MWC-MVC challenge series games announced Thursday
.JPG "Steve Fisher’s San Diego State Aztecs could be an opponent for Wichita State in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley challenge series next basketball season. The Aztecs lost to Duke in the third round this season.")
Games in the Missouri Valley Conference-Mountain West Conference challenge series will be announced at noon Thursday, the MVC office says.
Wichita State should be a home team, based on previous reports. That appears to make San Diego State or Colorado State likely opponents. Bradley, according to an earlier story in the Peoria Journal-Star, will play at Boise State.
The challenge series ran from 2009-12 before a hiatus. Both conferences are less powerful than those days. The MWC annually ranked in the top five or six of conference RPI and the MVC wasn’t far behind some years.
Both conferences need help now. The MWC, without BYU and Utah, finished this season No. 13 in the conference power rankings. The MVC finished ninth in warrennolan.com.
This appears to be a good move for both conferences. Coaches lock in at least one opponent, which makes scheduling easier. Quality opponents are hard to find and most of these games should helpful for power ratings.
This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 6:01 PM.