Golden Eagles to participate in 2010 BracketBuster game
The BracketBuster game has pitted the Golden Eagles against teams such as Bradley, East Tennessee, Northwestern State and Ball State. Who will it be this year? Whoever Tech faces in February will visit Eblen Center in 2010-11.
Matchups to be announced February
1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle basketball
team will once again participate in a BracketBuster game in 2010,
and the opponent next February will play in Eblen Center in the
future.
The eighth annual BracketBusters event, a two-day men’s
college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament
hopefuls against each other Feb. 19-20, will feature 11 nationally
televised games – on either ESPN2 or ESPNU -- selected from a
pool of 98 teams.
For the fifth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports
network, will televise five BracketBusters games while ESPN2 will
televise six contests. The 11 BracketBusters matchups will be
announced Feb. 1, while game time and network assignments will be
announced Feb. 8.
BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA
Tournament play, will provide the 22 televised teams an opportunity
to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks before
Selection Sunday. The 76 teams not selected for BracketBusters will
compete against each other through the same two days.
The 98-team field will feature 12 teams from the Mid-American and
Colonial Athletic; 11 from the Ohio Valley, 10 from the Missouri
Valley, Horizon League and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from the
Western Athletic and Big West; four from the Big South and
Southern; three from the America East; two from the MEAC; and one
from the Big Sky and Summit League.
As part of the agreement, all 11 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 2011-12 season.
Last year, Tech played at Ball State University, so the Cardinals
will play in Cookeville this winter. Tech hosts Ball State on Dec.
12. Previous BracketBuster opponents who have visited Eblen Center
include Northwestern State, East Tennessee and Bradley.
BracketBusters is part of ESPN’s college basketball
franchise programming, along with Rivalry Week Presented by Cisco,
Feast Week, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers, Judgment Week
and Championship Week Presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Teams participating this season in BracketBusters have produced 89
appearances in the last six 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), UW-Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).
