Men's Basketball to Play Rider in Bracketbusters

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"It was phenomenal. I couldn't tell you, it CSUN to play Rider in was very reminiscent of back in the days of when we won the (Big Sky) Championship back in BracketBusters 2001," Braswell said.

By Roman Veytsman Special to the Daily News The game will be one of 14 televised on the ESPN networks and is a first for CSUN in the Article Last Updated: 02/04/2008 10:32:28 PM PST BracketBusters event.

A national audience will get to witness the Game time and network assignments will be reemergence of Cal State Northridge basketball. announced Feb. 11.

The Matadors (15-5, 7-1) will face Metro Last season, Northridge fell to Cleveland State Atlantic Athletic Conference leader Rider and 85-76 in the BracketBusters game in front of 575 their 6-foot-11 NBA draft prospect Jason fans. Thompson on Feb. 23 in an ESPN BracketBusters game. "I'm very pleased that we've started our year on a very positive note and played some "It's an opportunity for us to play a good basketball and hopefully we can continue nationally televised game against a very good to do that," Braswell said. basketball team in our place at home and we very rarely get opportunities to do that and we're excited about that," CSUN coach Bobby Braswell said.

Rider (17-6, 10-2 MAAC) is currently on a nine- game winning streak. Thompson, their leading scorer, averages 20 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

The Matadors lost their first conference and home game Saturday against Cal State Fullerton, but did draw the fourth-largest crowd, 1,632, since the Matadome downgraded its seating to 1,600. It was the first sellout at the Matadome since 2001.

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Sports

PACIFIC NOTEBOOK -- PUBLISHED FEB. 5, 2008

By Jason Anderson February 05, 2008 Record Staff Writer

Tigers get familiar foe, no television in BracketBuster

The Pacific men's basketball team received a disappointing draw when pairings for the O'Reilly ESPNU Bracket- Busters games were released Monday.

The Tigers will renew their oldest rivalry when they play struggling San Jose State at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 at Spanos Center. The game was not selected as one of 14 games to be televised by the ESPN family of networks.

The Tigers (15-6, 6-2 Big West Conference) and Spartans (10-11, 2-6 Western Athletic Conference) haven't met since 2005, when San Jose State discontinued the series. Pacific has won the past five games against the Spartans and holds an 81-72 edge dating to 1910.

"We've had a great tradition with San Jose over the years and, hopefully, we can regenerate that excitement," Pacific coach Bob Thomason said.

Two Big West schools were selected for television games. First-place Cal State Northridge will play host to Rider, and fourth-place UC Santa Barbara will travel to Utah State.

A "Big Monday" loss to Cal Poly may have prevented Pacific from securing a television game for the first time since playing UTEP in 2005. The Tigers' dropped from No. 97 to No. 127 in the RealTimeRPI.com Ratings Percentage Index after losing to the Mustangs on Jan. 28. The lowest-rated home team to receive a Bracket-Busters television game was No. 113 Boise State.

San Jose State is No. 201. Playing the Spartans will not enhance Pacific's postseason résumé, but Thomason said the game has its virtues.

"When we lost the Cal Poly game, I felt we were going to be out of a TV game," Thomason said. "So, if it's not a TV game, I think it's great for people in Stockton and San Jose to play this game."

Play ball

The softball team will open its season with a doubleheader against Fresno State beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday at Bulldog Diamond. The Bulldogs are receiving votes in the National Fastpitch Association and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.

Pacific reached the NCAA Regional final last season in Tucson, Ariz., before falling to eventual champion Arizona.

Practice time

The baseball team held its first official practice on Friday. The Tigers will open the season on the road against Houston on Feb. 22. They will play their home opener against Santa Clara on Feb. 27 in the first night game under the newly installed lights at Klein Family Field.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080205/A_SPORTS/802050320/-1... 2/5/2008 SI.com - NCAA Basketball - Drake-Butler top BracketBusters matchup - Monday Februa... Page 1 of 1

Drake-Butler heads BracketBusters

Posted: Monday February 4, 2008 7:19PM; Updated: Monday February 4, 2008 7:19PM

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -- No. 15 Drake will travel to No. 10 Butler in ESPN's BracketBuster games to be played later this month between prominent teams from mid-major conferences.

The Feb. 23 matchup of Drake (20-1) and Butler (19-2) features teams with the best records and highest rankings in the six-year history of the event.

Game times for the 14 matchups will be announced next Monday.

Also, Davidson and Winthrop will end a 16-year drought between games when they face off Feb. 22.

Winthrop will host the nationally televised matchup of schools 45 miles apart.

Davidson (15-6, 13-0 Southern Conference) has won 11 straight games.

