DETROIT-- The University of Detroit Mercy will again be part of the Sears BracketBusters event, a weekend of games that is celebrating its 10th year in existence. The three-day men's college basketball event pits potential NCAA Championship hopefuls against each other Feb. 17-19, and will feature 13 nationally televised games – on either ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The hopefuls will be selected from a pool of 142 teams from 16 conferences, the largest Sears BracketBusters pool in the event's history. Matchups will be announced on Jan. 30, 2012 with Calihan Hall serving as a host venue for one of the contests.
For the seventh straight year, ESPNU will feature five Sears BracketBusters games, while ESPN or ESPN2 will television up to six and ESPN3 will carry two. The 13 Sears BracketBusters matchups will be announced Monday, Jan. 30 with dates, times and networks. The television matchups are selected by ESPN, while a Committee of Conference Commissioners determines the additional non-televised games.
Sears BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Championship play, will provide the 26 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks before Selection Sunday. The 116 teams not selected for Sears BracketBusters will compete against each other through the same three days.
The 142-team field will feature teams from 16 conferences: 12 each from Colonial Athletic Association, Mid-American Conference and Southland; 11 each from Ohio Valley Conference and Big South; 10 each from Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Missouri Valley and Summit League; nine each from America East, Big Sky and Big West; eight from the Western Athletic Association; four from the Southern Conference; three from the MEAC; and two from the West Coast Conference.
As part of the agreement, all 13 of the Sears BracketBusters home teams in televised games, as well as the remaining 58 home squads, will play a return game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2013-14 season.
Sears BracketBusters is part of ESPN's college basketball franchise programming, along with Rivalry Week, Feast Week presented by Lowe's, Holiday Hoops Presented by Kay Jewelers, Judgment Week and Championship Week Presented by Dick's Sporting Goods.
Teams participating this season in Sears BracketBusters have produced 87 appearances in the last six NCAA Championships. UDM-- one of two Michigan schools to host a game this season (Central Michigan)-- will be in the event for the 10th straight season and is 5-4 all-time in BracketBusters games. All 10 Horizon League schools will compete in the 2012 Sears BracketBusters weekend.
Sears BracketBusters Teams
(Matchups announced Jan. 30, 2012)
America East
Albany
Binghamton
Maine
Boston University
New Hampshire
Hartford
Vermont
UMBC
Stony Brook
Big Sky
Montana
Eastern Washington
Northern Arizona
Idaho State
Northern Colorado
Montana State
Sacramento State
Portland State
Weber State
Big South
Charleston Southern
Campbell
Coastal Carolina
High Point
Gardner-Webb
Liberty
Radford
Presbyterian
VMI
UNC-Asheville
Winthrop
Big West
UC-Irvine
Cal Poly
UC-Northridge
UC-Davis
CS-Fullerton
UC-Santa Barbara
CS-Northridge
Long Beach State
Pacific
Colonial
Delaware
Drexel
George Mason
James Madison
Georgia State
Old Dominion
Hofstra
Towson
Northeastern
UNC Wilmington
VCU
William & Mary
Horizon
Butler
Loyola (Ill.)
Cleveland State
UIC
Detroit
Valparaiso
Green Bay
Wright State
Milwaukee
Youngstown State
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Canisius
Fairfield
Iona
Marist
Loyola (Md.)
Niagara
Manhattan
Rider
Saint Peter's
Siena
Mid-American
Ball State
Akron
Bowling Green
Buffalo
Central Michigan
Eastern Michigan
Kent State
Northern Illinois
Miami (Ohio)
Toledo
Ohio
Western Michigan
MEAC
Morgan State
Delaware State
Hampton
Missouri Valley
Bradley
Drake
Creighton
Indiana State
Evansville
Northern Iowa
Illinois State
Southern Illinois
Missouri State
Wichita State
Ohio Valley
Austin Peay
Morehead State
Eastern Illinois
SE Missouri State
Eastern Kentucky
Tennessee-Martin
Jacksonville State
Tennessee Tech
Murray State
Tennessee State
SIU Edwardsville
Southern
Appalachian State
College of Charleston
Davidson
Wofford
Southland
McNeese State
Central Arkansas
Nicholls State
Lamar
Northwestern State
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sam Houston State
Texas-Arlington
Southeastern Louisiana
Texas-San Antonio
Stephen F. Austin
Texas State
Summit League
Missouri-Kansas City
Indiana Purdue-Ft. Wayne
North Dakota State
Indiana Purdue-Indianapolis
Oral Roberts
Oakland
South Dakota State
Southern Utah
South Dakota
Western Illinois
WAC
Idaho
Fresno State
Louisiana Tech
Hawaii
New Mexico State
Nevada
Utah State
San Jose State
West Coast Conference
Loyola Marymount
St. Mary's (Calif.)
Sears BracketBusters 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 defeated USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas.
2010 NCAA Championship: 11 berths – Morgan State, Murray State, New Mexico State, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Old Dominion, Siena, Utah State, UC-Santa Barbara, Vermont, Winthrop. Five wins overall: Murray State defeated Vanderbilt; Northern Iowa defeated UNLV and Kansas; Ohio defeated Georgetown; and Old Dominion defeated Notre Dame.
2009 NCAA Championship: 12 berths – Akron, 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 Tournament 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 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.
