UNLV wants a home game with Wichita State
UNLV went to Wichita State in 2011 and again last basketball season as part of the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge.
The Rebels would like a return trip from the Shockers, though it won’t be this season. UNLV plays Southern Illinois on Dec. 19 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
But with the conferences working on setting matchups for the following two seasons, UNLV hopes to soon learn that return trip against Wichita State will come.
“We think it is only right that they would return one of those games and play us at the Thomas & Mack Center,” UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said in a text message. “We believe our conference would see it the same way. The Shockers have a great program and we know it would be a game our fans would enjoy seeing.”
Mountain West senior associate commissioner Dan Butterly said he would like to make that happen.
“That’s definitely something we’ve discussed on the Mountain West side,” Butterly said. “Whether that happens or not, I’m not sure.”
Butterly said a lot of factors go into establishing the matchups, including working with the Missouri Valley. Both conferences are working on not only putting together the 2017 matchups, but the ones for the following season as well in what will be the final year of the four-year contract between the leagues.
UNLV will play one of those games at home and the other on the road. Because the Rebels are at home this season, they most likely will play away next year and then at the Thomas & Mack in 2018.
Butterly said playing the Missouri Valley is important to helping the Mountain West’s at-large arguments for the NCAA Tournament.
“I was told by a committee member that playing one better game per team can improve our RPI by three or four spots in the conference rankings,” Butterly said. “It’s extremely important we match up with the top conferences and win games and build our strength of schedule.”
Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow on Twitter: @markanderson65
