Whose stock rose and fell during the Big Ten-ACC Challenge?

Come-from-behind victories from Clemson and Virginia on Wednesday night gave the ACC a 9-5 victory over the Big Ten in the annual challenge between the two leagues. Here’s a look at whose stock rose and fell during this year’s event:

STOCK UP: LONDON PERRANTES

No longer does Ohio State coach Thad Matta have only one career loss when his team leads by 15 or more points. Sixth-ranked Virginia handed him his second one on Wednesday night when it rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to defeat the Buckeyes 63-61. Senior point guard London Perrantes was the catalyst for the Cavaliers’ comeback. Motivated after coach Tony Bennett tore into him for lackadaisical first-half play at halftime, Perrantes scored 15 of his game-high 19 points after the intermission, took better care of the ball and played his customary lock-down defense. It was Perrantes who tied the game on a 3-pointer with four minutes to go. He also had the go-ahead free throws just over two minutes later. The heroics of Perrantes doomed Ohio State to its first loss and kept Virginia unbeaten. The Cavaliers’ next challenge will come Saturday against 25th-ranked West Virginia.

STOCK DOWN: D.J. WILSON

Junior forward D.J. Wilson represented Michigan’s best defensive matchup for Virginia Tech’s Zach LeDay. Too bad for the Wolverines, Wilson couldn’t stay on the floor long enough to keep LeDay from erupting. Wilson committed five fouls in just 11 minutes on Wednesday night, four of which were needless attempts to push off chasing offensive rebounds. The 6-foot-10 forward’s carelessness allowed LeDay to feast on more favorable matchups in the second half when he scored 15 of his 18 points. LeDay’s second-half blitz helped tough, blue-collar Virginia Tech rally for 73-70 victory in a game it trailed by 10 with less than eight minutes remaining. The Hokies improved to 6-1 with their lone loss coming in a game they led by as many as 17 points against Texas A&M last Friday in Anaheim. Michigan has now lost two of its last three.

STOCK UP: INDIANA

Having upset Kansas but lost at Fort Wayne so far this season, Indiana entered Wednesday’s game against North Carolina trying to answer a simple but important question: Who are the real Hoosiers? We now have a better idea after Indiana reasserted itself as an elite team with a 76-67 victory over the previously unbeaten Tar Heels. The Hoosiers opened a 17-point lead midway through the first half and never let North Carolina closer than four points the rest of the game. Keeping the Tar Heels from dominating the offensive glass was a huge key for Indiana, as was a balanced offensive output. Five Hoosiers scored in double figures led by O.G. Anunoby, who scored 16 points including a pair of impressive dunks. Three weeks into the season, Indiana now has a pair of wins over potential top-10 teams. That more than makes up for its lone bad loss against a motivated in-state foe.

STOCK DOWN: NORTH CAROLINA

When the Tar Heels steamrolled three straight opponents in Maui last week by an average of 30 points apiece, many suggested they might be even better than they were last season when they reached the national title game. In retrospect, that was probably a little bit premature. Indiana neutralized many of North Carolina’s strengths Wednesday night in a 76-67 Hoosiers victory. The Tar Heels entered play second in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, but Indiana played them to a near standstill on the boards. Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks didn’t dominate in the paint like they have previously, nor did star point guard Joel Berry find much success trying to overcome Josh Newkirk’s stifling defense. There’s no shame in losing at Indiana, but this was a sign of where North Carolina stands. Are the Tar Heels a potential top 10 team? Yes. Are they better without Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson? Not likely.

STOCK UP: NIGEL HAYES

Seldom has a player who scored only nine points been the most valuable player in a game. Nigel Hayes was the rare exception Tuesday night because his passing was the key to Wisconsin’s 77-60 victory over Syracuse. The Badgers put Hayes in the middle of Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone and consistently played through him. The senior forward responded by carving up the zone, whether by feeding Ethan Happ underneath the rim or by kicking to an open shooter spotted up behind the arc. Hayes finished with nine points, 11 rebounds and a career high 10 assists, a good reminder that Wisconsin is a far better team when he’s playing to his strengths in the post instead of bombing away from behind the arc. The Badgers shot 49.2 percent from the field and broke the game open with a 15-2 run to start the second half.

STOCK DOWN: PETER JOK

With four starters gone from last year’s NCAA tournament team, Iowa needs standout wing Peter Jok to put up big numbers night in and night out to have a chance to beat quality opponents. Jok wasn’t at his best Tuesday night, leaving Iowa lacking the firepower necessary to keep pace with Notre Dame in a 92-78 loss. Coming off a career-high 42 points against Memphis, Jok struggled against the Irish, making 4 of 20 shots. He finished with 15 points yet that was still eight shy of his season average. With Iowa’s second leading scorer Tyler Cook sidelined by a broken finger, the Hawkeyes turned to two unheralded freshmen to lead the way. Forward Cordell Pemsi had 18 points and point guard Jordan Bohannon knocked down seven threes, but it wasn’t enough to rally the Hawkeyes.

