The pairings for the 2011 ACC/Big Ten Challenge were announced today, and Penn State will be traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass. to take on Boston College on Wednesday, Nov. 30. The meeting will mark the two schools' first since the 2001 season.
The Eagles, like the Nittany Lions, were a bubble team in 2010-2011, missing the NCAA Tournament with a 21-13 record overall and a 9-7 record in the ACC. Their efforts did earn them a No. 1 seed in the NIT, but they fell to Northwestern 85-67 in the first round at home.
Boston College will also be losing a big percentage of its scoring from last season as four of the Eagles' top five scorers are out of eligibility. Leading scorer Reggie Jackson (no relation, I'm pretty sure), an 18.2 point per game scorer, is heading to the NBA. Considering Penn State is in a similar situation, seems like a good match.
With the announcement, the 2011-2012 non-conference schedule is coming into better focus. Penn State will face Radford, 2010-2011 NEC champ Long Island, Final Four squad Kentucky and either South Florida or Old Dominion in the Hall of Fame Tipoff in November. The Lions will also complete a home-and-home with Mississippi at the Bryce Jordan Center and are expected to clash at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh against Duquesne, so just add Boston College to that already fairly solid mix.
The rest of the Challenge schedule breaks down like this:
Tue, Nov 29
Miami at Purdue
Northwestern at Georgia Tech
Illinois at Maryland
No. 23 Michigan at Virginia
Clemson at Iowa
No. 5 Duke at No. 3 Ohio StateWed, Nov 30
Indiana at North Carolina State
Penn State on Boston College
No. 21 Florida State at Michigan State
Virginia Tech at Minnesota
Wake Forest at Nebraska
No. 11 Wisconsin at No. 1 North Carolina