Sept. 5, 2008

Penguins, All 10 Horizon League Teams to Participate in ESPN BracketBuster

    Indianapolis, Ind. -- All 10 Horizon League men’s basketball teams will participate in the 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters Feb. 20-21.  The two-day extravaganza will feature 13 nationally-televised contests, which will be announced Feb. 2.
    Loyola University Chicago, Valparaiso University, Wright State University, Youngstown State University, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Illinois at Chicago will host games, while Butler University, Cleveland State University, the University of Detroit Mercy and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will play on the road.
    The TV games will be picked from a pool of 102 teams across the country.  The field is highlighted by the return of last season’s BracketBusters participant Davidson, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
    ESPN2 will televise six games in this year’s event, plus ESPN360.com will simulcast all six of those contests.  ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise five BracketBusters affairs, while ESPN360.com, ESPN’s customized broadband service, will show two.
    BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play, 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 TV showdowns will compete against each other over the same two days.
    The 102-team field includes 12 squads from the Mid-American Conference and Colonial Athletic Association in addition to 10 from the Horizon League, Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley Conference and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
    As part of the BracketBusters agreement, all 51 home teams will play a “return” game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.
    This year’s BracketBusters pool features teams with 77 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four -- George Mason (2006), one in the Elite Eight -- Davidson (2008) and six Sweet Sixteen squads -- Butler (2007), Southern Illinois (2007), Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).