ESPN released the pairings for the 2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday afternoon. The Big Ten has won the past three events, including a resounding 8-4 victory last season, this after losing each of the first 10 years. The 12-game Challenge will be played Nov. 27-28 this season. Check out all the matchups, get your Challenge history and see BTN.com Brent Yarina’s predictions in this post.

The deadline for college basketball players to decide whether they’re coming back to school or entering the 2012 NBA Draft was Tuesday. Here’s what we know: Meyers Leonard and Jared Sullinger are gone, while Trey Burke, Deshaun Thomas and Christian Watford are back after testing the NBA waters. A lot of things will change before the season tips in November, but BTN.com’s Brent Yarina offers some super-early 2012-13 predictions. See all of them in this post.

Illinois’ Meyers Leonard declared for the NBA draft Monday (story), and on Wednesday, it was Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger’s turn (story). With Leonard and Sullinger, both sophomores, leaving early and the deadlines to declare for the draft approaching (April 10, NCAA; April 29, NBA), BTN.com’s Brent Yarina considers some of the previous Big Ten sophomores – plus freshmen – who have left early since the new millennium. How did the decisions work out? Find out in this post.

You have questions, I have answers in my weekly mailbag. There is a lot going on, with the NCAA tourney at the Sweet 16 stage and spring football in full swing across Big Ten territory. Which of the four Big Ten teams has the best shot to reach the Final Four? What will Wisconsin do at quarterback? I address those questions—and more—in this week’s mailbag.

All season, the computer rankings said that the Big Ten was the nation’s strongest conference. The league lived up to that hype through the first week of the NCAA tourney. Four of the six schools that received bids are still playing, with No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Indiana and No. 4 Wisconsin advancing the second weekend of the tourney. No. 4 Michigan fell in the second round to No. 13 Ohio, while No. 10 Purdue lost in the third round to No. 2 Kansas.

Ohio pulled out a stunning 65-60 upset over Michigan in the first of three Friday night games involving Big Ten teams. Purdue dropped St. Mary’s 72-69 in a day of upsets at the NCAA tournament. In the late game, Draymond Green recorded a triple-double to lift Michigan State to an 89-67 win over Long Island. In my daily links in this post, I found some interesting takes on Indiana’s win as well as what lies ahead for Purdue and Michigan. And did you hear what Bill Self said about the Illinois program? Dive on in.