FARMINGTON, Utah — The inaugural Big Sky-Summit Challenge ended in a tie, nearly sending it to an arm-wrestling tiebreaker between the two conference commissioners at the NCAA Final Four. The Summit League prevailed on margin of victory, however – the first tiebreaker over the arm-wrestling contest strangely enough – meaning the Big Sky Conference will be out for revenge during the second edition of the Challenge during the 2024-25 season.
The Portland State men's and women's basketball teams will do their part, as the Vikings learned their opponents for the Challenge Wednesday. The Viking women will play two games as part of the Challenge, hosting Omaha on Dec. 4 before playing at Denver on Dec. 7. The Viking men will only play one game as part of the Challenge for the second straight year as they'll host the Denver men on Dec. 7.
The dates represent a change from the first year of the Challenge. A season ago, all Challenge games came after the opening week of league play. The early December dates this season mean there won't be the same disruption.
The details and scoring system for the Challenge will remain the same as last year. The two leagues will be playing for a combined trophy, taking both men's and women's results into consideration equally from 36 total games.
Victories in the challenge will be weighted differently based on whether they occur at home or on the road. Teams will be awarded one (1) point for a victory on their home floor, while if a road team emerges with a win, it will be awarded one and one-half (1.5) points for the result.
In the event of a tie at the end of all 36 Challenge games, as noted above the first tiebreaker will be margin of victory. If there is still a tie following the calculation of margin of victory, the two commissioners will compete in an arm-wrestling contest at the Final Four to determine the champion.
Portland State Big Sky-Summit Challenge Games
Portland State Women:
Dec. 4 – vs. Omaha (home)
Dec. 7 – at Denver (away)
Portland State Men:
Dec. 7 – vs. Denver (home)
