September 30, 2010

Tech to be one of 10 OVC schools to compete in ESPN’s 2010 NCAA BracketBusters event

The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team will join the nine other OVC schools in participating in ESPN’s BracketBusters event on Feb. 18-20. The event will feature 11 nationally televised games between 22 teams selected from a pool of 114 – the largest in the event’s history thus far.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team is set to participate in ESPN's 2010 NCAA BracketBusters event, this year to be held from Feb. 18-20. The ninth annual event, which pits NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other, will feature 11 nationally televised games between 22 teams selected from a pool of 114 – the largest in the event's history thus far.

TTU will join all of its eligible OVC counterparts in the pool of teams participating in the event, marking the fifth consecutive year that every OVC school has attended. Tech will serve as one of five host programs – the four others being Murray State, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, and UT Martin – while Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State and Morehead State will play road contests.

For the sixth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise five BracketBusters games while ESPN or ESPN2 will televise up to six contests. The 11 televised BracketBusters matchups will be announced Jan. 31.

BracketBusters, so named because of the success of the participating 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 92 teams not selected for the BracketBusters TV field will compete against each other on the same three days.

The 114-team field will feature teams from 15 conferences as well as one independent: 12 from the Mid-American Conference and Colonial Athletic; 10 from the Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from Big Sky, Big South, Big West and Western Athletic; eight from the Horizon League; five from America East and Southern; two from the MEAC and West Coast; and one from the Summit League, as well as independent Seattle.

As part of the agreement, all 11 of the BracketBusters home teams in televised games, as well as the remaining 46 home squads, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2012-13 season.

Listed are the Home and Away teams that will be participating in the 2010 event, categorized by conference. Specific match-ups will be announced on Jan. 31.

Teams participating this season in BracketBusters have produced 74 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments.