With the Big Ten no longer broadcasting on ESPN, the ACC’s annual battle with that conference came to an end. However, ESPN wasn’t willing to let the idea of teams in two major conferences playing each other die. So the SEC was called in to fill the gap left by the Big Ten after its annual challenge with the Big 12. We now know who will be playing who in both the men’s and women’s challenges.
This opens up a world of possibilities for new rivalries to form or old rivalries, perhaps from the NCAA Tournament or notable past nonconference meetings, to reignite. We know the SEC is king in college football, but we’ll see how strong it is in college basketball. Then again, the ACC hasn’t been great the past couple of years, so maybe this won’t be the best time to compare the two conferences unless the ACC comes roaring out of the gate.
Here the matchups for the men’s challenge: