Maybe this will open up a chance for us to get back to the annual United Center game?
End of the B1G/ACC Challenge
redwingillini11
White and Sixth
- North Aurora
Sad for the end of a fun tradition but we will survive. We will have the Gavitt Games and I think there is good reason for Fox to put together a challenge with the Big 12. Admittedly, that is the best conference in college basketball and realignment is only going to improve them, not hurt them. Frankly, games against Kansas, KSU, Oklahoma St., Baylor, Iowa State, etc. sound a lot more interesting than what we've been getting against the ACC in recent years.
Good point. The B12 is still considered the best basketball conference though, as opposed to the ACC being 5th or 6th according to various rankings.
I agree it's run it's course - does anyone even care who "wins" the challenge anymore? To the extent it gave us an interesting non-conference opponent it was good, but we can get that in these other tournaments now. I agree the Big12 matches up with the B1G much better now
The Christmas break United Center games were awesome early on when we invited top 10 teams and were nationally televised.
The United Center has lost some of its lustre since Michael Jordan was winning 6 championships there but its still better than the dump at Rosemount.
It comes down to scheduling. We typically did a home home with top 10 team. Our home game was United Center.
I would try and schedule blue bloods or recent final 4 teams
UNC/Duke
Kentucky
Kansas/Baylor
Gonzaga
UCLA/AZ
Villanova/UConn
The United Center has lost some of its lustre since Michael Jordan was winning 6 championships there but its still better than the dump at Rosemount.
It comes down to scheduling. We typically did a home home with top 10 team. Our home game was United Center.
I would try and schedule blue bloods or recent final 4 teams
UNC/Duke
Kentucky
Kansas/Baylor
Gonzaga
UCLA/AZ
Villanova/UConn
I like the pre-conference games against solid P5 opponents. I wonder if we could do annual contests with the B12 and/or Big East. Both have contracts with Fox, and part of the B10 contract is with Fox.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I've seen it posted like everywhere that we would logically replace this with an expanded series with the Big East ... but couldn't we do a Big Ten/Big XII Challenge? It would be INFINITELY more exciting, and we are both partnered with FOX. I know the Big XII also has a deal with ESPN, but couldn't the series just be a FOX thing? Anyway, if we were to permanently lose that slot vs. a "BCS" team, AND assuming we can also bring back the United Center game, which I think is a no-brainer at this point (it's ONE home game when students are on break, amazing exposure and we have hardly ever not outdrawn our games in Champaign when we had a semi-decent team...), I would love any of the following to become an annual (or at least semi-regularly played) series, all in order of how much I would want them:
Strictly Home and Home - Either home arenas that are too iconic to leave and/or not wanting to give these teams free exposure in Chicago
vs. Kansas
vs. Kentucky
vs. Iowa State
I have no interest in playing Duke, honestly...
Neutral Sites Included - Ideally places we would like to gain a better recruiting footprint vs. non-Blue Bloods
vs. Virginia (Champaign-Charlottesville-Chicago-Washington, DC)
vs. Texas (Champaign-Austin-Chicago-Dallas/Houston)
vs. Syracuse (Champaign-Syracuse-Chicago-New York)
vs. Florida (Champaign-Gainesville-Chicago-Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa/Miami/you pick!!)
Cal would seem like a natural here in another world (Champaign-Berkeley-Chicago-Oakland), but MAN are they just a mess...
Strictly Home and Home - Either home arenas that are too iconic to leave and/or not wanting to give these teams free exposure in Chicago
vs. Kansas
vs. Kentucky
vs. Iowa State
I have no interest in playing Duke, honestly...
Neutral Sites Included - Ideally places we would like to gain a better recruiting footprint vs. non-Blue Bloods
vs. Virginia (Champaign-Charlottesville-Chicago-Washington, DC)
vs. Texas (Champaign-Austin-Chicago-Dallas/Houston)
vs. Syracuse (Champaign-Syracuse-Chicago-New York)
vs. Florida (Champaign-Gainesville-Chicago-Jacksonville/Orlando/Tampa/Miami/you pick!!)
Cal would seem like a natural here in another world (Champaign-Berkeley-Chicago-Oakland), but MAN are they just a mess...
Annoyingly, Maryland was 10-5 in the Challenge as an ACC member and 1-7 with us.
I'd love Cal, we'd get four home games out of the bargain.
I like all of this except I have no interest in playing Syracuse regularly. I don't think Boeheim will bring them back.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Yeah, I guess I just thought they would be our best exposure in NYC if we were interested in that ... St. John's or Seton Hall might be closer, but I think that's a similar comparison to Northwestern and DePaul vs. us when it comes to support in Chicago.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
I do.
The east coast bias of ESPN has always made me loathe the ACC by association. I saw it as a regional battle and the ACC always won early on. I've been enjoying the B1G catching up in recent years.
I'm sad to see it go before they could.
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The big east essentially made ESPN. They were operating out of a trailer until the conference started.
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
Okay, but they both are (were) major conferences out east. I can be annoyed with all the teams rather easily.
Central IL Illini
- Springfield, IL
The nostalgist in me is bummed out. I was growing up around the time this became a thing, so it's always been a part of my Illini basketball experience. Definitely seems like it lost its luster recently. Conference expansion and us not being good for a long time probably contributed some to that. Seems like we got the Ga. Tech/Clemson/Miami type game every year.
That’s because it feels like they beat us like 9 times
The one thing to consider about a big ten vs big 12 challenge would have to be longevity in my opinion as with the big ten expanding as well with the sec.id say those 2 conferences aren't going anywhere anytime soon they along with the big East would be safer bets for a long term challenge.also id have to say I think big east vs big ten could make some easier rivalries just for location alone
An annual matchup in KC would be nice and they certainly have the facilities for it
KC would be a home game for Kansas.
The United Center games used to be paired with a game in a similar large neutral city close to the opponent. Kansas in KC, Arizona in Phoenix, Gonzaga in Seattle, Texas in Houston or Dallas, etc. I'd like to go back to a game with real opponent in at the United Center ever year paired with an away/neutral game that would then play at the UC the next year. That would be two solid non-conference games every year.
I'd be fine with a home and away setup like that. KC would be a nice recruiting location and it's not a horrific drive from Champaign
The neutral site provision was enforced so thoroughly that when Temple couldn't or wouldn't get the Sixers' arena for the return of the UC game, we played them in Penn's building instead of their own.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Random tidbit I thought was interesting ... if you average all of the scores, the Big Ten "wins" 72-70. I guess we wasted some blowouts! Lol.
Still looking for a silver lining to losing the Challenge here (besides the Illini whooping !!!!) ... so also, the ACC really has some crappy basketball fan bases right about now. The average Big Ten attendance was 12,220 (high of IU at 17,222 and low of Northwestern at 2,606
), while the average ACC attendance was only 7,723 (high of 0-7 LOUISVILLE at 12,211 and low of FSU with 5,282).
So at least we have better fans!
Still looking for a silver lining to losing the Challenge here (besides the Illini whooping !!!!) ... so also, the ACC really has some crappy basketball fan bases right about now. The average Big Ten attendance was 12,220 (high of IU at 17,222 and low of Northwestern at 2,606
), while the average ACC attendance was only 7,723 (high of 0-7 LOUISVILLE at 12,211 and low of FSU with 5,282).So at least we have better fans!
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Y'know you see something like Miami vs Rutgers last night and you think "this has become so meaningless in the current context of college sports, why are we bothering?" and then it flips to IU-UNC at Assembly Hall and immediately you flip to "it is a national tragedy that TV nonsense is taking this part of our heritage away from us"
I always got into the Challenge and rooted for the conference, but a 1-13 B1G record with us winning is better than 13-1 with us losing.Random tidbit I thought was interesting ... if you average all of the scores, the Big Ten "wins" 72-70. I guess we wasted some blowouts! Lol.
Still looking for a silver lining to losing the Challenge here (besides the Illini whooping !!!!) ... so also, the ACC really has some crappy basketball fan bases right about now. The average Big Ten attendance was 12,220 (high of IU at 17,222 and low of Northwestern at 2,606
So at least we have better fans!