Next fall will mark the 12th time the ACC and Big Ten have engaged in a made-for-TV basketball "competition" over two or three nights.
It'll also be the first time Maryland and Penn State, despite their proximity, actually meet in the event.
That might have something to do with the fact Maryland has had three losing seasons in the ACC since the event started, while Penn State has enjoyed precisely one winning season in the Big Ten. Yikes.
Yet somehow, the leagues decided to pair a school that lost its top three scorers off a 13-3 season in the ACC with a senior-laden bunch that went 3-15 in the Big Ten.
Just a hunch, but that gap doesn't seem likely to narrow that much.
Anyway, that's what Maryland fans have to look forward to on Dec. 1 when the Terrapins visit Happy Valley for the first time since the 1990 NIT.
By the way, the Nittany Lions join Indiana (twice), Illinois (three times), Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin (three times) as schools Maryland has faced in the event. Maryland has yet to face Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Purdue in the challenge.
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