Winthrop (14-8, 5-2 Big South Conference) has struggled some this season under first-year coach Randy Peele, but holds wins over Miami and Georgia Tech. The Eagles upset Notre Dame last season in the first round of the NCAA tournament during a 29-win season.

Other matchups include: UC Santa Barbara at Utah State; Kent State at Saint Mary's; Virginia Commonwealth at Akron; Marist at Cleveland State; Siena at Boise State; Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Bradley; Rider at Cal State Northridge; George Mason at Ohio; Creighton at Oral Roberts; Nevada at Southern Illinois; Miami (Ohio) at Valparaiso and Wright State at Illinois State.

Find this article at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/ncaa/02/04/bracketbusters.matchups.ap

Check the box to include the list of links referenced in the article.

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Home Page > News > Sports > NCAA Hoops > Local Teams > Local Teams George Mason Game Will be ESPN BracketBuster

February 5, 2008 - 8:20am FAIRFAX, Va. -- George Mason will tip with Ohio University Feb. 23 in an ESPN BracketBuster pairing.

The intent is to help secondary conference schools such as the Patriots and Bobcats improve their chance of making the NCAA Tournament field. The time of the matchup at Ohio University will be unveiled soon and will be shown on one of the ESPN channels.

Mason is tied for second place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Bobcats are tied for first in the Middle American Conference with Akron and Kent State.

Other matchups include Drake at Butler; U.C. Santa Barbara at Utah State; Kent State at St. Mary's; Virginia Commonwealth at Akron; Marist at Cleveland State; Siena at Boise State; Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Bradley; Rider at Cal State Northridge; Creighton at Oral Roberts; Nevada at Southern Illinois; Miami (Ohio) at Valparaiso and Wright State at Illinois State.

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http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=631&sid=1339275 2/5/2008 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: ESPN completes Niagara schedule Page 1 of 2

MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: ESPN completes Niagara schedule

By Jonah Bronstein Greater Niagara Newspapers

— The Niagara Purple Eagles will play at Appalachian State on Feb. 23 in a non-televised Bracket Buster game, ESPN announced Monday. The fourth all-time meeting between the two programs is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C. The Mountainers will be expected to return the game in Lewiston in November or December. Niagara has beaten Appalachian three times, most recently at the Duequesne Holiday Tournament in Pittsburgh in 2005. The Purple Eagles won at Holmes Center in 1998. The Mountaineers (14-7) have won nine of their last 10 and are tied with Chattanooga for the Southern Conference north division lead at 9-3. They began the week at No. 93 in the Ratings Index Percentage, according to kenpom.com. Canisius will host Albany and Buffalo will host Youngstown State in their Bracket Buster contests on Feb. 23. Niagara (13-7) now possesses an RPI rank of 136 after Sunday’s home loss to Fairfield. The Purple Eagles have lost four games to teams with RPIs higher than 200. That likely prevented Niagara from earning a televised Bracket Buster event. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rivals Marist, Rider and Siena were awarded televised contests at Cleveland State, Cal State Northridge and Boise State, respectively. Richard J. Ensor, MAAC commissioner, said he is “extremely pleased” with the selections. “It sets the stage for the NCAA, NIT and CBI selections,” Ensor said in a statement released by the MAAC. The College Basketball Invitational is a new postseason tournament that will feature 16 teams not selected to the NCAA tournament. “The Bracket Busters series is designed to give the selection committees insight on mid-major teams a few weeks before the selection process.” For the first time, the Bracket Buster matchups are spread out over three days, Feb. 22-24. ESPN2 will televise six of the games, ESPNU will broadcast five, ESPN360.com will have two and ESPN Classic one. The Mid-American Conference, which UB plays in, received four televised Bracket Buster games, headlined by Akron hosting Virginia Commonwealth, a Colonial Athletic Association program that defeated Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament last March in Buffalo. Kent State travels to No. 23 St. Mary’s, Ohio hosts 2006 Final Four participant George Mason and Miami visits Valparaiso. “We are thrilled with the match-ups and pleased with the respect the Mid-American Conference garnered from both conference commissioners and the team at ESPN,” said Rick Boyages, the MAC’s associate commissioner for men’s basketball. Game times and network assignments for each of the contests will be announced Monday. No. 15 Drake (20-1) will be at No. 11 Butler (19-2) on Feb. 23 in a contest featuring the best records and highest rankings when the pairings were made in the event’s six-year history. The concept brings together teams from leagues that historically have proven to be troublesome for major conference powers in the NCAA and gives the teams an opportunity to play similar programs in a

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nonconference game a few weeks before the NCAA selections are made. The intent also is partly to help polish up a team’s tournament credentials.

Photos

080203 NU hoops2/sports DAN CAPPELLAZZO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Lewiston - Niagara? Charron Fisher drives against Fairfield? Marty O?ullivan in late first half action at the Gallagher Center.

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