CHICAGO (May 3, 2018) – The Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team will host Nevada on November 27 in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge Series it was announced today. The game will be a rematch of the epic 2018 NCAA Sweet 16 thriller won by Loyola, 69-68, on March 24 in Atlanta. In that contest, Marques Townes scored a team-high 18 points and hit a clutch three-pointer with seven seconds remaining as the Ramblers sealed the outcome.
 
The Challenge Series features head-to-head competition between 10 Mountain West and 10 Missouri Valley teams annually, with each conference hosting five games apiece. The 2018 edition of the Challenge Series is the eighth.
 
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 upon composite sources. Each season is considered separately in terms of matchups, therefore, games from the previous year's Challenge Series may not be returned.
 
Television rights for each Challenge Series game will be controlled by the home team's conference television agreement, which will dictate the distribution of the game and tip times.
 
The Ramblers are 1-2 all-time in Challenge Series contests, suffering road losses to New Mexico (2015) and Boise State (2017), while toppling San Diego State in Gentile Arena in 2016.
 
Loyola is coming off of a record-setting 2017-18 campaign that saw it post a school-record 32 wins, finish the year ranked No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and reach the Final Four for the first time since winning the NCAA championship in 1963.
 
The complete 2018 Challenge Series schedule is listed below.
 
November 27
Nevada at Loyola
Boise State at Drake
Southern Illinois at Colorado State
 
November 28
Valparaiso at UNLV
UNI at Utah State
Indiana State at San Jose State
Missouri State at Air Force
Wyoming at Evansville
 
December 1
New Mexico at Bradley
San Diego State at Illinois State