were blown out on the road against North Carolina for their third loss of the season in their third big test of the year, and the offense looked dreadful in the process. Playing a North Carolina defense that had been torched for 93 points by Purdue, 89 by Tennessee, 87 by Brown and 83 by Charleston, the Wolverines put up a pitiful 51 points, including just 11 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half.

The big problem in my eyes with the Michigan offense is a lack of shooters and playmaking. Last year’s Wolverine team surrounded Hunter Dickinson with four players who could put the ball on the deck and make threes nearly at all times. This year’s group, on the other hand, is much less skilled. Coastal Carolina transfer DeVante’ Jones isn’t a great shooter and has had turnover issues. Brandon Johns is eating up a lot of minutes at the four despite not being much of a spacer and lacks high-level ball skills. Touted freshman Caleb Houstan hasn’t heated up yet from three and hasn’t shown the all-around game some pro scouts expected. What does that leave? A lot less room for Dickinson to operate in the paint, which helps result in quiet nights like he had on Wednesday.

Freshmen Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins are works in progress but might help alleviate these problems as the season goes on. But for as much as I believe in Juwan Howard as a coach, these issues don’t look like quick fixes.

E.J. Liddell has made the leap

Liddell was one of the most improved players in the country as a sophomore, blossoming from a role player into a star before our eyes in 2020–21. Now, he looks like he has made yet another jump, and the Ohio State standout did a little bit of everything for the Buckeyes in their upset win over No. 1 Duke.

The pro departure of Duane Washington Jr. and Justice Sueing’s early-season injury have left the Buckeyes short in the play-making department, so Liddell has had to step up even more. The junior rose to the challenge, dishing out a career-high six assists in the win. He’s shooting 40% from three this season and has blocked three or more shots in four straight games (all against high-major competition). It’s very early, but no player in the Sports Reference database has ever put together a full season with a 10% block rate, 20% assist rate and 40% three-point field goal percentage. Liddell is currently hitting all of those benchmarks. He’s a huge reason the Buckeyes earned a signature win Tuesday night and should be getting more love among college basketball's best players.

Second place in the ACC is there for the taking

This week’s SI college hoops mailbag touched on the ACC being the most disappointing power conference in the sport to date, and this event didn’t do a ton to change that. One big issue: The league just doesn’t have a clear No. 2 team behind Duke or, quite frankly, a team that is a no-brainer for the top 25 right now other than the Blue Devils.

North Carolina’s win over Michigan was much-needed, but I’m far from fully convinced that the Tar Heels have figured things out on the defensive end. Florida State and Virginia don’t have the talent that have lifted them to the league’s top tier in recent years. Virginia Tech is a trendy choice, but I remain unconvinced that this is truly a top-25 caliber team, and it didn’t do a ton against Maryland to prove me wrong. Wofford transfer Storm Murphy has looked overmatched at times at the high-major level and is a key for this Hokies group at point guard. Louisville had a nice week in the Bahamas but then was clearly outplayed by Michigan State Wednesday.

Steve Forbes has Wake Forest ahead of schedule

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised given he has won everywhere he’s ever been in college basketball, but Forbes’s Wake Forest team looks feisty in his second year at the helm. Transfers Alondes Williams (Oklahoma) and Jake LaRavia (Indiana State) have been high-impact contributors so far, and that duo carried the day in an overtime win over Northwestern in Winston-Salem Tuesday.

Is this an NCAA tournament team? Probably not. But considering where Wake was a little more than 18 months ago, when Forbes first took over for Danny Manning, the contrast is stark. This team plays incredibly hard, forces turnovers on D and has clutch shot-makers on offense. In an ACC that looks far from overwhelming, there’s some room for the Demon Deacons to rise the standings. Their 7–1 start is the program’s best since Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu were suiting up together in the 2008–09 season, and more wins are almost assuredly on the horizon.