The fifth annual BracketBusters event, a two-day men’s college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on February 16-17, will feature 13 nationally televised games selected from an expanded pool of 102 teams. All nine teams from the WAC will be part of the pool of teams.
For the second consecutive year, the event will feature five BracketBusters games exclusively on ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, and two on ESPN360, ESPN’s customized broadband service. ESPN2 will televise six contests. The 13 BracketBusters matchups will be announced January 29, while game time and network assignments will be announced February 5.
BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play over the past few years, will provide the 26 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks prior to Selection Sunday. The 76 teams not selected for BracketBusters will compete against each other over the same two days.
The 102-team field will feature 12 teams from the Mid-American Conference and Colonial Athletic; 11 from the Ohio Valley Conference; 10 from the Missouri Valley and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from the Western Athletic Conference and Horizon League; eight from the Big West; four the Big Sky and Southern; three from the Big South and Patriot; two from the America East, Mid-Continent and Southland; and San Francisco from the West Coast Conference.
As part of the agreement, all 13 of the BracketBusters home teams, as well as the remaining 38 home squads, will play a “return” game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.
BracketBusters is an example of ESPN college basketball franchise programming. Others include Rivalry Week, Feast Week, Holiday Hoops, Judgment Week and Championship Week.
This year’s BracketBusters pool features teams with 70 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four - George Mason (2006); Elite Eight ? Kent State (2002); and six Sweet Sixteen squads ? Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), UW-Milwaukee (2005), Nevada (2004), Butler (2003) and Southern Illinois (2002).
Note: Match-ups and nationally televised games will be determined January 29, 2007
HOME TEAMS
Western Athletic
Boise State
Fresno State
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico State
Mid-American
Akron
Buffalo
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
Toledo
Western Michigan
Ohio Valley
Morehead State
Tennessee-Martin
Samford
Southeast Missouri State
Tennessee State
Tennessee Tech
Missouri Valley
Creighton
Drake
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
Wichita State
Metro Atlantic Athletic
Fairfield
Marist
Niagara
Rider
Siena
Horizon
Butler
Illinois-Chicago
Loyola (Illinois)
Wright State
Youngstown State
Big West
Cal Poly
Long Beach State
Cal-State Northridge
UC Santa Barbara
Colonial Athletic
Delaware
George Mason
Georgia State
Hofstra
Northeastern
Virginia Commonwealth
Big Sky
Montana
Northern Arizona
Big South
Coastal Carolina
Mid-Continent
Oral Roberts
Southern
Tennessee-Chattanooga
UNC Greensboro
West Coast
San Francisco
Patriot
Bucknell
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VISITING TEAMS
Western Athletic
Hawai?i
Louisiana Tech
San Jose State
Utah State
Mid-American
Ball State
Bowling Green
Central Michigan
Kent State
Miami (Ohio)
Ohio
Ohio Valley
Austin Peay
Eastern Illinois
Eastern Kentucky
Jacksonville State
Murray State
Missouri Valley
Bradley
Evansville
Northern Iowa
Southern Illinois
Metro Atlantic Athletic
Canisius
Iona
Loyola (Maryland)
Manhattan
Saint Peter’s
Horizon
Cleveland State
Detroit
Wisconsin-Green Bay
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Big West
UC Irvine
Pacific
UC Riverside
CS-Fullerton
Colonial Athletic
Drexel
James Madison
UNC-Wilmington
Old Dominion
Towson
William & Mary
Big Sky
Portland State
Eastern Washington
Big South
Winthrop
Liberty
America East
Albany
Maine
Mid-Continent
Valparaiso
Southern
Elon
Appalachian State
Southland
Northwestern State
Sam Houston State
Patriot
Colgate
Holy Cross |
Below are statistics of this year’s BracketBusters pool of 102 teams in NCAA Tournament play from 2002 ? 2006:
2006 NCAA Tournament: 19 Berths - Albany, Bradley, Bucknell, George Mason, Iona, Kent State, Montana, Murray State, Nevada, UNC-Wilmington, Northern Iowa, Northwestern State, Pacific, Oral Roberts, Utah State, Southern Illinois, UW-Milwaukee, Winthrop and Wichita State. A 12-19 overall record: Bradley defeated Kansas and Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet Sixteen; Bucknell defeated Arkansas; George Mason defeated Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut to reach the Final Four; Montana defeated Nevada; Northwestern State defeated Iowa; UW-Milwaukee defeated Oklahoma; and Wichita State defeated Seton Hall and Tennessee to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
2005 NCAA Tournament: 15 berths ? Bucknell, Chattanooga, Creighton, Eastern Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, Niagara, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Old Dominion, Pacific, Southern Illinois, Utah State, UW-Milwaukee and Winthrop. A 6-15 overall record: Bucknell defeated Kansas; Nevada defeated Texas; Pacific defeated Pittsburgh; Southern Illinois defeated Saint Mary’s (California); and UW-Milwaukee defeated Alabama and Boston College to reach the Sweet Sixteen.
2004 NCAA Tournament: 12 berths ? Eastern Washington, Illinois-Chicago, Liberty, Manhattan, Murray State, Nevada, Northern Iowa, Pacific, Southern Illinois, Valparaiso, Virginia Commonwealth and Western Michigan. A 4-12 overall record: Manhattan defeated Florida, Nevada defeated Michigan State and Gonzaga to reach the Sweet Sixteen; and Pacific defeated Providence.
2003 NCAA Tournament: 11 berths ? Austin Peay, Butler, Central Michigan, Creighton, Holy Cross, Manhattan, UNC-Wilmington, Sam Houston State, Southern Illinois, Utah State and UW-Milwaukee. A 3-11 overall record: Butler defeated Mississippi State and Louisville to reach the Sweet Sixteen; and Central Michigan defeated Creighton.
2002 NCAA Tournament: 13 berths - Creighton, Kent State, Hawaii, Holy Cross, Illinois-Chicago, Montana, Murray State, Southern Illinois, UNC-Wilmington, Siena, UC Santa Barbara, Winthrop and Valparaiso. An 8-13 overall record: Kent State defeated Oklahoma State, Alabama and Pittsburgh to reach the Elite Eight; Creighton defeated Florida; UNC-Wilmington defeated USC; Siena defeated Alcorn State; and Southern Illinois defeated Texas Tech and Georgia to reach the Sweet Sixteen.