Bring On the Boilermakers

The 11th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge pairings were announced today, and Wake Forest drew a tough but exciting matchup with its game at Purdue.

The folks that create these pairings are apparently expecting next year's Demon Deacon team to be considerably strong in order to draw a matchup with what should be one of the most talented teams in the Big Ten next season.

Purdue is the defending Big Ten Tournament champ and advanced to the Sweet 16 last month. The Boilermakers will return six of their top seven scorers, including three players who earned All-Big Ten honors a year ago. Big man JaJuan Johnson was a first teamer last season, while forward Robbie Hummel earned first team honors as a freshman in 2007-08. Purdue also has guard E'Twaun Moore who is a two-time All-Big Ten honoree.

The Deacons have never played in Mackey Arena, where the Boilermakers have gone 47-5 over the past three seasons. Wake's only game played in West Lafayette came at Purdue's old venue, Lambert Fieldhouse.

One interesting storyline to note could be the return of Jeff Teague to his home state. If Teague decides to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and return to school, he will come back to play in his home state of Indiana for the first time in his collegiate career. Teague already beat a hometown team in last year's Challenge when the Deacons took down the Indiana Hoosiers at the Joel.