STOCK UP: DUKE’S VETERANS

For a team playing without three injured projected lottery picks, Duke still looks awfully tough. The Blue Devils have won seven of their first eight games culminating with Tuesday’s 78-69 home win over Michigan State. As has often been the case this season, Grayson Allen, Luke Kennard and Amile Jefferson spearheaded Duke’s attack. Allen overcame a lingering toe injury to score 24 points on 21 shots, Kennard shook off a rare poor outside shooting night to add 20 of his own and Jefferson dominated the paint with 17 points and 13 rebounds. While Duke may not win a national title unless Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden return from injury, the Blue Devils’ veterans have kept the program afloat in their absence. Duke’s only loss came by two against Kansas on a last-second Frank Mason game winner.

STOCK DOWN: MICHIGAN STATE’S FRESHMEN

This may yet turn out to be the best class that Tom Izzo has ever signed, but Michigan State’s freshmen weren’t ready to lead the Spartans to a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They committed a slew of youthful turnovers and defensive miscues that enabled Duke to pull away early in the second half. Miles Bridges, Nick Ward, Josh Langford and Cassius Winston accounted for 11 of Michigan State’s 18 turnovers including several costly ones during a key 11-0 Blue Devils run. They also went under too man ball screens and dribble handoffs, giving space to Luke Kennard and Grayson Allen. There were flashes of brilliance from the Michigan State freshmen, whether it’s Winston’s seven assists, Ward’s efficient 11 points or Bridges’ emphatic second-half put-back dunk. Nonetheless, the Spartans needed more from their freshmen to pull out a big road win and they weren’t quite ready to deliver.

STOCK UP: ILLINOIS

A critical year for embattled Illinois coach John Groce had not gone as planned entering Tuesday night’s matchup with NC State. The Illini had dropped three straight games against Winthrop, West Virginia and Florida State, raising doubts whether this team was capable of ending a three-year NCAA tournament drought. Illinois bounced back in emphatic fashion Tuesday night, shooting 68 percent from the field after halftime and racking up 56 second-half points en route to an 88-74 win. Malcolm Hill scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, Tracy Abrams knocked down a trio of threes and the Illini curbed the turnover problems that had hindered them recently. The win was critical for Groce given the team’s struggles on and off the floor during his tenure. He may not need to make the NCAA tournament this season thanks to a strong 2017 recruiting class, but some signs of improvement certainly wouldn’t hurt.

STOCK DOWN: SYRACUSE

Three days after suffering an unexpected loss to South Carolina, Syracuse added to its woes with another poor performance. The Orange lost 77-60 at Wisconsin in a game that was never in doubt for the final 16 minutes of the second half. There was no single issue that doomed Syracuse but rather a series of problems. The Orange were beaten up on the glass for the second straight game, struggled to knock down shots from behind the arc and finished with one more turnover (10) than assist (9). Maybe the biggest concern was how ineffective Syracuse’s vaunted zone was. Some of that was a credit to Wisconsin playing through Nigel Hayes in the middle of the defense, but some of it also has to do with Syracuse’s five newcomers still figuring out how to play the zone.

STOCK UP: NOTRE DAME’S FREE THROW SHOOTING

Warning to all Notre Dame’s future opponents: Foul the Irish at your own risk. Iowa found that out the hard way on Tuesday night when Notre Dame sank 30 of 33 free throws in a 92-78 victory. The Irish are now shooting 84.5 percent from the free throw line through seven games this season, second best in the nation behind only Portland. What’s especially impressive for Notre Dame is that four players account for most of the team’s free throw success. Bonzie Colson, Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Matt Farrell have each gone to the foul line 19 or more times apiece so far this season.

STOCK DOWN: MARYLAND’S OUTSIDE SHOOTING

While Maryland entered Tuesday’s game with an unbeaten 7-0 record, it was misleading in a lot of ways. The Terps had to rally to beat struggling Georgetown by a single point, won in OT at home against Richmond and needed a game-winning shot from Melo Trimble on their final possession to survive Kansas State. One of Maryland’s biggest issues caught up with it Tuesday night in a surprisingly one-sided 73-59 home loss to Pittsburgh. The Terps hoisted 36 threes and sank only 10 of them, a reflection of a team that struggles to make jump shots yet isn’t reticent at all to take them. Pittsburgh is much more effective offensively than defensively, but the Panthers are smart enough to know how to contain Maryland. They played a compact zone or man-to-man, walled off the paint and dared Maryland to either drive into traffic or shoot from the perimeter.

STOCK UP: PENN STATE’S PINK AND BLACK JERSEYS

STOCK DOWN: CAMERON CRAZIES’ CREATIVITY

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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