Iowa to Travel to Louisville for ACC/Big Ten Challenge

June 4, 2014

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa women’s basketball team will travel to Louisville as part of the eighth annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4, at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Start time and television information will be released at a later date.

Louisville begins a new era as a first-year member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. This will mark the second meeting between the Hawkeyes and Cardinals, and the second in as many years. Fourth-ranked Louisville defeated Iowa in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 25 in Iowa City.

Louisville is coached by Jeff Walz. Walz enters his eighth year at the helm of the program in 2014-15. In his first seven seasons, he has guided the Cardinals to two Final Four appearances, National Runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2013, and five Sweet 16 appearances. Louisville advanced to the Elite Eight last year before falling to Maryland.

Iowa is 2-5 in the Challenge after defeating another first-year ACC member, Syracuse, last year. The Hawkeyes defeated the 22nd-ranked Orange, 97-91, inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 5.

Iowa — the only Big Ten team to appear in the last seven NCAA Tournaments — is 14-8 all-time against ACC opponents, including a 2-0 record last season. The Hawkeyes defeated Boston College on Nov. 29, 2013, in the Cancun Challenge (78-68), before downing the Orange six days later in last year’s Challenge.

Last season, the Big Ten sent nine teams to postseason play, tied for the most in conference history, and matched a Big Ten record with 15 combined tournament triumphs. At least one conference team has appeared in the NCAA Sweet 16 in 28 of the last 30 years.

2014 CHALLENGE SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, Dec. 3
Maryland at Notre Dame
Indiana at Boston College
Minnesota at NC State
Florida State at Purdue
Duke at Nebraska
Wake Forest at Michigan
Virginia at Illinois
Pittsburgh at Ohio State

Thursday, Dec. 4
Iowa at Louisville
Penn State at Syracuse
Northwestern at Virginia Tech
Wisconsin at Miami
North Carolina at Rutgers
Georgia Tech at Michigan State