Maryland will travel north to Central New York in late November to face Syracuse as part of the 19th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the leagues announced Thursday.
The Challenge pits all 14 Big Ten teams against a member of the ACC. The ACC won last year’s event, 9-5, and has an overall 11-5 advantage over the Big Ten in the series with two ties.
Syracuse and Maryland will meet for the first time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Terrapins hold a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series history with the Orange. In their previous meeting, Syracuse beat Maryland 57-55 on Feb. 24, 2014 in College Park. The 2013-2014 season was the final year for the Terrapins in the ACC before moving to the Big Ten. It was also the first season for the Orange in the ACC after moving over from the Big East.
The Terrapins last visited the Carrier Dome in the 2008 National Invitational Tournament, an 88-72 Syracuse win.
Syracuse was 19-15 and lost in the second round of the NIT last season. Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim enters his 42nd season at the helm of the Orange.
In coach Mark Turgeon’s sixth year in College Park, Maryland was 24-9 last season and 12-6 in the Big Ten. The Terrapins lost to Xavier in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Guard Kevin Huerter was a big part of last year’s success for the Terrapins. The sophomore started all 33 games for the Terrapins, averaging 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
But more interestingly, the game at the Carrier Dome will be a homecoming of sorts for him. Huerter was recruited heavily by the Orange. His Clifton Park, New York home is only a couple hours from Syracuse. Huerter was New York state “Mr. Basketball” and the New York Gatorade Player of the Year.
The Terrapins have yet to win a game in the Challenge as a member of the Big Ten. Maryland is 0-3, after losses to Virginia in 2014, North Carolina in 2015 and Pittsburgh in 2016.
Also, Virginia hosts Wisconsin as part of the Challenge. The two teams last met in 2013 as the Badgers won in Charlottesville. Wisconsin’s Greg Gard and Virginia’s Tony Bennett were assistant coaches together under then-head coach Bo Ryan when the Badgers won the Big Ten in 2002 and 2003.
Other pairings include defending NCAA champion North Carolina hosting Michigan, Duke at Indiana, Louisville at Purdue, Notre Dame at Michigan State, North Carolina State hosting Penn State, Boston College at Nebraska, Florida State at Rutgers, Virginia Tech hosting Iowa, Clemson at Ohio State, Georgia Tech hosting Northwestern, Miami at Minnesota and Wake Forest hosting Illinois.
Pittsburgh will sit out this year’s Challenge as the 15-team ACC has one more school than the Big Ten.
Duke has more victories in the series than any other team. The Blue Devils have won 16 times in 18 seasons. Their only setbacks came against Wisconsin in 2009 and Ohio State in 2011.
Dates and times were not announced, but the games are expected to be played in late November. The games will be televised by ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU and online at ESPN3.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Kevin Leitzell can be reached at kleitzell@washingtontimes.com.
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