ACC/Big 10 Challenge takes spotlight

It's something of an early-season tradition by now, the annual clash between the ACC and the Big 10. Always sure to feature some of the top showdowns of November, the ACC/Big 10 Challenge is in its ninth season.

The Challenge started with Wake Forest winning 56-47 at Iowa on Monday night. It continues with five games tonight and five Wednesday. Here are some of the storylines as the Challenge heats up tonight:

State back in Top 25 A week after a 65-63 loss to New Orleans pushed State out of the Associated Press Top 25, the Pack re-entered Monday as No. 24 on the strength of three wins in the Old Spice Classic, including a 69-68 championship-game victory against then-No. 20 Villanova on Sunday.

State will face No. 10 Michigan State at 7 p.m. Wednesday in East Lansing. The Spartans are the highest-ranked opponent the Pack has ever faced in the Challenge. It is also the earliest State has played a Top 10 team since a November 1986 win against No. 9 Navy.

The Pack's lone win against a ranked team in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge came in 1999, a 61-59 victory at No. 19 Purdue.

Pack facing different Michigan foe Wednesday's game will be N.C. State's first in the Challenge against Michigan State, but it has faced Michigan twice in the event, losing in Ann Arbor in 2003 and winning in Raleigh last year.

ACC looks for nine in a row While the official name of the annual event includes the word "Challenge," the ACC has won the event each of the previous eight seasons, including an 8-3 advantage last season.

Tonight's schedule Georgia Tech @ No. 15 Indiana, 7 p.m., ESPN Northwestern @ Virginia, 7 p.m., ESPNU Minnesota @ Florida State, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 No. 20 Wisconsin @ No. 7 Duke, 9 p.m., ESPN Purdue @ No. 18 Clemson, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2

Big 10/ACC or ACC/Big 10? The event has caused some confusion about its true name. On Big 10 schools' Web sites, the Challenge is listed as the "Big 10/ACC Challenge," while some ACC schools refer to it as the "ACC/Big 10 Challenge."

ESPN, which televises all the games on its networks, refers to it as the "Big 10/ACC Challenge."

What you call it likely depends on what school you're from, but with the ACC's domination and alphabetical order in play, why not just stick with "ACC/Big 10"?