Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern to Travel to Virginia Tech for B1G/ACC Challenge
5/13/2015 1:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wildcats and Hokies to meet for the first time
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia, to take on Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 1 as part of the 2015 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The meeting will be the first ever between the Wildcats and the Hokies.
Virginia Tech posted an 11-22 record -- including a 2-16 mark in ACC play -- under first-year head coach Buzz Williams last season. Justin Bibbs is slated to be the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 11.4 points per game as a freshman during the 2014-15 campaign.
Northwestern is 6-10 in its first 16 Challenge matchups. The Wildcats won four consecutive contests in the event from 2008-11.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the three-day event matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioners Cup. All 14 games will also be available via WatchESPN.
The Big Ten captured the Commissioner's Cup last season, winning eight of the 14 matchups. The two conferences split the previous two events, winning six Challenge games each in 2012 and 2013. The ACC won the first 10 Challenges (1999-2008) while the Big Ten won the next three (2009-2011). In the event of a tie, the Commissioner's Cup remains with the conference that won the previous year.
