The Missouri Valley and the Mountain West conference will matchup in a Big Ten/ACC challenge style showdown starting next year. This match up is basically a no-brainier for two leagues that have problems scheduling games against quality opponents.
Too bad it didn't start this year for the Salukis, who have an open spot on their schedule for the upcoming season. But what if it did start this season? What sort of games would we see? Using last seasons conference standings as a baseline here's what the match ups would have looked like this season, with last years RPI in parenthesis.
BYU (25) vs Drake (10)
UNLV (26) vs Illinois State (33)
New Mexico (59) vs SIU (62)
San Diego St (81) vs Creighton (46)
Air Force (173) vs Bradley (105)
Utah (96) vs Northern Iowa (131)
Texas Christian (198) vs Missouri State (123)
Wyoming (219) vs Indiana State (128)
Colorado St (265) vs Wichita State (199)
As you can see by looking at the RPI, these teams are pretty even at the top. Towards the bottom, the MVC shows more depth than the MWC, so I'd have to say the Missouri Valley will be the favorites.
Will the Valley dominate the way the ACC has owned the Big Ten? It's to soon to tell if that will happen, but for now the Salukis can add one more quality non-conference opponent to their slate for next season.
