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Badgers on the road -- again -- for Big Ten/ACC Challenge

UW's schedule most rigorous of all schools in first 10 years of event

Rob Schultz  —  4/15/2008 8:45 am

Today's the day when everybody is reminded about those two certainties in life.

But a third certainty is developing and anyone connected with the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team will be reminded of it when next season's Big Ten/ACC Challenge schedule is announced by ESPN, perhaps as soon as today.

Along with death and taxes, the other certainty is that the Badgers will play their Challenge game on the road.

The Capital Times has learned that the Badgers will play the Challenge opener Dec. 1 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. It will be the Badgers' third Challenge road game over the past four seasons and their sixth overall, compared to just three home games and one neutral-site game.

No other Big Ten or ACC team has faced a more rigorous schedule in what will be the 10th year of the Challenge.

What's interesting is how that information was met with disdain by Big Ten associate commissioner Mark Rudner. He is the conference's main liaison with ESPN, which is responsible for the scheduling of the games.

Rudner, who won't comment specifically on the Challenge schedule until after it is officially announced, explained that ESPN takes input from both conferences before creating the schedule. "It gets our input and during the course of the Challenge there has to be a balance of home and road appearances for each team when they do the schedule," said Rudner.

After being told that Wisconsin will have played just three home games versus six road games and one neutral game after next season's Challenge, Rudner snickered and said, "I think you better check your facts. You really ought to check your facts.

"I don't know what the balance is," Rudner added. "I have looked at it, but I haven't remembered it precisely. But I think you probably should look at everybody's participation."

Analyzing the data

The Capital Times has looked at every team's participation in the Challenge and found some interesting numbers, such as:

-- Of the four teams that have played in every year of the Challenge and had just three home games through this season, Georgia Tech and Illinois are getting home games next season while Wisconsin and Duke are on the road. But the Blue Devils, who will be playing at Purdue next season, have no reason to complain because they've played four neutral-site games, including two in nearby Greensboro, N.C., and two others in recruiting-rich Chicago (one against Illinois and one against Iowa).

-- Of the six teams that have played every year of the Challenge and have already played five road games, all are playing at home next season except Wisconsin and Clemson. The Tigers have already played four home games.

-- Of the four Big Ten teams that have won the most overall and conference games this decade, Wisconsin, which won the conference regular-season and tournament titles last season, has played the most Challenge road games by a wide margin. Illinois and Michigan State have each played three Challenge road games and aren't going on the road next season. The Capital Times has learned that Illinois is hosting Clemson while Michigan State is playing North Carolina in a neutral-site game at Ford Field in nearby Detroit. Ohio State, meanwhile, has played on the road just twice in seven Challenge games and is on the road next season.

-- Of the five Big Ten teams that had just one home game in the past three Challenges, Wisconsin is the only one that didn't get a home game for next season. Ditto for Clemson on the ACC side.

ESPN demands balance

The latter numbers are notable because Rudner said that as part of the six-year deal between ESPN and the conferences --a deal that is entering into its fourth year -- each team from each conference must play three home games and three road games. If that's the case, after next season, the Badgers and Clemson must play their next two Challenge games at home.

When Rudner was reminded of some of those numbers, he said, "We're trying to help Wisconsin." He then paused before referring any more questions to Ilan Ben-Hanan, ESPN's director of college basketball programming who does the Challenge scheduling.

Ben-Hanan wasn't available for comment but Mike Humes, a manager of communications at ESPN, said several factors go into the scheduling of the games.

"We look at the dates of the games, we have to look at building availability and opponents of all the teams and try to fit all the teams into those available dates," he said.

Humes then added that discussions with conference officials play a big role in the matchup decisions. He said that the network does not contact any of the coaches from the two conferences. When asked if any coaches complain to ESPN about the scheduling, he reiterated his earlier comment and said, "We work with the conferences. If the coaches complain to the conferences, you have to ask each conference that."

Rudner's participation with ESPN in the scheduling will most likely be closely scrutinized by UW officials. It ties into the long-time perception by some of those officials that Rudner isn't a friend of the program.

They certainly felt that way at the Big Ten tournament last month in Indianapolis. While many in the department took notice of Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and associate commissioner Rich Falk eagerly congratulating the Badgers as they celebrated winning the title, they also noticed Rudner's decision not to congratulate them even though he was at the game.

Other scheduling notes

The Badgers won't have a beef playing the Hokies, who return many of their players from the squad that was bitterly disappointed last month when it was bypassed for the NCAA tournament. The Hokies reached the NIT quarterfinals before losing at home to Mississippi 81-72. They finished the season 21-14.

However, the game may put the Badgers, who are 3-6 in Challenge games, in a predicament. The latest drafts of their nonconference schedule showed the Badgers playing UW-Milwaukee on Nov. 29 at the Kohl Center. If that game isn't changed, they'll have one day to prepare to play Virginia Tech.

The Badgers also will play at Marquette as part of their nonconference road campaign next season, and will return to the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands next November, after making an appearance there in 2005. Other teams in the tournament include Connecticut, Iona, La Salle, Miami (Fla.), San Diego, Southern Mississippi and Valparaiso.

Home nonconference opponents will include Texas as well as UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay.

A Challenging schedule

Counting a trip to Virginia Tech this fall, the UW men's basketball team will have played just three home games in the first 10 years of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, compared to six road games and one on a neutral court. Only Duke will have played as few games at home, and the Blue Devils were given two in-state neutral court games as well as two others in recruiting-rich Chicago. Only Clemson will have played six road games, but the Tigers have hosted four home games.

Nov. 30, 1999 at Wake Forest L, 48-67
Nov. 29, 2000 vs. Maryland # W, 78-75 (ot)
Nov. 28, 2001 at Georgia Tech L, 62-61
Dec. 4, 2002 WAKE FOREST L, 90-80
Dec. 2, 2003 at Maryland L, 73-67 (ot)
Nov. 30, 2004 MARYLAND W, 69-64
Nov. 29, 2005 at Wake Forest L, 91-88
Nov. 28, 2006 FLORIDA STATE W, 81-66
Nov. 27, 2007 at Duke L, 82-58
2008 at Virginia Tech

HOME GAMES IN BOLD

# - at Bradley Center, Milwaukee

Rob Schultz  —  4/15/2008 8:45 am