Minnesota to Host Miami in 2013 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

According to the Big Ten Conference: 

The University of Minnesota women's basketball team will host Miami in the 2013-14 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge, the conferences announced Thursday. The Gophers and Hurricanes will face off on Thursday, Dec. 5, at Williams Arena. The time has not been determined.

The meeting between Minnesota and Miami will be the fourth all-time, with the Gophers holding a 2-1 advantage in the series which dates back to 1986. Minnesota defeated the Hurricanes, 80-65, in the teams’ last meeting on Dec. 30, 2001, in Coral Gables, Fla. 

The Gophers are 2-4 overall in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which includes a 1-3 record at Williams Arena and an even 1-1 record on the road. A year ago, Big Ten teams combined for a 5-7 mark against their ACC counterparts. In the past two seasons, the two conferences have squared off in head-to-head competition on 37 total occasions with the Big Ten holding a 19-18 advantage.

Minnesota returns four of its top five scorers, including WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection Rachel Banham (20.7 ppg), Micaëlla Riché (13.2 ppg), Sari Noga (7.0 ppg) and Shayne Mullaney (6.7 ppg), from a team that posted an 18-14 overall record, a 7-9 Big Ten record and played in the WNIT last season. Both the team’s overall and conference records were the best marks for the Gophers since 2008-09. 

The Hurricanes are coming of a 2011-12 season in which they posted a 21-11 overall record and an 11-7 ACC mark. Miami also made its third-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, falling to Iowa in the opening round.  

The ACC and Big Ten conference offices determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge will rotate each year. The 2013 event will be referred to as the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the two conferences' Challenge agreement for men's basketball.

 Game times, as well as television and broadband coverage, will be announced at a later date. For more information about the Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge, including a complete schedule, log on to bigten.org.

 

2013 Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge Schedule (times are TBD)

Wednesday, Dec.4	Notre Dame at Penn State
	Illinois at Georgia Tech
	Virginia Tech at Indiana
	Michigan State at Florida State
Thursday, Dec. 5	Miami at Minnesota
	NC State at Northwestern
	Boston College at Wisconsin
	Syracuse at Iowa
	Purdue at Duke
	Ohio State at Maryland
	Nebraska at North Carolina
	Michigan at Virginia