Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge Pairings Announced
Nevada-Loyola Chicago highlights the event
Contact/Follow @boettger_eli & @MWCwire
A Sweet 16 rematch kicks off the annual MWC/MVC Challenge
The matchups are set for the 2018 Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge, per a release Thursday.
Nevada taking on Loyola Chicago, a rematch of March’s Sweet 16 thriller, opens up the event. The ten games will run from November 27 through December 1, concluding with New Mexico battling Bradley and San Diego State playing Illinois State.
Here is the full list of pairings for the event:
Nevada @ Loyola Chicago (11/27)
Southern Illinois @ Colorado State (11/27)
Northern Iowa @ Utah State (11/28)
Missouri State @ Air Force (11/28)
New Mexico @ Bradley (12/1)
Boise State @ Drake (11/27)
Valparaiso @ UNLV (11/28)
Indiana State @ San Jose State (11/28)
Wyoming @ Evansville (11/28)
San Diego State @ Illinois State (12/1)
The conferences split last year’s challenge with both leagues winning five games. It was the second consecutive year the challenge resulted in a tie.
Fresno State, which did not participate in last year’s event, won’t play in the challenge in 2018. Its last appearance in the MWC/MVC Challenge was in 2016.
This is the final challenge under the current league contracts. It is not yet known at this time whether the event will be renewed for future seasons.