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GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Virginia Tech women’s basketball team will host Nebraska in the 2016 ACC/BigTen Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 1 at Cassell Coliseum. Game time will be announced at a later date. This year’s Challenge marks the 10th straight year of the event.

Virginia Tech is 3-6 all-time in the Challenge and have a 2-2 record at home. The Hokies won their Challenge game last season, defeating Penn State 64-59 on the road, marking Tech’s first road victory in the event. This year’s game is the first time that the Hokies and Cornhuskers have met.

The Hokies closed out 2015-16 with their first trip to the postseason since 2007 and under the direction of new head coach Kenny Brooks, Tech is poised to keep the momentum rolling after advancing to the second round of the 2016 WNIT.

Tech returns a veteran team, including Vanessa Panousis who is on the cusp of setting the all-time Tech record for most three-pointers made in a career. Also returning for her senior season is Sidney Cook who had an impressive junior campaign, leading the Hokies in scoring in ACC play. Chanette Hicks will also return for Tech after a record setting freshman season. Hicks set the Virginia Tech rookie records for steals and assists while also setting the overall season record in steals, tallying 91 to finish the season ranked 15th in the NCAA.

Brooks comes to the Hokies after 14 seasons of building a perennial power program at James Madison University where he directed the Dukes to 11 consecutive postseason appearances, including six NCAA bids and five trips to the WNIT. Under his direction this past season, JMU compiled a 27-6 overall record, including a 17-1 mark in conference play. Over the previous 11 seasons at JMU, Brooks squads have won no fewer than 24 games, averaging 26.3 wins per year over the span. The Dukes won the three most recent CAA titles and tallied five conference championships in the past seven years.

Nebraska finished 2015-16 with an 18-13 record while going 9-9 in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers also made the WNIT field, falling to Northern Iowa in the opening round.

All 14 Big Ten teams and 14 of the 15 ACC teams will participate in the 2016 Challenge. This year’s event will be played in a two-day format beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

The six-game slate on Nov. 30 includes home games for Syracuse (vs. Michigan State), Pittsburgh (vs. Purdue) and Boston College (vs. Penn State), while Notre Dame (at Iowa), Florida State (at Minnesota) and Wake Forest (at Illinois) will be on the road. On Thursday, Dec. 1, NC State (vs. Indiana) and Georgia Tech (vs. Michigan) will host Big Ten opponents, while Duke (at Rutgers), North Carolina (at Wisconsin), Virginia (at Northwestern) and Miami (at Ohio State) visit their inter-conference foes.

A year ago, the ACC and the Big Ten tied in the Challenge, each winning seven games, to mark the second straight Challenge tie and only third in Challenge history. The ACC owns a 62-46 edge over the Big Ten in Challenge games and six Challenge titles.

The ACC and the Big Ten have long been among the most competitive conferences on the women's basketball scene. Since 1982, current members of the ACC (21) and the Big Ten (14) have combined for 35 berths in the Final Four and have combined for 430 total appearances in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

Last season, the ACC sent nine teams to postseason play, including five teams in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Syracuse won five straight tournament games to advance the NCAA title game for the first time in program history. The Big Ten had 11 teams in postseason play, including five in the NCAA Tournament.

Game times, as well as television coverage, will be announced at a later date.

2016 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule

Wednesday, Nov. 30
Michigan State at Syracuse
Notre Dame at Iowa
Florida State at Minnesota
Purdue at Pittsburgh
Wake Forest at Illinois
Penn State at Boston College

Thursday, Dec. 1
Indiana at NC State
Nebraska at Virginia Tech
Duke at Rutgers
Maryland at Louisville
North Carolina at Wisconsin
Michigan at Georgia Tech
Virginia at Northwestern
Miami at Ohio State

For updates on Virginia Tech women's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter Follow @VT_WBBall