News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRISTOL, Conn. – The 2024 SEC-ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge matchup between Texas A&M and Wake Forest tips at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast to a national television audience by ESPN2, ESPN announced on Monday.
The two teams have played just twice previously, with the Aggies beating the Demon Deacons in the most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2022 National Invitational Tournament, 67-52, at Reed Arena. Among the Aggies seeing action in the 2022 meeting that will be on the court for the 2024 game include Wade Taylor IV (12 points, 3 assists), Manny Obaseki (8 points, 5 rebounds), Henry Coleman III (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Hayden Hefner (2 points, 3 rebounds).
Wake Forest features a pair of familiar faces as head coach Steve Forbes and assistant coach Antanas Kavaliauskas return to Aggieland. Forbes and Aggie head coach Buzz Williams were assistant coaches under Billy Gillispie at Texas A&M in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and helped orchestrate one of the best turnarounds in the nation, as the Maroon & White improved its win total in 2004-05 by 14 games compared to 2003-04. Kavaliauskas played at Texas A&M for two seasons (2005-07) and helped the Aggies to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007. He was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2007 after averaging 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Texas A&M is coming off its third straight 20-plus win season and back-to-back NCAA Tournament invitations. The Aggies finished 2023-24 with a 21-15 overall mark while advancing to the second round of the “Big Dance.” Williams’ 2024-25 Aggies are mentioned prominently in multiple “way-too-early” top 25 rankings, including No. 11 by CBSSports.com and The Athletic and No. 12 by ESPN.
Wake Forest posted a 21-14 record in 2023-24 and advanced to the second round of the NIT with a win over Appalachian State and a loss to Georgia.
The SEC-ACC Men’s Challenge will take place over back-to-back days Tuesday, Dec. 3 and Wednesday, Dec. 4, while the SEC-ACC Women’s Challenge is slated for Dec. 4-5. Both men’s and women’s Challenge events will feature games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network and SEC Network.
2024 SEC-ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge Matchups#
Date |
Time (CT) |
Matchup |
Platform |
Tue, Dec 3 |
6 p.m. |
Notre Dame at Georgia |
ESPNU |
|
6 p.m. |
South Carolina at Boston College |
ACC Network |
|
6 p.m. |
Cal at Missouri |
SEC Network |
|
6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. |
No. 14 Arkansas at Miami |
ESPN or ESPN2 |
|
6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. |
Syracuse at No. 13 Tennessee |
ESPN or ESPN2 |
|
8 p.m. |
Wake Forest at No. 12 Texas A&M |
ESPN2 |
|
8 p.m. |
Georgia Tech at Oklahoma |
ESPNU |
|
8 p.m. |
No. 20 Ole Miss at Louisville |
ACC Network |
|
8 p.m. |
Florida State at LSU |
SEC Network |
|
8:30 p.m. |
No. 23 Kentucky at Clemson |
ESPN |
Wed, Dec 4 |
6:15 p.m. |
No. 2 Alabama at No. 10 North Carolina |
ESPN |
|
7:15 p.m. |
Virginia at No. 21 Florida |
ESPN2 |
|
8:15 p.m. |
No. 11 Auburn at No. 8 Duke |
ESPN |
|
8:15 p.m. |
No. 22 Texas at NC State |
ESPN2 |
|
8:15 p.m. |
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech |
ACC Network |
|
8:15 p.m. |
Pitt at Mississippi State |
SEC Network |
#- The SEC-ACC Men’s Basketball Challenge features 11 teams in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25