Wisconsin women’s basketball: UW will host Florida State in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

On Monday afternoon, the matchups for the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge were announced. The 15th annual showdown between the top two conferences in the country will take place on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 this year. After winning their first Challenge back in 2019, the Big Ten will be looking to take two out of the last three with a win here in 2022.

Our Wisconsin Badgers will play host to the Florida State Seminoles in this year’s event. FSU and UW will be meeting for just the second time in school history, with the first being a high-scoring 100-87 win by the ‘Noles at the Tallahassee Hilton Classic on Dec. 4, 1987.

Historically, Florida State has the most wins of any team in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, sporting a 12-2 record and a current nine-game winning streak. Last year, the Seminoles went on the road and defeated Illinois, 67-58, while the Badgers hosted Virginia Tech and lost by 10, 70-60, at the Kohl Center. Even though the Badgers lost last year, their record of 6-8 in the Challenge all-time is tied for sixth best in the Big Ten.

Last season, FSU went 17-14 and lost to Missouri State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. Top scorer and rebounder Morgan Jones (13.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game) grad transferred to Louisville, but the ‘Noles return five of the other eight players from last year who averaged between 5.0 and 7.4 ppg.

Photo by David Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Fifth year senior forward Erin Howard (5.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg), a graduate of Madison East High School whose father played basketball at UW, will be tasked with taking a larger role this season.

Another Wisconsin/Florida State connection involves legendary FSU head coach Sue Semrau, who served three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Badgers from 1994-97.

Here are the other matchups in this year’s Challenge. Tip times and TV schedules will be announced at a later date. Of note, there are three potential top-15 clashes (and two other ranked vs. ranked games) if you look at ESPN’s “Way-Too-Early Top-25” for the upcoming season.

No. 6 Iowa plays host to No. 8 NC State, No. 12 Indiana welcomes No. 13 North Carolina and No. 15 Ohio State visits No. 7 Louisville. Sheesh, those should all be absolute bangers.

Wednesday, November 30
Illinois at Pitt
Ohio State at Louisville
Syracuse at Purdue
Virginia at Penn State
Wake Forest at Minnesota
Rutgers at Boston College

Thursday, December 1
Northwestern at Duke
Michigan at Miami
Maryland at Notre Dame
North Carolina at Indiana
Nebraska at Virginia Tech
NC State at Iowa
Florida State at Wisconsin
Georgia Tech at Michigan State