Louisville will reportedly face Michigan State in 2021 ACC-Big 10 Challenge

For the third time since 2014, Louisville will face Michigan State in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge. This according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, who spent the better part of Monday afternoon tweeting out every matchup of the 2021 event individually.

Louisville lost a competitive 71-67 game to the third-ranked Spartans in East Lansing back in 2015, but then returned the favor with an emotional 82-78 overtime win over Sparty at the KFC Yum Center in 2018.

Overall, Louisville is 4-3 in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, with all four of its wins coming at home and all three of its losses coming on the road. Michigan State is 8-12 in the event, but 7-3 in home games.

The ACC leads the Challenge with an all-time record of 12–7–3, but the Big 10 claimed the 2020 title thanks to a 7-5 record that was capped off by Wisconsin’s (delayed) triumph over Louisville.

Louisville owns a 6-5 advantage over Michigan State in a series that has created something of an unconventional rivalry over the last couple of decades. The Spartans knocked the Cardinals out of the Elite 8 in both 2009 and 2015, but U of L upset top-seeded Sparty in the 2012 Sweet 16.

UPDATE: The full matchups for this year’s event are here.