Illinois hosting Notre Dame in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

The Fighting Irish come to State Farm Center this November.

By Drew Pastorek Jun 28, 2021, 5:47pm CDT

After weeks of speculation, the Big Ten/ACC Challenge matchups have been revealed, with the Illinois Fighting Illini facing a (recently) familiar foe.

Illinois will host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday, Nov. 29th. This will be the third time since 2015 that these two programs have met in the Challenge, with the Irish winning each of the first two contests — including a 76-74 win in South Bend in 2018.

Illinois finished “second” in the B1G last season, with an overall mark of 24-7. Mike Brey’s Notre Dame squad limped to an 11-15 record in 2020-21, including a 7-11 record in ACC play. Nonetheless, it’s a home matchup against a fellow high-major opponent, which should bode well come tournament time. This game will also tip off the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, so the national spotlight will shine bright.

The rest of the pairings are shown below:

Monday, Nov. 29

Iowa at Virginia

Tuesday, Nov. 30

Indiana at Syracuse

Minnesota at Pittsburgh

Northwestern at Wake Forest

Duke at Ohio State

Florida State at Purdue

Clemson at Rutgers

Wednesday, Dec. 1

Virginia Tech at Maryland