Butler, Wright State selected to host games as part of O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event

Jan. 29, 2007

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Indianapolis, Ind. -- Horizon League front-runners Butler University and Wright State University have been selected to host two of 13 games broadcast to a national audience as part of the fifth annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters event on Feb. 16-17. ESPN announced the pairings Monday evening (Jan. 29).

League-leader Butler (19-2, 7-1 Horizon League prior to Monday's game versus the University of Illinois at Chicago) meets Missouri Valley Conference co-leader Southern Illinois University (17-5, 8-3 MVC), while Wright State (14-8, 7-2 Horizon League prior to Monday's game at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay) hosts Big West Conference kingpin California State University at Fullerton (16-4, 6-2 BWC).

Butler has won nine of its last ten games including five in a row, and starts the week ranked 13th in the nation according to the Associated Press and 11th by ESPN/USA Today. Wright State, victorious in nine of its last 11 outings, stands only one-half game behind the Bulldogs in the Horizon League standings.

This year's BracketBusters event takes place over a two-day period, with 13 games slated for broadcast to a national audience. ESPN2 and ESPNU will combined to televise 11 contests (six on ESPN2, five on ESPNU), with two games broadcast on ESPN360, ESPN's customized broadband service. Specific networks and tip-off times will be announced next week.

"We are pleased to have Butler and Wright State represent the Horizon in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters telecast package," said Horizon League Commissioner Jonathan B. LeCrone. "They will have the opportunity to play host to quality opponents on national television during the stretch run in the regular season. The atmosphere at both Hinkle Fieldhouse and the Nutter Center should make for exciting games and a great television experience."

Butler is part of the television package for the second year in a row, having lost 80-76 in overtime at Kent State University last season. This year's Bulldogs opened the season by winning the NIT Season Tip-Off with victories over the University of Tennessee and Gonzaga University at Madison Square Garden, and has continued its run off success through League play. Coach Todd Lickliter's crew has won 19 consecutive games at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse---the eighth-longest current streak in Division I---and relies on the talented backcourt tandem of junior guards A.J. Graves and Mike Green.

Graves leads the nation as a 97 percent free-throw shooter, making 63 in a row before a miss last week. He ranks second in the League in scoring at 18.8 points per game, hitting 64 three-point field goals in 20 games. Green adds 13.2 points per contest and leads the team with rates of 3.95 assists and 5.3 rebounds per contest.

Southern Illinois has won five of its last six games and is led by the tandem of senior guard Jamaal Tatum and junior forward Randal Falker. Tatum averages a team-best 14.3 points per game, with Falker contributing 13 per contest. SIU limits its opponents to 56.5 points per game, ninth-best in the nation and two spots behind Butler (56.2).

Wright State makes its first appearance on the nationally-broadcast package. The Raiders were 5-6 on New Year's Day, but have made a dramatic turnaround under first-year coach Brad Brownell. Senior guard DaShaun Wood leads the League in scoring with his 19 points-per-game average, one of seven League top-ten lists featuring his name. Wood also is second in the circuit with 1.86 steals per contest. Freshman guards Vaughn Duggins and Todd Brown have combined for more than 17 points per game to supplement Wood's scoring.

Cal State Fullerton ranks fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 85 points per game with four games of more than 100 points. Senior guard Bobby Brown leads a balanced attack featuring five players in double figures. He averages 19.8 points per game while junior forward Scott Cutley adds 16.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest.

In its inaugural year in 2003, two of the three participating Horizon League teams won their BracketBusters games as the University of Detroit Mercy won at the University of California-Santa Barbara 75-59 and UIC defeated Bowling Green State University 83-72 at home, while the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee lost at Southern Illinois 66-64. In 2004, UWM's Panthers lost at home to Manhattan College 83-76 in the League's lone nationally televised game. In addition to UWM's win at Hawai'i in 2005, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay fell to Illinois State University at home 79-69. UWM also appeared on the national scene in BracketBusters action last year, losing to Missouri State University, 72-63.

Now in its fifth year, the event's success has produced a steadily-increasing field of schools. This year's BracketBusters includes 102 teams from 16 conferences. BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play in recent years, will provide the 26 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks prior to Selection Sunday (March 11). The 76 teams not selected for the televised contests will compete against each other on the day.

The 102 teams in this season's BracketBusters have combined for 70 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including 2006 Final Four participant George Mason, 2002 Elite Eight member Kent State and six other Sweet Sixteen squads from the last five NCAA Tournaments. The Horizon League boasts two of the Sweet 16 teams in Butler in 2003 and UW-Milwaukee in 2005.

Following is a complete ilst of this year's O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters televised games:

Fifth Annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters TV Games:
Southern Illinois (17-5, 8-3 Missouri Valley) at Butler (19-2, 7-1 Horizon League), at Indianapolis, Ind.
Cal State Fullerton (16-4, 6-2 Big West) at Wright State (14-8, 7-2 Horizon League), at Dayton, Ohio
Albany (14-7, 7-2 America East) at Boise State (11-8, 5-3 Western Athletic), at Boise, Idaho
Appalachian State (16-5, 8-2 Southern) at Wichita State (14-8, 5-6 Missouri Valley), at Wichita, Kan.
Austin Peay (13-6, 10-1 Ohio Valley) at Akron (15-4, 6-1 Mid-American) at Akron, Ohio
Bradley (15-8, 6-5 Missouri Valley) at Virginia Commonwealth (18-3, 10-0 Colonial), at Richmond, Va.
Drexel (15-5, 7-3 Colonial) at Creighton 14-7, 8-3 Missouri Valley), at Omaha, Neb.
Holy Cross (16-6, 7-0 Patriot) at Hofstra (16-5, 9-1 Colonial), at Hempstead, N.Y.
Northern Iowa (15-6, 6-4 Missouri Valley) at Nevada (19-2, 7-1 Western Athletic), at Reno, Nev.
Ohio (13-7, 4-3 Mid-American) at New Mexico State (17-4, 4-1 Western Athletic), at Las Cruces, N.M.
Old Dominion (14-7, 7-3 Colonial) at Toledo (11-8, 7-0 Mid-American), at Toledo, Ohio
Utah State (15-6, 4-3 Western Athletic) at Oral Roberts (15-7, 7-0 Mid-Continent), at Tulsa, Okla.
Winthrop (17-4, 7-0 Big South) at Missouri State (15-7, 6-5 Missouri Valley), at Springfield, Mo.

Bold italics indicate games involving Horizon League teams
Note: Game times and networks will be announced next week.