IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team will challenge Syracuse on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York, as part of the 2019 Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It will mark Iowa’s first-ever visit to the Carrier Dome.
ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU will combine to televise all 14 games of the event and all games will be available to stream via the ESPN app. Tip times and network designations will be announced at a later date.
Iowa has won four of its last six Challenge games by five points or less. Iowa topped Notre Dame (98-93) in Iowa City in 2013; won at No. 12 North Carolina (60-55) in 2014; outlasted Florida State (78-75) in overtime in Iowa City in 2015; and edged Pitt a year ago in Iowa City (69-68). The Hawkeyes lost at Notre Dame (92-78) in 2017 and fell at Virginia Tech (79-55) in 2018.
This will be Iowa’s fourth all-time meeting against Syracuse and the first as part of the Challenge. The Hawkeyes are 2-1 against the Orange, with all three previous games contested on neutral courts. Iowa won in Buffalo in 1957 (58-52) and Philadelphia (88-77) in 1980 in the Elite Eight. Syracuse was victorious in the last meeting in New York City in 2014 (66-63).
This will mark Iowa’s 19th appearance in the 21-year history of the Challenge.
Both Iowa and Syracuse finished in sixth place in their respective conference standings a year ago. The Hawkeyes finished the 2018-19 season with a 23-12 overall record and advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. The Orange posted a 20-14 overall record and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Last year’s Challenge resulted in a tie, with each conference winning seven games. In the 20 years of the event, 10 of the challenges have been decided by a single game. Since 2009, the Big Ten has won five challenges (2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015), the ACC has won two (2016, 2017), and there have been three ties (2012, 2013, 2018).
2019 Big Ten/ACC Challenge
Monday, Dec. 2
Miami at Illinois
Clemson at Minnesota
Tuesday, Dec. 3
Michigan at Louisville
Rutgers at Pitt
Duke at Michigan State
Florida State at Indiana
IOWA at Syracuse
Northwestern at Boston College
Wednesday, Dec. 4
Virginia at Purdue
Wake Forest at Penn State
Wisconsin at N.C. State
Ohio State at North Carolina
Notre Dame at Maryland
Nebraska at Georgia Tech
