Horizon League Ramada BracketBusters Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 23:
Eastern Kentucky at Valparaiso, 1 p.m. ET -- ESPNU
Detroit at Wichita State, 4 p.m. ET -- ESPN/ESPN2
Cleveland State at Western Illinois
Milwaukee at IUPUI
Green Bay at Drake
Bradley at UIC
Kent State at Loyola
Evansville at Wright State
Central Michigan at Youngstown State
BRISTOL, Conn. -- The Horizon League earned two television games in the 2013 Ramada BracketBusters, ESPN announced on Monday evening. Detroit will take on Wichita State, while Valparaiso will host Eastern Kentucky.
Presently leading the Horizon League, Valparaiso (17-6, 7-2 Horizon) will host an Eastern Kentucky (17-6, 7-3 OVC) squad that is one of the biggest surprises in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Colonels are presently ranked No. 19 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Detroit (15-8, 7-3 Horizon), sitting a half-game behind the Crusaders, will head to Wichita State (19-4, 8-3 MVC) to face a Shockers squad that boasts one of the nation's best home courts. The Shockers have been in and out of the top 25 throughout the season. Wichita State currently sits in second place in the MVC and is ranked No. 2 in the Mid-Major Top 25.
Overall, Horizon League teams will play opponents across four different conferences, with four games against Missouri Valley Conference foes, two versus the Mid-American Conference, two versus Summit League opposition and one against teams in the Ohio Valley.
League teams are 2-2 against The Valley, 14-10 versus the MAC and 4-3 against Summit League foes this year.
Green Bay will head to Des Moines, Iowa, to meet Drake (11-11, 5-6 MVC). The Bulldogs presently are tied for fifth place in the Missouri Valley and have won three of their last four games, including a win over then-No. 17 Creighton.
Both UIC (14-9, 5-5 Horizon) and Wright State (14-8, 5-4 Horizon) will host MVC opponents. Bradley (13-10, 5-6 MVC) will travel up I-55 to meet the Flames. The Braves enter this week tied with Drake for fifth in the MVC.
The Raiders will welcome Evansville (13-10, 6-5 Horizon) to the Nutter Center. The Purple Aces are fourth in the MVC.
Loyola (13-9, 3-6 Horizon) and Youngstown State (13-9, 5-4 Horizon) will represent the Horizon League in matchups with MAC opposition. The Ramblers will host Kent State (12-10, 3-5 MAC); the Golden Flashes sit third in the MAC’s East Division.
Keno Davis will bring his Central Michigan (9-12, 5-6 MAC) squad to the Beeghly Center. The Chippewas are fifth in the MAC West.
Cleveland State (11-12, 3-6 Horizon) will head to Macomb, Ill., to meet Western Illinois (17-5, 9-2 Summit). The Leathernecks are presently tied for first place in the Summit League.
Milwaukee (5-18, 1-8 Horizon) meets IUPUI (6-19, 1-10 Summit) at The Jungle in Indianapolis.
Dates and tip times for all eight non-televised contests will be announced by the schools at a later date.
In 2012, Horizon League teams went 7-3 in BracketBusters play, with Detroit, Green Bay, Loyola, Milwaukee, UIC and Wright State all collecting victories.
2013 will mark the final iteration of BracketBusters; the Horizon League was a founding member of the event 11 years ago.
