San Diego State, currently 20-1 and ranked fourth nationally, will be the Jays opponent in the 2011 MVC/MWC Challenge. Creighton will travel out to San Diego to take on the Aztecs on November 30, 2011 as the kickoff game of the series; as with the home game against BYU in this year’s challenge, it is a one-game deal with no return matchup the following year, unlike the BracketBusters setup, so unfortunately the Aztecs will not be making a trip to Omaha in 2012.
Along with already announced games against Iowa (in Des Moines), at St. Jospeh’s, and Northwestern (in Omaha), the Jays non-conference slate is already lining up nicely. As always, you can keep track of scheduling on our handy Library page.
The Aztecs only loss so far this year came to #9 BYU and the amazing Jimmer Fredette on Wednesday night. Led by senior point guard DJ Gay and two other outstanding seniors in Malcolm Thomas and Billy White, the Aztecs are coached by the architect of Michigan’s Fab Five, Steve Fisher. While that trio will not be around for the tussle with the Jays, San Diego State will still be mighty formidable — they return perhaps their best player as Kawhi Leonard (averaging 16 points, 10.5 rebounds) will be a junior next year.
The fact that the Missouri Valley saw fit to match Creighton up with a quality team like San Diego State shows their confidence that Creighton will once again be one of the top — if not the best — team in the MVC next year. This is a showcase event for the league, and they want their top teams battling the top teams from the Mountain West.
White & Blue Review will have more on this matchup later on. For now, here’s the official release from Creighton, and here’s a statistical breakdown of the Aztecs.
