Tournament officials released the complete schedule for 12th Annual Cancun Challenge, Wednesday afternoon.
Wichita State will face South Carolina in Cancun, Mexico on Nov. 26 and either West Virginia or Northern Iowa the following day as part of the four-team Riviera Division. Both games will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Games are played in the modified ballroom at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya; teams and their fans are in walking distance from their rooms to the games to the restaurants to poolside.
In addition, the Shockers play host to UT Martin and Gardner-Webb in preliminary round contests on Nov. 16 and Nov. 19.
This is WSU’s second appearance in the event. Head coach Gregg Marshall led the Shockers to the 2012 Cancun Challenge title with wins over Depaul and Iowa.
WSU is 1-0 against Gardner-Webb, winning 76-64 at Charles Koch Arena on Dec. 12, 2008. UT Martin is a first-time opponent. WSU has also never faced South Carolina or West Virginia but is well-acquainted with UNI. The schools were Missouri Valley Conference rivals from 1992 to 2017 and have split 56 meetings all-time.
Past Riviera Division champions include Bradley (2018), Louisiana Tech (2017), Purdue (2016), Maryland (2015), UNI (2014) and Wisconsin (2013).
This year’s Riviera Division is anchored by a notable group of coaches who have excelled on the national stage:
Bob Huggins, West Virginia – 784 career wins, .702 winning percentage
Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa – 248 career wins, .624 winning percentage
Frank Martin, South Carolina – 244 career wins, .608 winning percentage
Gregg Marshall, Wichita State – 493 career wins, .717 winning percentage
Gardner-Webb, UT Martin, Northern Colorado, and Boston University make up the four-team Mayan Division.