CSNbbs

Men's Basketball to Host Eastern Illinois Feb. 21 in ESPNU BracketBusters
Courtesy: Matt Holmes, associate director of athletic media relations
Release: 02/02/2009
KALAMAZOO -- ESPN announced the 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters matchups tonight and Western Michigan will host Eastern Illinois at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21 at University Arena.

The Broncos (7-13, 4-3 MAC) are competing in the event for the sixth year in a row and have won two straight games with wins over Valparaiso in 2007 and at Green Bay in 2008. This will be the first time Western Michigan will play a team from the Ohio Valley Conference in BracketBusters.

Western Michigan is 2-0 all-time against the Panthers (10-11, 7-4 OVC) with the last meeting also taking place in Kalamazoo on Nov. 30, 1994 when WMU prevailed 66-58.

http://www.wmubroncos.com/ViewArticle.db...ID=3660399

I'd love to see the Buffalo at Vermont game. That will be a good one.

Other games featuring MAC schools:

Buffalo at Vermont
Miami at Evansville
Akron at Valparaiso
Ohio at Eastern Kentucky
Toledo at Indiana State
Northern Illinois at Southeast Missouri State
Canisius at Bowling Green
Morehead State at Kent State
Tennessee Tech at Ball State
Fairleigh Dickinson at Central Michigan
Georgia State at Eastern Michigan

Remember when bracketbuster was a big deal on the boards? We'd sit and wait for it anxiously to see who we'd be playing. This year, a whimper and a "meh". Is that because of the significance (or lack there of) of the bracketbuster concept, or the disenfranchisement of our fan base with the way things have currently gone this season?

Sure, the Bracket Buster has meaning if you are on the bubble. Otherwise, it's just a kind of cool thing to add to the schedule, and a way to get a return game and some contacts outside the usual realm. I still think it is a great idea and a fun exciting thing for the team, but yeah, admittedly, when you are 7-13, there isn't a real big thrill to it from the perspective of a game that might let you "bust" the brackets. Our only shots are to win the West (NIT) or the tourney (NCAA's). The Bracket Buster won't play into much of anything for us this year.