Horizon League Receives Three TV Contests in 2011 BracketBusters

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Horizon League earned three television games in the 2011 BracketBusters, ESPN announced on Jan. 31.  Cleveland State, the top-rated road team in the event, heads to Norfolk, Va., to play Old Dominion.  Valparaiso hosts Missouri Valley leader Missouri State, while Wright State welcomes the Colonial Athletic Association's Hofstra.  The three contests tied for the second-most among mid-major conferences.

Wright State (14-9, 7-4 Horizon) and Hofstra (14-8, 8-3 Colonial) will meet in the first game on Saturday, Feb. 19, with tip-off from the WSU Nutter Center coming at 11 a.m. ET on ESPNU.  Tied for the Missouri Valley lead at 9-2, Missouri State and Valparaiso (16-6, 8-2 Horizon) will meet at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Presently leading the Horizon League, Cleveland State (20-3, 9-2 Horizon) meets Old Dominion (17-5, 8-3 Colonial), who has been near or at the top of the CAA all season.  The game will be the lone nationally televised BracketBusters contest on Sunday, Feb. 20, tipping at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN or ESPN2.

In non-TV action, Green Bay (12-11, 6-5 Horizon) heads to Southern Illinois (10-12, 4-7 MVC) and Detroit (11-12, 5-6 Horizon) to Drake (8-14, 3-8 MVC) in Horizon League-Missouri Valley battles, where the Valley holds a 4-2 mark against the Horizon League this season.  The Phoenix and Salukis are meeting for the first time since Dec. 22, 1990, with Southern Illinois owning a 2-1 series edge.

The Titans and Bulldogs will meet for the 20th time, with the last coming in 2005, a 69-61 Drake victory.  Detroit trails the all-time series, 10-9.

Milwaukee (12-11, 7-5 Horizon) and Youngstown State (7-14, 1-10 Horizon) will represent the League in contests with Mid-American foes Buffalo (13-6, 5-2 MAC) and Bowling Green (10-11, 5-2 MAC), respectively.  The Horizon League is 17-11 versus the MAC in 2010-11.

The Panthers will be the third Horizon League team to meet Buffalo this year, as Youngstown State recorded a victory over the Bulls before Green Bay fell at Buffalo.  The matchup between the teams is the first since 1977-78, with Buffalo taking the previous three meetings.

Separated by just 138 miles, Bowling Green becomes the fifth Mid-American Conference foe for Youngstown State this season; the Penguins are 2-2 against the MAC this year, while the Falcons are 0-2 versus Horizon League teams in 2010-11.  Youngstown State is looking for its third win in 11 meetings with BGSU.

In a pairing of Jesuit institutions, Loyola (13-9, 4-7 Horizon) will host St. Peter’s (13-9, 8-3 MAAC), who is presently second in the Metro Atlantic.  The Peacocks and Ramblers have not met in over 13 years, with the squads hooking up last on Dec. 28, 1997.  The BracketBusters matchup marks the third time in eight years that Loyola has met a fellow Jesuit institution.  

Dates and tip times for all five non-televised contests will be announced by the schools at a later date.

The ninth annual BracketBusters, a three-day men’s college basketball event pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other Feb. 18-20, features 11 nationally televised games – on either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU -- selected from a pool of 114 teams, the largest BracketBusters pool in the event’s history.

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

Horizon League BracketBusters Schedule
ESPN Games:
Hofstra at Wright State -- Saturday, Feb. 19; 11 a.m. ET -- ESPNU
Missouri State at Valparaiso -- Saturday, Feb. 19; 5 p.m. ET -- ESPN2
Cleveland State at Old Dominion -- Sunday, Feb. 20; 1 p.m. ET -- ESPN or ESPN2

Dates/Times TBA:
Green Bay at Southern Illinois
Milwaukee at Buffalo
Detroit at Drake
St. Peter's at Loyola
Bowling Green at Youngstown State