It may not be November just yet, but an early Thanksgiving gift to college basketball fans came Monday.

The matchups for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the upcoming season were announced early Monday afternoon. This is the 14th season of the Challenge, with the Big Ten winning the past three seasons.

Last season, the B1G was triumphant with ease with an 8-4 margin. This season, the Challenge will take place on Nov. 27 and 28 and will be presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Currently, nine teams total in the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten Conference are ranked in the preseason top-25, including five of the top ten in the nation.

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The BT Powerhouse writers have voted .. and the results are in!!

The BT Powerhouse Big Ten awards are after the jump!

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Believe it or not, there was more than one huge win for a Big Ten team on Saturday. There's not enough to say about Indiana's heart-stopping, last-second victory over a Kentucky team that many felt was the best in all the land. Despite their bizarre inability to feed Cody Zeller in the post, the Hoosiers pulled through and got a victory that will be a huge resume-booster down the road. Think of it as insurance in case they struggle in a few big conference games in February. Or if you're not as cold and calculated as I am, you can think of it as a huge emotional boost for a program finally emerging from and lengthy dormant period.

Anyway, Indiana won because even though his teammates did feed him enough, Cody Zeller fed himself with 5 offensive rebounds to go with 11 points. Victor Oladipo was only 4 of 12 from the field but had 13 points, 7 rebounds and one ridiculous dunk that is probably on YouTube already. Yep it is. Veteran guard Jordan Hulls contributed nicely with 11 points, 5 assists and 4 steals, but the real man yesterday was Christian Watford, who even before his game-winning mega clutch shot had 17 points and 5 rebounds. He may be as dynamic a scorer as the conference will see this season.

Oh nuts, I got all caught up in the excitement and haven't mentioned Michigan State yet. Well, like I said they had a huge win of their own. It was their eight in a row, and it was on the road, AND it was versus a ranked opponent. That ranked opponent was Gonzaga, who probably won't be ranked anymore after this week because they don't have a real quality win yet and they just lost to Illinois (on the road) and now to Sparty. Still, great win for Michigan State; Spokane is a really tough place to play and Gonzaga is loaded with talent. They will remain favored to win the WCC this season.

Draymond Green was basically a beast in this game and no one else was really close to his level of play. He shot 11 of 13 from the field including (remember, he's a power forward) 4 of 5 from long distance to net 34 points. No one else on the Sparty squad even scored in double figures so it's safe to say Green carried his team last night. After the game, head coach Tom Izzo said, "Draymond Green was the man tonight. I can't speak enough about him." How about telling us how the dancing bear became such a lethal three-point shooter? "This summer, he spent an incredible amount of time on his shot."

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With the early signing period come and gone, it's time to take another look at how the Big Ten recruiting battle for the class of 2012 is shaping up.

The latest big shoe to drop was Indianapolis guard Gary Harris's commitment to Michigan State. Sparty won out over Purdue and Indiana. Harris is ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard in his class nationally by ESPN, No. 3 by Rivals and No. 2 by Scout.
Harris adds to an MSU class that already had three four-star recruits in power forwards Matt Costello and Kenny Kaminski and small forward Denzel Valentine. Michigan State is at the top of our rankings.

Big Ten Powerhouse Class of 2012 Rankings

1. Michigan State

2. Indiana

3. Michigan

4. Purdue

5. Iowa

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota

8. Northwestern

9. Nebraska

10. Penn State

11. Illinois

12. Ohio State

Joining Hollowell are fellow four-star players Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell and Hanner Perea, who will both see early playing time at point guard and power forward, respectively. Perea is an athletic beast and Ferrell will compete with Harris for Indiana's Mr. Basketball award. Ron Patterson and seven-footer Peter Jurkin round out Tom Crean's group.

Michigan takes the third spot with a class that includes Mitch McGary, the No. 3 overall recruit in his class by Rivals, No. 2 overall by ESPN and consensus No. 1 center in the nation. Glenn Robinson III, son of the former Purdue star, has shot up the rankings in the last year. He's a big-time scorer who will join Harris and Ferrell in pursuit of Indiana's Mr. Basketball.
Nick Stauskas, a 6-5 swingman from the east coast, tops off the Wolverines class.

Purdue's class may not have a player on the level of McGary or Harris, but it does have four players who will all be big contributors. The Boilers are our No. 4 class.
A.J. Hammons, a seven-foot center from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia by way of Carmel, Ind. by way of Gary, Ind., was the last signee in October. He joins three other four-star recruits in point guard Ronnie Johnson, power forward Jay Simpson and swingman Rapheal Davis, who could be a tough matchup at the two at 6-5, 200 pounds.

