May 14, 2012
Penn State has won four of last five Challenge games
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 14, 2012 - Boston College will visit the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday, Nov. 28 as the Nittany Lion basketball team takes on the Eagles for the second-straight season as part of the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK's Sporting Goods.
All 12 games in the 14th annual staging of the Challenge between two of the most successful college basketball conferences will be televised by a combination of ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com. Tip times and television arrangements will be announced at a later date.
The 2012 Challenge involves nine teams ranked in the ESPN.com early preseason top 25, including five of the top nine: No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 North Carolina State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State. Eleven teams between the two conferences played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Penn State has won four of its last five Challenge games, including a 62-54 victory at B.C. in last year's Challenge. Returning Nittany Lion guards Tim Frazier (Houston, Texas) and Jermaine Marshall (Etters, Pa.) each scored 22 points in that victory as Penn State claimed its third-straight victory in a Challenge road game and handed the Eagles their first-ever Challenge loss in six contests. Frazier scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the Lions back from a 29-26 halftime deficit. Marshall scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and added eight rebounds on the night.
Penn State holds a 5-6 record in 11 Challenge appearances and ranks sixth among Big Ten teams with five Challenge wins. The Big Ten won the Challenge for the third-straight year in 2011 as the conference posted a dominating 8-4 tally, the Big Ten's largest-ever winning margin and a mark equaling the most number of wins for a conference in the series. The ACC also won eight games in 2006 and 2007 and won the initial 10 Challenges.
Penn State also previously won games vs. Virginia Tech (2007), at Georgia Tech (2008) and at Virginia (2009) in its last five Challenge games. The Lions fell to Maryland in their last home Challenge appearance in 2010.
Penn State is 6-6 all-time vs. Boston College. B.C. returns team MVP Ryan Anderson from a team that posted a 9-22 record last year, but won ACC games vs. Florida State, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
The 2012 Challenge will tipoff on Tuesday, Nov. 27 with six games: Indiana will host North Carolina, Michigan will host North Carolina State and Northwestern will host Maryland, while Minnesota will travel to Florida State, Iowa to Virginia Tech and Nebraska to Wake Forest.
The Challenge wraps up on Wednesday, Nov. 28 with six more games. Illinois will take on Georgia Tech and Wisconsin will face Virginia as they join Penn State in Challenge home games for the Big Ten. Purdue will travel to Clemson, Ohio State to Duke and Michigan State to Miami, Fla. in road contests for the Big Ten.
Seven of the previous 13 Challenges have been decided by one game. The ACC has won 10 of the 13 Challenges. In 2010, Penn State became the first ever Big Ten program to win Challenge games in three consecutive seasons.
2012 Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule (times and networks are to be determined):
Tue, Nov 27
No. 25 Minnesota @ Florida State
No. 13 North Carolina @ No. 1 Indiana
No. 6 North Carolina State @ No. 5 Michigan
Maryland @ Northwestern
Iowa @ Virginia Tech
Nebraska @ Wake Forest
Wed, Nov 28
Purdue @ Clemson
No. 8 Ohio State @ No. 15 Duke
Georgia Tech @ Illinois
No. 9 Michigan State @ Miami, Fla.
Boston College @ Penn State
Virginia @ No. 22 Wisconsin
For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Penn State basketball follow Assistant Athletic Communications Director Brian Siegrist on Twitter (@PSUSTRETCH) and check GoPSUsports.com. The Nittany Lions are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pennstatebasketball.
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