Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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The ACC/Big 10 Challenge continues tonight with a full slate of five games headlined by No.10 Purdue hosting No.4 Duke. The Big 10 got off to a good start last night as Wisconsin pulled out a 74-72 road win over Virginia Tech on a last second leaner by Trevon Hughes.

The Big 10 desperately needs a good showing this season in order to help its standing in the conference hierarchy. The ACC has dominated this event having won every year since the event began in 1999. The ACC holds a 56-30 all-time record and the gap has gotten wider in recent seasons. The Big 10 has won just 15 times in the past five seasons, and just three games in each of the past two seasons.

The ACC looks to be a strong favorite to win the event again with superior depth top to bottom among its membership than the Big 10. If the Big 10 wants to win for the first time this year it will need either Purdue to upset Duke or Michigan State to take down No.1 North Carolina on Wednesday.

On to the game previews:

(4) DUKE vs. (10) PURDUE
In one of the marquee match-ups of the preseason, No.4 Duke travels to West Lafayette, Indiana to take on No.10 Purdue. This will be the first true road contest of the season for the Blue Devils who have never lost in the ACC/Big-10 Challenge. This will be just the third time they have played a road game in the 10-year history of the event.

E’Twaun Moore will try to lead the
Boilermakers to a big upset over Duke.

Duke is averaging 83.7 points per game and are playing much more aggressively with sophomore Nolan Smith replacing Greg Paulus at point guard. Smith is averaging 12.4 points per contest and is adding more energy and scoring punch to the lineup. Paulus is now able to be a shooter off the bench, a role that fits his talents much better. Sophomore Kyle Singler is one of the best players in the nation bringing a versatile inside-out game to a 6-foot-8 frame. He is averaging 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. The Blue Devils still need to find a semblance of a post game. Center Brian Zoubek is not athletic enough to stay on the floor averaging a foul every 5 minutes. There is still hope junior Lance Thomas, a former McDonald’s All-American, can fill that post role as he had a big game against Duquense with 21 points and 8 rebounds.

Purdue still seems to fly under the radar despite being one of the top teams in the nation the past two seasons. Sophomores E’Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel form a devastating one-two punch averaging a combined 30.9 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game. Both shoot over 40 percent from three-point range. The Boilermakers should have more depth inside tonight with Hummel, Nemanja Calasan, and JaJuan Johnson being consistent frontcourt producers while Duke’s post players are inconsistent at best. The biggest key will be Moore and Keaton Grant against the many players in the Duke backcourt.

This contest is expected to be as close as can be with Purdue winning just over 50 percent of simulations with the help of homecourt advantage. The average margin is just 0.3 points through 10,000 simulations so expect a close hard-nosed affair tonight between two top-10 teams.

Don’t sleep on Jack McClintonand the
‘Canes this season.

OHIO STATE vs. (22) MIAMI
This might not immediately be a game the typical college fan would tune in to, but there are plenty of reasons to watch the Buckeyes square off against the ‘Canes. Ohio State has been a recruiting machine under Thad Matta and has produced first round 7-footers the past two seasons in Greg Oden and Kosta Koufos. B.J. Mullens is likely to be the third. Mullens, a long athletic 7-footer, still has a long way to go but his potential is off the charts and that alone will get him drafted should he come out at the end of this season.

Miami received a 7-seed last March giving Texas all it could handle in the second round before losing in a three point heartbreak. Expectations are higher this season with the return of prolific guard Jack McClinton and post Dwayne Collins. The ‘Canes are currently 4-1 with the only loss being to UCONN in the Paradise Jam tournament. They are projected to win 62 percent of the time with a five point average margin of victory.

IOWA vs. BOSTON COLLEGE
This game should be all about guard play. Iowa’s top four scorers all play on the perimeter led by Anthony Tucker (15.1 ppg, 4.6 reb). Boston College is led by high-scoring guard Tyrese Rice who has made 199 three-point shots so far in his stellar career. Boston College has won both of its games in this event since joining the ACC.

Rice has the benefit of a better frontcourt with three players averaging at least 11 points and 5 rebounds for Boston College while 6-foot-10 sophomore Josh Southern plays center. Southern is not much of an offensive threat, but he has grabbed 11 rebounds in each of his last two games. Iowa has the more balanced attack, but the Eagles will clearly have the best player on the floor in Rice and homecourt. Boston College is winning 70 percent of simulation by over 6 points on average.

CLEMSON vs. ILLINOIS
These two teams are a combined 13-0 with neither team playing a particularly tough early schedule. The difference is that Clemson, while playing the relatively weaker schedule, has a point differential of 21.7 while Illinois is at 10.8. This is also a function of Clemson wanting to pressure the basketball and run while Illinois prefers to play at one of the most methodical paces in the nation.

The Tigers should be a solid team in the ACC despite the loss of Cliff Hammonds and James Mays. K.C. Rivers, Trevor Booker, and Terrence Oglesby return to lead the team, and are projected to combine for 32.5 points tonight. Illinois is going with a team approach with 10 different players averaging 10 minutes a game led by Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham. Despite being at home the Illini are slight underdogs winning 45 percent of simulations, but the average margin is just 0.2 points.

VIRGINIA vs. MINNESOTA
The Cavaliers are a tough team to figure. In the past week they went out and lost to Liberty at home despite the fact that the Flames start five guards, none taller than 6-foot-5. Then Virginia travelled to Syracuse and stayed in it until the end falling by just three points. The real Cavs are probably somewhere between those two performances, but will still be near the bottom of the ACC.

Minnesota meanwhile is 6-0 and still improving under coach Tubby Smith, although the best team among those wins was probably Bowling Green. Interestingly, the Gophers have freshman Ralph Sampson Jr. playing center. His father of course played collegiately at Virginia. Sampson is projected for 9 points and 4 rebounds while Minnesota is winning nearly 60 percent of simulations by 5 points on average.

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