Bradley University Athletics

Bradley to Host New Mexico Dec. 1 in MVC/MWC Challenge

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Men's Basketball 5/3/2018 11:00:00 AM

The first piece of the 2018-19 Bradley men's basketball schedule was unveiled on Thursday as the pairings were announced for the Missouri Valley Conference – Mountain West Challenge Series. Bradley is hosting perennial Mountain West power New Mexico at Carver Arena on Saturday, Dec. 1 as part of the annual challenge.

One of the top programs in the Mountain West, New Mexico has won four regular-season titles in the last decade, while also claiming the postseason championship three times in that span. The Lobos are coming off a third-place finish in the conference a season ago before advancing to the league's championship game for the fourth time in the last seven years.

Bradley - New Mexico Series Results
Date	Location	Result
Dec. 19, 1938	at New Mexico	W, 55-35
March 21, 1964	New York City (Madison Square Garden)	W, 86-54

Bradley has won each of its two matchups with New Mexico but the schools are squaring off for the first time in 55 seasons when they meet at Carver Arena. Bradley posted a regular-season win at New Mexico during the 1938-39 season, 55-35, before earning an 86-54 victory in the championship game of the 1964 NIT at Madison Square Garden.

The MVC and Mountain West have both won five games in the series each of the last two seasons. Bradley has faced the eventual Mountain West Champion in each of the last two seasons – hosting Nevada during the 2016-17 campaign before playing at San Diego State last year.

Annual matchups for teams in the Challenge Series are based upon factors including the previous year's achievements, records and RPI rankings, as well as projected rankings/strength of teams in the upcoming season, based on composite sources.

Bradley finished the 2017-18 season with a 20-13 record. One of just four schools in the country to improve by at least five wins in each of the last two years, the Braves earned a top-five seed for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and advanced to the league semifinals for the first time since 2010.

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