In a matchup between two teams from the 2010 Final Four, the MSU men’s basketball team will play Duke Dec. 1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., as part of the 12th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday.
For the second year in a row, MSU will play the defending national champion in the Challenge, having played North Carolina in the 2009 NCAA championship game last season.
The game will be the first meeting between the Spartans and Blue Devils since MSU defeated Duke, 78-68, in the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Earlier that season, the No. 9-ranked Spartans made their most recent trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium, losing 81-74 to the No. 10 Blue Devils in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
MSU has lost both meetings in the Challenge between the two teams and is 2-5 all-time against Duke, including an 0-1 record in Durham.
Since beginning in 1999, the ACC has dominated the Challenge, winning the first 10. The Big Ten claimed its first victory in the Challenge last season, winning six of 11 games. MSU is a Big Ten-best 5-5 in the Challenge.
Duke’s 73-69 loss to Wisconsin last season was its first in the history of the Challenge.
Eleven teams in this year’s Challenge made the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
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