Hoosiers Now

Indiana to Play at Syracuse in ACC/Big Ten Challenge This Season

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge pairings have been announced, and Indiana will play at Syracuse this year, its third road game in four years in the event. Indiana is 8-12 in the event, which is entering its 23rd year.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana had a long road trip to Florida State for last year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and now the Hoosiers are going to heading back out on the road this year.

Indiana announced on Monday afternoon that the Hoosiers will be traveling to Syracuse this year to take on Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim and the Orange.

The event takes place this year on Nov. 29, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Indiana's game with Syracuse will take play on Tuesday night, Nov. 30.

Here are all of the matchups in this year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge: 

Monday, Nov. 29

  • Notre Dame at Illinois
  • Iowa at Virginia

Tuesday, Nov. 30

  • Indiana at Syracuse
  • Minnesota at Pittsburgh
  • Northwestern at Wake Forest
  • Duke at Ohio State
  • Florida State at Purdue
  • Clemson at Rutgers

Wednesday, Dec. 1

  • Virginia Tech at Maryland
  • Michigan at North Carolina
  • Louisville at Michigan State
  • Nebraska at NC State
  • Miami at Penn State
  • Wisconsin at Georgia Tech

Indiana and Syracuse have met six times previously, with Syracuse posting a 5-1 record. The one Indiana win, of course, mattered the most. That's when Indiana beat Syracuse to win the 1987 national championship in New Orleans on Keith Smart's game-winning shot.

Here are all the scores in the rivalry:

  • March 30, 1987: Indiana 74, Syracuse 73 in NCAA Touranment championship game.
  • Nov. 23, 1988: Syracuse 102, Indiana 78 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
  • Nov. 25, 1990: Syracuse 77, Indiana 74 at Maui Invitational in Maui, Hawaii.
  • Nov. 25, 1998: Syracuse 76, Indiana 73 at Maui Invitational in Maui, Hawaii.
  • March 28, 2013: Syracuse 61, Indiana 50 in NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
  • Dec. 3, 2013: Syracuse 69, Indiana 52 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Syracuse.

Indiana is 8-12 overall in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and they are 0-1 vs. Syracuse in the event. 

Syracuse was 18-10 last season and secured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year in which the competition was held. The 11th-seeded Orange upset San Diego State and West Virginia and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Final Four bound Houston. 

Hall of Fame Coach Jim Boeheim is second in all-time Division I coaching triumphs. He is also second on the active games coached list, trailing only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in the two categories.

IU is 8-12 all-time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge after falling 69-67 in overtime at No. 20 Florida State last year. IU has played a nationally ranked foe in the event for six straight seasons and eight of the last nine campaigns. The Hoosiers will be looking for their first road win in the series wince winning at NC State, 86-75 in 2011.

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the event, and all games will also be available to stream via the ESPN app. Start times and network designations will be announced at a later date. The Big Ten has captured the Commissioner’s Cup in each of the last two seasons.

Here are some notes on the event:

  • The Big Ten captured the 2020 Challenge with a 7-5 record, marking the second year in a row that the Big Ten bested the ACC. Last year, two of the Challenge’s 14 contests were not played due to COVID-19 concerns.
  • In 2019, the Big Ten won the Challenge with an overall record of 8-6. The ACC leads the all-time series 12-7-3, with its last victory coming in 2017. The Big Ten has won seven of the last 12 Challenges dating back to 2009, with the ACC emerging victorious in 2016 and 2017, and the conferences splitting the Challenge three times (2012, 2013 and 2018).
  • During the 2020 Challenge, the Big Ten secured four top-25 ranked wins over the ACC: Illinois defeated then-ranked No. 10/11 Duke, Iowa topped then-ranked No. 16/14 North Carolina, Penn State took down then-ranked No. 15/15 Virginia Tech and Wisconsin knocked off then-ranked No. 23/22 Louisville.
  • Illinois’ 83-68 win at then-ranked No. 10/11 Duke in the Challenge marked the second of two Big Ten victories over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 2020. Earlier in the season, Michigan State went on the road and defeated Duke 75-69. The Big Ten became the first conference, besides the ACC, to win two games at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the same season since the Southern Conference in 1981-82.
  • This year’s Challenge features 16 teams that competed in the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. The Big Ten led all conferences with nine bids in last year’s NCAA Tournament, while the ACC and Big 12 ranked second with seven teams each. The Challenge will feature a rematch between Rutgers and Clemson, who met in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights defeated the Tigers 60-56 to secure their first NCAA Tournament win since 1983.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

  • ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE RESULTS: Here are the scores from all 20 Indiana games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge event through the years. The Hoosiers are just 8-12 in the event. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA'S CURRENT SCHEDULE: Here's what we know so far about Indiana's schedule for the 2021-22 season, the first under new coach Mike Woodson. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA TARGET COMMITS TO SYRACUSE: Virginia native Justin Taylor and four-star recruit Justin Taylor had Indiana on his final list of schools, bu the 6-foot-6 shooting guard committed to Syracuse on Saturday. CLICK HERE 
Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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