Not Qualified To Comment » Victory! Big Ten Takes ACC-Big Ten Challenge

Victory! Big Ten Takes ACC-Big Ten Challenge

December 3, 2009 at 8:30 am | College Basketball
By: StevieY19

It only took us 11 years, but the Big Ten has finally broken through in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Finally a reprieve from articles and posts about how the Big Ten is so overrated after 6-to-5 losses in the Challenge, despite consistently impressive post-season performances. Let the ubridled hype commence!

Alright maybe not, but it still feels good. I said on Tuesday that the Big Ten would be in good shape if it could enter the final day tied at three games apiece. I didn’t think that would include a win from Northwestern Tuesday and certainly didn’t think Wisconsin would knock off Duke last night. It was classic Wisconsin basketball last night with big white guys banking in eight-footers and superb defense winning the night.

Wisconsin beating Duke was awesome, but Illinois had the game of the night. The Illini used a 28-4 run in the second half to score their biggest comeback in school history. Illinois managed to gel as a team in the second half, something that was visibly missing early in the year. Behind Tisdale, Davis, McCamey, and freshman Brandon Paul, the Illini erased a 23-point deficit in the second half and when Tisdale had the go-ahead bucket with 41 seconds to go, they just had to hold off Clemson for the huge win. Oddly, Illinois avenged a win from last year’s Challenge where Clemson was the team escaping with an identical 76-74 score.

About a month remains until the Big Ten season starts and the Illini will have a couple more chances to build a resume before the battle begins in conference play. That battle is sure to be fierce, but until then we can all bask in the glory of a sweet victory.