Sept. 11, 2008
Center Valley, Pa. - Bucknell will once again represent the Patriot League in the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters field, which includes 102 teams from 17 different Division I conferences. Bucknell has been designated as one of the home teams in its fourth consecutive year in the field.
BracketBusters is a two-day men's college basketball event that pits potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on February 20-21, and will feature 13 nationally televised games - on either ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN360.com -- selected from the pool of 102 teams.
The Bison have posted a 1-2 record in BracketBusters games in their first three seasons in the field. They lost a 65-61, double overtime thriller at Northern Iowa in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 in 2006, and won, 73-63, at home against Towson in 2007 before falling at Old Dominion, 65-55, last season. The Bison host a return game against Old Dominion on Nov. 25. The Patriot League has a 2-4 all-time record in the event, with Holy Cross recording a 61-47 victory over Northeastern last season.
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 BracketBusters will compete against each other over the same two days. In addition to the Patriot League, teams from the following conferences will also participate in the 102-team field: Mid-American, Colonial Athletic, Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley, Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic, Western Athletic, Big West, America East, Southern, Big South, Big Sky, Summit League, West Coast, Mid-Eastern Athletic and Northeast.
As part of the agreement, all of the home squads will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2009-10 season.
BracketBusters is an example of ESPN college basketball franchise programming. Others include Rivalry Week Presented by Cisco, Feast Week, Holiday Hoops, Student Spirit Week, Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by Dick's Sporting Goods.
This year's BracketBusters pool features teams with 77 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including Bucknell's trips to the second round of the tournament in 2005 and 2006.
