Maybe basketball is the chocolate, and college wrestling is the peanut butter. Thought to be an unusual combination for sure, but once the Reese’s candy company poured one into an edible cup of the other, they had a pretty tasty treat.

On Wednesday, the Minnesota State athletic department will attempt to mix basketball’s chocolate with wrestling’s peanut butter in what could be an unprecedented doubleheader at Bresnan Arena. The Mavericks wrestling team will host Northern State at 5 p.m., followed by a men’s basketball game against Bethany Lutheran at 7 p.m.

Neither wrestling coach Jim Makovsky or men’s basketball coach Matt Margenthaler have heard of another school trying this kind of doubleheader, but “I’m not afraid to try new things,� Makovsky said. Margenthaler agreed: “A lot of times, the basketball coach and the wrestling coach aren’t friends, but we’re best of friends. It’s a nice opportunity to show off two successful programs.�

The men’s basketball team is 76-20 over the last three seasons, with two North Central Conference championships and three appearances in the national tournament. The wrestling squad is 46-8 in duals and has finished in the top five at the national tournament the last three seasons.

The doubleheader is the result of an error. When he set up the dual, and other promotional events involving local wrestling clubs, Makovsky misread to arena schedule. By the time he realized his mistake, it was easier to come up with an alternate match time than switch the date.

“We’re taking something that was an error and turned it into a positive,� Makovsky said. “I’ve always wanted to compete the same day as Matt’s teams, I have a lot of respect for his program. When we’re not competing, I go to his games, and he does the same.�

For Margenthaler’s squad, there’s not much change in the game-day routine. On many nights, the women’s basketball team plays first, and the starting time of games fluctuates.

Makovsky said that an average wrestling dual takes about 10 minutes per match, which means that if all 10 matches went the distance, the dual would last 1 hour and 40 minutes, which would cause a small logistical problem. But if there are any pins or forfeits in the results, the match would be shorter, and with five minutes to roll up the mats and five minutes to sweep the floor, the basketball game, with about 30 minutes of warmup, should start almost on time.

The most interesting aspect of the doubleheader will be the fans. Basketball and wrestling clearly have a different fan base, but for one ticket, both sets could see both events that night.

“I’m sure some of the wrestling fans will get up and leave when the match is over, and I’m sure some of our fans won’t show up until it’s almost time for our game to start,� Margenthaler said. “But maybe some of the basketball fans will see how exciting a wrestling match is and come back, and vice versa.�

Even though it wasn‘t intended to be this way, it’s an interesting concept. These preseason dates are a tough draw for every program, and any way you can maximize the facility’s use and the fan base’s ticket, it’s a good idea.

Just hope that the basketball team doesn’t get any ideas from watching the wrestling match. In wrestling, you score on takedowns, which isn’t the case in basketball.