Iowa rolls in at No. 5 in a surprise. The Hawkeyes signed four players, including four-star center Adam Woodbury and four-star point guard Mike Gesell, in August and September. Kyle Meyer will provide some size at 6-10 and guards Anthony Clemmons and Patrick Ingram will add depth.

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All 12 Big Ten basketball courts will have a new look this season. The changes will be minor for six courts, as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State, Indiana, Ohio State and Nebraska will add the new Big Ten logo, put a semi circle under the basket and eliminate the women's three point line from the floor, as the men and women once again share the three point line. 

The other five schools went all out and brought in a new floor. Those schools are Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Northwestern. All five schools have come up with very different looks for their basketball courts. With renovations taking place at Mackey Arena, Crisler Arena and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a new court brought it all together.  After the jump we give you a look at the five all new Big Ten basketball courts as well as a chance for you to vote for your favorite. 

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The John R. Wooden Award's Preseason Top 50 list was released earlier today and wouldn't you know it? Nine Big Ten players were among those recognized as some of the best college basketball players in the country. Every season the Los Angeles Athletic Club (no east coast bias!) bestows the Wooden Award upon whomever they decide is the best college basketball player in America. Jimmer Fredette won last season's award in the spring. While the Preseason list is limited to returning players only, it's possible for freshmen and transfers to appear on the Midseason list and on the final ballot.

Let's get down to it and rank the Big Ten players in the Top 50 based on the chances they have of actually winning the award.

1. Jared Sullinger, Power Forward, Ohio State

Beast mode! As a freshman, Sullinger was a terror in the post. He averaged 17.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, mostly by overpowering anyone who stood in his way. With David Lighty and Jon Diebler having graduated, Ohio State will likely depend even more on Sullinger's talents in the coming season. However, the big guy won't be all bull-in-a-china-shop this time around. Sullinger has reportedly lost a lot of weight in order to become a more versatile player. If Sullinger can add some quickness and a jump shot while still dominating on the boards (no small order), he has a real shot to be the best player in America.

2. Robbie Hummel, Power Forward, Purdue

The snake-bitten senior could be finally back in action this season. Back-to-back knee injuries have forced Hummel to sit out the 2010 postseason and the entire 2010-11 season. Back in the 2009-10 season, Hummel averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while leading Purdue to a 14-4 Big Ten record. After Sullinger, every Big Ten players is pretty much a longshot to win the Wooden Award, but if Hummel's smooth jumper is still there, there's always a chance. With JaJuan Johnson out of the picture, Hummel should be able to improve on his rebounding numbers this season. Now the Boilers just need to find the right big dude to help take some pressure off of Hummel on the defensive end.

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via r.bf.m.yahoo.com

Ohio State would-be freshman LaQuinton Ross was declared a non-qualifier today according to various sources, including the Columbus Dispatch. 

The ruling means Ross will not be eligible to attend Ohio State during the fall semester. The Dispatch also reports that Ross has gone home to Mississippi. He'll attempt to improve his ACT score and try to join the Buckeyes in January.

As you have probably heard by now, the NCAA has voted, and approved to change the rules regarding the Academic Progress Rate (APR) for it's member schools. 

If you don't know what the APR is, it is a metric developed by the NCAA to help measure the success of teams in moving their student-athletes toward graduation. 

The new rule states that teams with a four-year APR rate below 930 are prohibited from participating in the post-season. This includes all NCAA Tournaments and football bowl games. 

This rule changes drastically from the old rule that was instituted in February of 2005. According to the old rule, teams with an APR rate of 925 or less face less harsh penalties, such as loss of scholarships. With the new rule, the NCAA has the ability to ban teams from the postseason if they do not meet the requirements. This is a much harsher penalty. 

The plan is set to be in place by this October, but NCAA president Mark Emmert says there is likely to be a three to five year phase-in period before the rule will be fully implemented by the NCAA because of the drastic change. This time would allow for schools to get their academic house in order before being penalized for it. 

If the new APR rule was implemented during this past season, teams like Ohio State, Purdue, Kansas State, San Diego State and Syracuse would be kept from the NCAA Tournament. All these teams were ranked in last year's Top 25. 

So how does this miss the point? What the NCAA can't seem to understand is that when a team member drops out of school, it hurts the program's APR and it isn't exactly the coaches or professors fault, it is on the kid. The same goes for when a student-athlete fails a class.

The NCAA penalizes coaches and athletic programs for essentially failing to motivate their student-athletes to graduate. That's where I think they missed the point.

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