acc challenge

As was rumored for weeks, the Big Ten has signed a landmark new rights deal with FOX, CBS, and NBC. Let's break out the bullets.

Money. The full deal takes a little bit to kick in, and the numbers are somewhat fuzzy because some people appear to be talking about just the money coming from the three networks mentioned above and some people are including CFP, NCAA tournament, and other rights. This is the discrepancy between 75 million (deal-related money) and 100 million (expected per-school conference distribution in a few years).

This is a lot of money. Please do not accept any requests for understanding when and if the school serves up another nonconference schedule like this one.

Oh God, the commercials. There was a time way back in the long ago when this site was enthused about exploding rights fees. It's hard to remember why, but it was probably some combination of tribalism and hilariously naïve beliefs that some of this money would result in positive changes for anyone other than the people drawing salaries from the athletic department.

After years of bludgeoning in the courts of public opinion and, you know, actual courts, the NCAA has budged on some things—cost of living stipends, free food—but these athlete-supporting changes are peripheral. The money is still going to the coaching/administrator class. I see no reason that would change, so the main takeaway here for people who watch the sports is to prepare for an even heavier inundation of ads. I would expect the powers that be to push for more NFL style rules to reduce the number of plays, literally replacing football with ads.

Doctored Schedules or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The F-Bomb

Woodstock '99, the original Fecal Festival

Back in mid-September, the NCAA pushed back the start of college basketball season to November 25th, allowing programs time to adjust to a reduced schedule while figuring out what games can be safely played during a pandemic. Let's see how that's going.

Here are some of the responses I received from College basketball schedulers when asked to describe the current state of scheduling: pic.twitter.com/3jbot4kP1X

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) October 30, 2020

Ah, well.

Michigan doesn't have a 2020-21 schedule posted on their official site; there isn't even a page for it. Most of the neutral-site tournaments have been canceled. For whatever it's worth, ESPN went ahead and announced the ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups, which are scheduled for December 8th and 9th. Michigan is set to host N.C. State, Torvik's #46 squad last year and projected #49 team this season, on the latter date.

According to a more-frustrated-than-usual Tom Izzo, the Big Ten's plans are still fluid:

As for the Big Ten conference schedule, that also remains in flux. Izzo said the 14 Big Ten coaches were on a video call Thursday morning and have been meeting twice a week with Big Ten staff to work through scenarios, possibilities and feasibilities. He believes the league could expand by two to a 22-game schedule this winter to limit travel, which is the difference between seeking five and seven nonconference opponents. He said creative solutions such as running a Big Ten bubble or working together in pods of four teams have been mentioned but not fully explored.

At this point, expanding the conference schedule as much as possible seems like the best plan. It's going to be difficult to secure venues and teams in such a short time period while also putting in proper COVID precautions that are uniform (or close enough) across conferences.

Given the direction both scheduling and the pandemic are headed, I wouldn't be surprised if the season is eventually reduced to conference-only play in the regular season anyway. Football ended up in the same place despite having far fewer teams and conferences. While it's going to be difficult to figure out the NCAA Tournament field, maintaining a more controlled environment for the programs and minimizing travel should be the priority.

[Hit THE JUMP for commit updates, the big reveal for Chaundee Brown, and more.]

THE ESSENTIALS

THE STAKES

If you were hoping for a Big Ten triumph in the ACC Challenge, it was over almost before it began. Purdue beat Louisville last night; the other six games, including a buzzer-beating finish between Georgia Tech and Northwestern, have gone the ACC's way.

The Big Ten needs a clean sweep for a win. I don't need to run any numbers to tell you that's unlikely.

THE THEM

While the defending national champions have had plenty of turnover, they're still projected to be Michigan's toughest test until January.

UNC took a markedly different approach to early-season scheduling than Michigan; they've already faced five top-100 teams, dispatching four with relative ease, including #29 Arkansas. That got them inside the KenPom top ten for all of one game before Michigan State blew them out 63-45 in the PK80 title game on Sunday. UNC had its worst shooting performance in the history of the program. A dollar says they'll be better tonight.

The Tar Heels are led by 6'8", 240-pound junior big Luke Maye, a hero off the bench in last year's NCAA tournament who's taken well to a much-increased role this year. Capable of scoring in the post or knocking down threes at a 40% clip, he'd fit in really well in Beilein's offense, and he's also an excellent rebounder. His main weakness is at the line, where he's a career 52% shooter.

Point guard Joel Berry is the player you probably best remember from last year's title run. He's struggled to find his shot after missing the early portion of the season with a hand injury; at his best, he's a high-volume three-point gunner and effective pick-and-roll ballhandler. He's joined in the backcourt by sharpshooter Kenny Williams, who's 14-for-25 on threes so far this season.

6'6" wing Theo Pinson is a strong defender who's likely to match up against Charles Matthews. He's a limited offensive player, but his poor outside shot is offset by his ability to finish around the basket. Freshmen Garrison Brooks (6'9" starting four) and Sterling Manley (6'11" backup five) round out the frontcourt. Neither is a huge offensive threat and have some turnover issues; both can make an impact on the boards, especially Manley.

A few young guards—sophomore Seventh Woods and freshmen Andrew Platek and Jarek Felton—should rotate into the game. They're all talented players, as you'd expect at UNC, but only Platek has found much success this year and most of it came against 303rd-ranked Portland.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the preview.]