It was a laid back Saturday evening when I heard the breaking news of two schools, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, leaving the Big East conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. The first thing that came to mind was the effect on each conference’s basketball games. But the next thing that came to my mind was the soon-to-be-thrilling ACC vs. Big Ten Basketball Challenge.

So here I am sitting in my apartment wondering when Indiana University will get the chance to play one of the new teams in the ACC. I know it will not be anytime soon because the two schools have to wait close to two years before they can actually be members in the ACC. The first thing I imagined was the conference games of Syracuse and Pittsburgh playing Duke or North Carolina.

As a Duke fan, I am enthused about hearing new teams coming to the Atlantic Coast Conference. I hope that Syracuse and Pittsburgh bring some of the Big East toughness that the ACC has been lacking these past few years. I think that the overall level of play will improve in the ACC by the two teams bringing a style of play that the ACC needs. With Duke having to play Pittsburgh and Syracuse two times a year, Duke will be better prepared when it comes time for the NCAA tournament.

Every year at the beginning of the college basketball season, the Big Ten and the Big East have a challenge where schools with relatively equal basketball talent play against each other. This year, Indiana University is scheduled to play against North Carolina State. These two teams are near the bottom of their conference rankings, which will probably provide little to no entertainment to viewers across the nation.

This year’s Hoosiers have a lot going for them with freshman Cody Zeller joining the experienced team. Zeller will bring power to the front court as the team is lacking presence in the paint. Last year Christian Watford had to step up and play in the post, but he is naturally a forward. This upcoming season the Hoosiers finally have depth in the roster as the players can play their natural position.

With the ACC bringing in schools with powerful basketball programs, it seems like the Big 10 will have to step up to the challenge. The past year the Big 10 has brought in Nebraska, but they are a school focused primarily on football. So it seems like all the power has shifted to the ACC in the challenge, but what will the two conferences do because each conference has a different number of schools? The Big 10 has twelve schools while the ACC now has fourteen schools. Once again it seems like the ACC will have more power by being able to decide which schools will play in the challenge.

I am curious to how the Hoosiers will play in the ACC-Big Ten challenge in the upcoming years. I am a strong believer that under Tom Crean’s program the basketball team will rise back to the great tradition of Indiana. With Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the ACC, they will make challenges more entertaining each year.

So instead of only worrying about playing Duke or North Carolina in the challenge, the Hoosiers now have a chance to play one of the new teams in a few years. I am excited to see Pittsburgh or Syracuse come to Assembly Hall in the future to play against the Hoosiers. As the ACC is growing with power in basketball, the same thing will happen with the level of entertainment in the Challenge each year. I just hope Indiana University will get to see some of this great entertainment sooner than later.