It?s almost too perfect.
It?s the coast on which America was born vs. America?s heartland.
It?s premier matchups, like Juan Dixon and Steve Blake vs. Frank Williams and Cory Bradford, or Carlos Boozer vs. Reggie Evans.
And best of all, it?s all on TV.
It?s the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
In the third year of its existence, the ACC/Big Ten challenge should once again provide two exciting days of competition between what many consider to be the two best conferences in college basketball. Seven ranked teams, including three of the top four teams in the nation, will participate in the event.
Nine teams from each conference will square off Tuesday and Wednesday, with some top-flight matchups taking place during the two days.
No. 2 Illinois (5-0) faced No. 4 Maryland (3-1) Tuesday night in the opening game of the event. The other marquee game was between No. 1 Duke (4-0), the defending national champions, and No. 13 Iowa (4-1).
Wisconsin (1-3) looks to grab its second win of the season against a young Georgia Tech squad that has gone 2-3 so far this year. Georgia Tech has missed 6-foot-11 center Alvin Jones, who graduated after averaging 13.4 points and 10.4 rebounds per game last season.
Tony Akins is the man for the Yellow Jackets; the senior guard is the only upperclassman who expects to see big minutes this season. In the first five games of the season, Akins has averaged 15 points and 3.2 assists.
Guard Marvin Lewis has also excelled for Georgia Tech this year. He has averaged 15 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting an astounding 59 percent from three-point range.
The Yellow Jackets also have one of the best freshmen classes in the nation. Six-foot-eight forward Ed Nelson was one of the top recruits in the nation last year, and 6-foot-4 shooting guard Barry Elder has averaged 8.8 points thus far in his rookie campaign. Center Luke Schensher, a 7-footer from Australia, is also expected to play.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt stresses pushing the basketball down the floor and often employs an aggressive full-court press.
The majority of the Yellow Jacket squad is long, athletic and very effective at the running/pressing game. Badger point guard Travon Davis will need help from Devin Harris and Freddie Owens bringing the ball up the floor.
Harris, a true freshman, has played extremely well in his first games as a Badger, averaging 16.8 points while shooting 49 percent from the floor. He has given the Badger offense a spark, by driving to the hole, constantly pushing the ball, and finishing in transition. Harris has also excelled from long range, hitting 48 percent of his three-pointers. The Badgers will look to him to do a good deal of scoring against Georgia Tech.
On the inside, Badger forwards Charlie Wills and Mike Wilkinson should be effective against a big but largely inexperienced Yellow Jacket front line. The loss of Lewis has left a trio of young forwards to take care of rebounding and inside scoring.
Nelson, who has averaged 8.8 rebounds per game, has been a force, and 6-foot-5 sophomore Clarence Moore has played forward with a Charles Barkley-esque small-man?s syndrome, playing bigger than his size and averaging 7.2 boards per game. Sophomore Robert Brooks rounds out the group, and has averaged 5 rebounds and 2.4 points per game.
Wilkinson has also been impressive so far in his redshirt freshman year. He has averaged 9.5 points and six rebounds per game, and has been effective both on the inside and shooting the perimeter jumper, displaying the skills that made him Mr. Basketball of Wisconsin during his senior high school season two years ago.
Against the Yellow Jackets, Badger three-point specialist Kirk Penney hopes to find the rhythm that has eluded him thus far this season. Penney, who led the Big Ten in three-point shooting last season, shooting 48 percent in conference games, has yet to find his touch this year.
Shooting over Georgia Tech?s undersized guards, none of whom is over 6-foot-4, should help Penney get some good looks and possibly get into a groove. Penney has made only six of 20 threes this season.
The running game of Georgia Tech may have flustered Dick Bennett-coached Wisconsin teams from previous years, but the Badgers, at the behest of new coach Bo Ryan, have been playing a much more up-tempo game this season. Points should come in bunches, as both teams are very young and inexperienced on the defensive end.
While Georgia Tech, at least at this point, is not exactly an elite program, a win over the Yellow Jackets would provide a boost for a young Wisconsin squad looking to establish itself in the difficult Big Ten conference. The game begins a grueling non-conference schedule that includes games against Temple, Marquette, Tennessee, and Ryan?s former team, UW Milwaukee.
