ST. LOUIS - Bradley has drawn a road game against defending Mountain West Conference regular-season champion Boise State Dec. 20 in the revived Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge, according to an announcement from the Missouri Valley Conference office Thursday.
The two conferences jointly announced Tuesday a renewal of the series, which previously enjoyed a four-year run from 2009-12. The revived Challenge Series will feature head-to-head competition between 10 Mountain West and 10 Valley teams annually with each conference hosting five games each season. Television rights for each Challenge Series contest will be controlled by the home team's conference television agreement, which will dictate the distribution of the game and all related matters, including tipoff times.
“The reintroduction of this Challenge Series is a positive step for both leagues,” says MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin. “Tough non-conference scheduling has always been paramount in improving our league's stature on the national scene. The series helps institutions in both leagues achieve that goal. It's great for the fans of the Missouri Valley and the Mountain West as new rivalries are developed with nationally-recognized programs that have a strong commitment to men's basketball.”
"Being able to partner with a league like the Mountain West is a perfect fit for The Valley," said first-year Bradley head coach Brian Wardle. "The series provides a great non-conference game built into the schedule and helps us prepare for league play."
Bradley returns just seven letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 9-24 overall and 10th in The Valley with a 3-15 league record. Boise State shared the 2015 Mountain West Conference regular-season championship and dropped a 1-point decision, 56-55, to the host Flyers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Dayton. Led by head coach Leon Rice, Boise State had six seniors on its 2014-15 roster, including leading scorer Derrick Marks, though the Broncos figure to return 1,500-point career scorer Anthony Drmic from a medical redshirt, as well as leading rebounder James Webb III and three of the top four scorers from this past season.
The announcement of the Moutain West-Missouri Valley Challenge Series solidifies the fifth game on Bradley's 2014-15 12-game non-conference schedule. The Braves will visit Texas-Arlington, date to be determined, for the second game in a three-year agreement that will bring the Mavericks back to Peoria in 2016-17. Bradley also will participate in the ESPN-owned Gildan Charleston Classic, a 3-game exempt tournament that will feature Virginia, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Seton Hall, George Mason, Long Beach State and Towson. The Gildan Charleston Classic will be played at TD Arena in Charleston, SC Nov. 19, 20, 22 and the tournament bracket will be announced this summer.
The Mountain West has ranked among the Top 10 in the NCAA's final RPI report in nine of the last 10 years, while the Valley has been among the Top 10 eight times during that same span. The leagues have combined for nine Sweet 16 appearances and one Final Four (Wichita State) during the last decade.
The previous Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge Series ran from the 2009-10 through the 2012-13 seasons. During that four-year span, six MVC teams competed in the NCAA Tournament, and the league combined for eight NCAA Tourney wins, which included two Sweet 16 appearances and Wichita State's run to the 2013 Final Four. Although The Valley won the first Challenge Series in 2009-10 (5-3), the MW has a 22-13 overall edge in the 35 previous matchups. Bradley is 0-3 in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge series, dropping road games at BYU in 2009 and Wyoming in 2011, sandwiched around a home loss to Utah in 2010.
