WSU-Creighton rivalry could be back when Shockers open season in South Dakota
The first official dates have been nailed down on Wichita State’s 2020-21 men’s basketball schedule.
The Shockers will play in a multi-team event now called the Crossover Classic at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from Nov. 25-27. WSU will play Dayton in the opening round at 8:30 p.m. Central on Wednesday, Nov. 25 with the broadcast on ESPN2.
Even more intriguing, WSU has a chance to meet up with former Missouri Valley rival Creighton on the second day of the tournament. Creighton plays Utah in its opening-round game, setting up a potential showdown with the Shockers for the first time since 2013. WSU will play Thursday, Nov. 26 at 1:30 p.m. Central if it wins its first game or at 8 p.m. if it loses.
A limited number of fans will be allowed in attendance and tickets go on sale on Nov. 1. Masks will be required for all spectators and will be available for free at the door.
The matchups on the other side of the bracket are West Virginia-Texas A&M and Ohio State-Memphis.
Dayton is coming off a 29-2 season where it was poised to draw a No. 1 seed if the NCAA Tournament had happened. The Flyers will look much different this coming season, however, as star Obi Toppin left for the NBA Draft. Dayton should still be competitive with senior guard Jalen Crutcher, who averaged 15.1 points.
The tournament was originally scheduled as the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. When the event was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the same group of teams decided to play in South Dakota, though Duke withdrew from the field and was replaced by Dayton.
And if the Sanford Pentagon sounds familiar to WSU fans, that’s because the Shockers have played there relatively recently. On Nov. 18, 2014, the 11th-ranked Shockers defeated Memphis, 71-56, behind 36 combined points from Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker.
The tournament will be played on the first three days of the men’s college basketball season. The NCAA has capped teams at playing 27 games this season, so the three games in South Dakota plus the 20-game, double round-robin schedule in the American Athletic Conference will leave WSU just four more games to fill out its schedule.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 11:24 AM.
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