January 30, 2012

ESPN’s Sears BracketBusters Features 13 Games, Teams from 14 Conferences

A Matchup of Ranked Teams – No. 9 Murray State vs. No. 16 Saint Mary’s

Pairings for the 10^th annual Sears BracketBusters – a two-day men’s college basketball event pitting NCAA Championship hopefuls Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 – were announced live on ESPNU’s 2012 Sears BracketBusters Selection Show tonight, Monday, Jan. 30. The field features No. 9 Murray State, the only undefeated team in the nation, against No. 16 Saint Mary’s, with a 21-2 record. The lineup also included No. 12 Creighton and three additional teams receiving votes (Nevada, Wichita State and Long Beach State) in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll.  

Sears BracketBusters will feature 13 nationally televised games across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 selected from 142 eligible teams – the largest pool in the event’s history. ESPNU will air five games; ESPN2 and ESPN3 each have two exclusive; and four flex options to be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 (determined approximately one week before the game).

This year’s Sears BracketBusters television package consists of teams from 14 conferences, including five from the Missouri Valley Conference; three from the Colonial Athletic Conference and Mid-American Conference; and two from Horizon League, Summit League, Western Athletic Conference and West Coast Conference. Sears BracketBusters highlights:

• A top-25 matchup pitting No. 16 Saint Mary’s at No. 9 Murray State on Saturday, Feb., 18, at 6 p.m. on ESPN/ESPN2, as well as ESPN3
• No. 12 Creighton hosts Long Beach State, which is a national vote getter, at 10 p.m. on Saturday on ESPN2 and ESPN3
• Three teams receiving votes in the coaches poll – Nevada, Wichita State and Long Beach State
• Four 2011 NCAA Championship participants: UNC-Asheville, Akron, Old Dominion and VCU, which advanced to the Final Four
• Creighton, Murray State, Oral Roberts and Saint Mary’s have reached the 20-win plateau this season
• Twenty of the 26 teams are ranked in the top 100 of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI): Creighton (18), Wichita State (24), Saint Mary’s (31), Murray State (33), Long Beach State (40), Northern Iowa (42), Iona (43), Oral Roberts (45), Davidson (49), Cleveland State (60), South Dakota State (64), Akron (66), Ohio (74), Nevada (76), Weber State (82), Missouri State (83), VCU (87), New Mexico State (88), Buffalo (93) and Drake (97)

2012 Sears BracketBusters Schedule (All times are Eastern and are subject to change)

* - exclusive

Sears BracketBusters Teams in NCAA Championship play from 2006-11:

2011 NCAA Championship: 13 berths – Akron, Boston University, George Mason, Indiana State, Morehead State, Northern Colorado, Old Dominion, Saint Peter’s, UC-Santa Barbara, UNC Ashville, Utah State, VCU, and Wofford. Eight wins: George Mason defeated Villanova; Morehead State defeated Louisville; UNC Ashville defeated Arkansas-Little Rock; VCU advanced to the Final Four defeating USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas.

2010 NCAA Championship: 12 berths – Butler, Morgan State, Murray State, New Mexico State, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Old Dominion, Siena, Utah State, UC-Santa Barbara, Vermont, Winthrop. 10 wins overall: Butler advanced to the National Title game defeating UTEP, Murray State, Syracuse, Kansas State, Michigan State; Murray State defeated Vanderbilt; Northern Iowa defeated UNLV and Kansas; Ohio defeated Georgetown; and Old Dominion defeated Notre Dame.

2009 NCAA Championship: 13 berths – Akron, Binghamton, Butler, Cal State Northridge, Cleveland State, Morehead State, Morgan State, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, Portland State, Siena, Utah State, and Virginia Commonwealth. Three wins overall: Cleveland State defeated Wake Forest; Morehead State defeated Alabama State and Siena beat Ohio State.

2008 NCAA Championship: 15 Berths - Austin Peay, Boise State, Butler, Cal State-Fullerton, Davidson, Drake, George Mason, Kent State, Oral Roberts, Portland State, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, Siena, UMBC and Winthrop. Six wins overall: Davidson defeated Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin to reach the Elite Eight; Butler defeated South Alabama; Siena defeated Vanderbilt; and San Diego defeated Connecticut.

2007 NCAA Championship: 17 Berths - Albany, Butler, Creighton, Davidson, Eastern Kentucky, Holy Cross, Long Beach State, Miami (Ohio), Nevada, New Mexico State, Niagara, Old Dominion, Oral Roberts, Southern Illinois, Virginia Commonwealth, Winthrop and Wright State.  Seven wins overall: Butler defeated Old Dominion and Maryland to reach the Sweet Sixteen; Southern Illinois defeated Holy Cross and Virginia Tech to reach the Sweet Sixteen; Nevada defeated Creighton; Virginia Commonwealth defeated Duke; and Winthrop defeated Notre Dame.

2006 NCAA Championship: 19 Berths - Albany, Bradley, Bucknell, George Mason, Iona, Kent State, Montana, Murray State, Nevada, UNC-Wilmington, Northern Iowa, Northwestern State, Pacific, Oral Roberts, Utah State, Southern Illinois, UW-Milwaukee, Winthrop and Wichita State. Twelve wins overall: Bradley defeated Kansas and Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet Sixteen; Bucknell defeated Arkansas; George Mason defeated Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut to reach the Final Four; Montana defeated Nevada; Northwestern State defeated Iowa; UW-Milwaukee defeated Oklahoma; and Wichita State defeated Seton Hall and Tennessee to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

About Sears BracketBusters

The Sears BracketBusters concept, named because of the success of participating teams from these conferences in NCAA Championship play through the years, provides programs with an opportunity to play top non-conference opponents roughly three weeks before Selection Sunday. Each conference selects its participating teams before the season, and the matchups for the event are determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences. Sears BracketBusters X is an example of ESPN college basketball franchise programming. Others include Rivalry Week, Feast Week Presented by Lowe’s, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers and Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.