Huskers Face Georgia Tech in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Lincoln - The Nebraska women's basketball team will face one of the top teams in the ACC when the Huskers take on Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Nebraska's game with the Yellow Jackets will be part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which enters its fifth year of featuring matchups between two of the nation's best women's basketball conferences.

The 2011 challenge format will feature all 12 teams from each of the conferences for the first time in history, as Nebraska's official addition to the Big Ten Conference on July 1, 2011, will allow a dozen teams from the Big Ten to face all 12 from the ACC.

Nebraska, led by 2010 National Coach of the Year Connie Yori, returns its top two players in junior-to-be Lindsey Moore and sophomore-to-be Jordan Hooper in 2011-12. The Huskers struggled to overcome a rash of injuries last season, including the midseason loss of senior Dominique Kelley. NU finished with a 13-18 overall record and a 3-13 mark in its final season in the Big 12.

In 2009-10, Nebraska rolled to a 32-2 overall record that included a 16-0 Big 12 Conference mark, while advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16.

Nebraska's game at Georgia Tech, which finished 24-11 overall last season with a No. 21 ranking in the official NCAA RPI, will be one of seven games on the first day of the two-day challenge.

While Nebraska will be making its first appearance in the challenge, the Yellow Jackets are a perfect 4-0 in Big Ten/ACC Challenge games, joining Maryland and Michigan as the only unbeaten teams in the challenge series. Last season, the Yellow Jackets notched a 67-63 win over Northwestern in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech went 9-5 in the ACC last season, including 5-2 at home. Overall, the Yellow Jackets posted an impressive 14-3 home record at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on their way to the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Tech advanced to the NCAA second round with a win over Bowling Green, before dropping a 67-60 decision to Ohio State to end its season. It was one of only two losses last season for the Yellow Jackets to a non-top-20 team, joining an early season loss to Old Dominion. Georgia Tech's other nine setbacks came to top-20 foes, including top-10 losses to Connecticut, Tennessee and Duke twice.

Coach MaChelle Joseph, a Purdue graduate who will enter her ninth year at the helm of the Yellow Jackets, should lead a strong Georgia Tech team again in 2011-12. Tech returns five seniors, including Mo Bennett, Metra Walthour, LaQuananisha Adams, Chelsea Regins and Sasha Goodlett.

The Yellow Jackets lose their top scorer from a year ago in Alex Montgomery, who averaged 13.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while starting all 35 contests as a senior. They return their No. 2 scorer from a year ago, Tyaunna Marshall, a 5-9 guard who averaged 13.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2010-11.

Other Big Ten/ACC Challenge games on Nov. 30 will include Boston College at Wisconsin, Michigan at Maryland, Florida State at Ohio State, North Carolina at Penn State, NC State at Northwestern and Virginia Tech at Iowa.

On Thursday, Dec. 1, Illinois plays at Clemson, Purdue travels to Duke, Miami heads to Michigan State, Indiana takes on Virginia and Minnesota plays at Wake Forest.

Game times and broadcast coverage of all games will be announced at a later date. Form more information on the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, visit bigten.org.