THE SIDELINES : Big 8 Challenges Soviet Cagers

The Big Eight Conference and Dover Marketing Inc. today entered into an agreement for a men’s basketball challenge series between a U.S. team and the Soviet Union.

The first leg of the U.S.A.-U.S.S.R. Basketball Challenge, set for this summer and fall, will involve a Big Eight Select Team tour of the Soviet Union with games scheduled against top Soviet teams.

On the return challenge, set for November, a U.S.S.R. All-Star team will play in the United States against four Big Eight teams. Current plans call for the fall games to be played at universities, which have not be designated yet.