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 ending its annual series 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. The ACC has provided some quality teams recently, and there are a couple of historic and contending teams in the SEC, so in at least some challenge games, that quality should shine through.
Here the matchups for the women’s challenge: