NC State to play Michigan in ACC/Big Ten Challenge, per report

Jon Rothstein has spilled the beans on the 2020 ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups, which he says should be announced officially on Friday. NC State will be hitting the road to play Michigan this year. The Wolfpack beat Wisconsin at home in last year’s Challenge game, while the Wolverines lost at Louisville.

Below are all 14 matchups for the event, which will run Dec. 8-9, per Rothstein. Wake Forest is the ACC team sitting out this year.

Illinois at Duke
North Carolina at Iowa
Michigan State at Virginia
Louisville at Wisconsin
Indiana at Florida State
Ohio State at Notre Dame
Syracuse at Rutgers
Boston College at Minnesota
Pitt at Northwestern
Penn State at Virginia Tech
Purdue at Miami
NC State at Michigan
Georgia Tech at Nebraska
Maryland at Clemson

In its first season under head coach Juwan Howard, Michigan finished 2020 with a 19-12 (10-10) record ... which was identical to NC State’s regular-season record! I think this means we have to be friends or something.

There was a slight difference between the two teams in the Pomeroy Ratings, though: Michigan finished at No. 16, while State was No. 50.

The Wolverines return three starters and also added a couple of impact transfers in former Columbia guard Mike Smith (22.8 PPG in 2020) and former Wake Forest wing Chaundee Brown (12.1 PPG and 6.5 RPG in 2020). Brown is still awaiting a waiver for immediate eligibility, but Michigan should be pretty good regardless of how that turns out.