In case the College World Series was not enough for your ACC/SEC needs, the two conferences will renew their challenge once again in 2024.
16 teams from the ACC will be paired with SEC counterparts in a series of games that will take place on Tuesday, December 3 and Wednesday, December 4. Since those contests were recently announced, we decided to do what any rational hoops junkie would do…rank them!
Here are the 16 ACC/SEC challenge games in terms of watchability.
16. Cal at Missouri
It’s hard to imagine either of these teams are picked to finish in the top half of their respective conferences. No narratives surrounding this game either. I still haven’t been able to even fathom Cal in the ACC yet.
15. South Carolina at Boston College
Two teams at the bottom end of their conference in terms of national brand. This just seems like a game South Carolina will win by 12 and the result will be fairly insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
14. Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech
A pair of squads that may be decent and could be a close one. It is certainly not going to be among my first choices with the remote that Wednesday night, though.
13. Florida State at LSU
This duo have had a couple of high profile matchups in football so it’s cool to see it brought to the hardwood as well. I’ve seen a lot of way-too-early projects with Florida State at the bottom of the ACC, though, and for good reason. LSU is not some world beater either.
12. Notre Dame at Georgia
At this point, we start to build some narratives. These are two programs that are coming off of difficult seasons trying to build some momentum. While I have some faith in Micah Shrewsberry in the long-term, this roster seems like it is still not there yet. This game could be sneaky good but again, far from my first choice.
11. Georgia Tech at Oklahoma
This is a little bit of a change of pace. The Yellow Jackets and Sooners have not met since the Preseason NIT in 1995. I’d imagine Oklahoma has the upper hand but Georgia Tech plays a fun style of basketball.
10. Pitt at Mississippi State
A nice little rematch of the 2023 First Four. The problem just like last time is the style this game will likely be played. While Mississippi State has an intriguing roster, they still have that lack of three point shooting issue. I would not be surprised to see another 60-59 final.
9. Syracuse at Tennessee
There are two possible scenarios here. Tennessee could blow Syracuse out, as they are clearly the better team, and this game has little excitement, as a result. With a volatile team like the Orange though, this could also easily be one of those early season upset watches, and the game all of a sudden gets bumped to the top five. The number nine ranking serves to average those possibilities.
8. Ole Miss at Louisville
This one is about changing the narrative. One one side, the Rebels look to take a step forward in year two under Chris Beard and they went crazy in the portal, adding Sean Pedulla from Virginia Tech and Dre Davis from Seton Hall, both of whom averaged 15+ points per game at their previous school. Louisville is a once proud program now under more capable leadership and they’ve built a much more competent roster with the likes of Terrance Edwards from JMU. A big win early can set the stage for a turning point season for either of these programs.
7. Virginia at Florida
This was a fun game last year and both teams have only gotten better. Florida is a legitimate preseason top 25 candidate and UVA is reloaded with talent. However, the diehard Virginia fan in me is well aware of the tax their playing style exhibits, specifically when they are not elite offensively.
6. Kentucky at Clemson
Far from the first time the Wildcats and Tigers will meet, although a vast majority of this matchup’s history resides in the 1920’s and 30’s. As far as we stand in 2024, Kentucky will be an interesting team to monitor, not because they are loaded with the same five star freshman talent, but in seeing how life immediately after John Calipari will be. Clemson is still coached by Brad Brownell so they will peak around this point in non-conference play.
5. Arkansas at Miami
This is the battle of “our roster is looking really encouraging but we somehow finished under .500 last year so how promising can things really be?” To be fair, I do expect both Arkansas and Miami to improve pretty significantly. Will they be top three in their conference good? Probably not. Yet, there are so many names that will bring value to this game: Johnell Davis, D.J. Wagner, and Nijel Pack to name a few with Cal and Coach L on the sidelines.
4. Texas at NC State
All eyes will be on the Wolfpack and the suddenly well-respected Kevin Keatts as they look to build momentum following their Final Four run. A large chunk of that team is gone but they still have a core of veterans to fall back on. Meanwhile, Texas is looking as talented and more complete than ever. One of the top 2024 high school recruits, Tre Johnson, make this game a good watch for basketball fans in any event.
3. Wake Forest at Texas A&M
This may be my “hottest” take off the list so allow me to explain myself.
I absolutely love Wake Forest this coming year. The rebuttal is that the Demon Deacons have had star talent running the show before with the likes of Alondes Williams and Tyree Appleby and Steve Forbes still hasn’t brought them to a tournament. The thing is he has never had much roster continuity either. Finally, the return their core: Hunter Sallis, Cameron Hildreth, and Efton Reid will all be back. It’s put up or shut up time for Forbes and I am a bigger believer in this program than I have ever been.
Who will they be up against? Returning 19 point per game scorer, Wade Taylor and a borderline preseason top 10 Aggies team. If you want scoring, high-stakes basketball, and an electric atmosphere, look no further than College Station on December 3.
2. Auburn at Duke
These last couple of picks are pretty obvious. These two teams will almost certainly be ranked at the time of the game, and are both highly recognizable brands. Cooper Flagg is here to basketball world and he will showcase himself against a starting lineup of potentially all seniors. Excited to see Furman transfer J.P. Pegues playing high-major basketball among that Auburn core.
1. Alabama at North Carolina
We may be talking about the most anticipated matchup of the entire non-conference here. Not only will the Crimson Tide be loaded again offensively but it is an even year so Nate Oats’ team will decide to make stops as well. Adding Rutgers transfer Cliff Omoruyi will certainly help that cause. On the other side, North Carolina has R.J. Davis back, alongside key role players from last year like Harrison Ingram and Elliott Cadeau, so they won’t go anywhere either. If things line up the right way, there is a possibility this game features AP Poll No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams.