The Atlantic Coastal and Big Ten Conferences announced the matchups for the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Friday. Indiana is slated to host preseason-favorite and 2022 national runner-up University of North Carolina on Wednesday, November 30.
With the return of juniors Caleb Love and RJ Davis, senior Armando Bacot Jr. and graduate student Leaky Black, the Tar Heels will keep four of their five national championship game starters. Bacot was an ACC Player of the Year finalist and NCAA Tournament East Region Most Outstanding Player in 2022.
Indiana senior star Trayce Jackson-Davis competed against Bacot during high school in the summer Elite Youth Basketball League circuit. The two big men have stayed in touch throughout college, including an interaction on Twitter regarding the interconference event the day Jackson-Davis announced his return to Indiana.
In addition to a face-off between two of the country’s best returning players in Bacot and Jackson-Davis, former Northwestern teammates and roommates Indiana senior Miller Kopp and UNC graduate transfer Pete Nance will compete against each other in nonconference play for the first time.
Indiana has faced UNC five times in the challenge, most recently on November 30, 2016, in a 76-67 victory at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers lead the 16-game overall series 9-6, with three wins coming in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
