The ACC switched up its partners this year for its annual cross-conference challenge in men’s and women’s basketball. The Big Ten is out, and the SEC is in.
When the deal was announced, a lot of folks figured this to be a good thing for women’s basketball by creating the potential for some interesting and spicy matchups. The ACC had eight teams make the NCAA tournament last season – more than any other conference – and the SEC put two teams in the Final Four. The ACC also had three teams in the Elite Eight.
Pairings for the inaugural ACC-SEC Challenge in women’s basketball were released Wednesday and the slate does not disappoint.
𝐀𝐂𝐂/𝐒𝐄𝐂 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄 🏀
Matchups for the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 ACC/SEC Challenge are set!
📰 https://t.co/ONrinZhCXY pic.twitter.com/1Uik9XNl9e
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) June 28, 2023
Six of the 14 games are matchups between squads that went dancing last March, and headlining the schedule this season is a clash between Virginia Tech and LSU – a rematch of the national semifinals. In that game, the Hokies led by as much as 12 points in the third quarter before the Angel Reese and Old Bay-powered Tigers roared back to win by seven. Reese and LSU went on to win the national title.
Broadcast information hasn’t been announced yet, but the Hokies’ trip to Baton Rouge for a 9 p.m. ET contest on Nov. 30 will likely attract a big national audience.
After restocking in the transfer portal – landing the likes of Hailey Van Lith and Aneesah Morrow – LSU is favored to repeat as national champs. Virginia Tech brings back super talented guard Georgia Amoore and two-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, who is back for a fifth season. The scheduling of this game also means that Virginia Tech will face two Final Four teams from last season, as the Hokies are set to face Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Charlotte to tip-off the season.
There are other matchups in the challenge worth paying attention to also. North Carolina hosts South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 30 in a rematch of a 2022 Sweet 16 game. The Tar Heels played the mighty Gamecocks closer than anyone else in their run to the national championship, losing by just eight points. Some of that same core for North Carolina – like Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby – remains, while the Gamecocks will looks different this year after having four players drafted by the WNBA in April. Still, a South Carolina team coached by Dawn Staley and anchored by Kamilla Cardoso will be formidable.
Other big-time matchups include Notre Dame visiting Tennessee, Miami at Mississippi State and Louisville at Ole Miss – all of which will be played on Nov. 29.
It’s also worth mentioning that this slate of games is incredibly more interesting than the ACC-SEC Challenge men’s schedule, where there are only four matchups between teams that went to the NCAA tournament last season. And I mean, is anyone really excited for Missouri versus Pitt? How about Texas A&M against Virginia? Didn’t think so.
And while a 1994 title game rematch between Arkansas and Duke – presumably without Bill Clinton – sounds cool in a symbolic sense, it simply lacks the intrigue and star power presented on the women’s side.
