Pairings for the 10th annual Sears BracketBusters – a two-day men’s basketball event pitting NCAA Tournament hopefuls Feb. 17-18 – were announced today on ESPNU’s Sears BracketBusters Selection Show. Long Beach State treks to No. 12 Creighton of the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7:00 p.m. (PST) on ESPN2.
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).
Long Beach State (16-6, 9-0 Big West) faces its sixth non-conference ranked opponent this season in the 12th-ranked Bluejays. The 49ers are receiving votes in both the ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press polls. Creighton leads the all-time series 3-1, but the two teams have not met since 1973. The 49ers are appearing in a televised SEARS BracketBusters game for the third time in four seasons. In 2009, they hosted Green Bay on ESPNU and Montana last season on ESPN2.
SEARS BracketBusters Televised Pairings • All Times Eastern
Friday, February 17
Northern Iowa at Virginia Commonwealth • 7 p.m. • ESPN2/ESPN3
Valparaiso at Loyola Marymount • 9 p.m. • ESPNU
Saturday, February 18
Drexel at Cleveland State • 11 a.m. • ESPNU
Wichita State at Davidson • 12 p.m. • ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN3
Buffalo at South Dakota State • 1 p.m. • ESPNU
Akron at Oral Roberts • 2 p.m. • ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU
Drake at New Mexico State • 3 p.m. • ESPNU
Nevada at Iona • 4 p.m. • ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN3
Old Dominion at Missouri State • 5 p.m. • ESPNU
No. 16 Saint Mary’s at No. 9 Murray State • 6 p.m. • ESPN/ESPN2/ESPN3
UNC-Asheville at Ohio • 7 p.m. • ESPN3
Texas-Arlington at Weber State • 8 p.m. • ESPN3
Long Beach State at No. 12 Creighton • 10 p.m. • ESPN2/ESPN3
The other eight Big West teams not selected to compete in a televised SEARS BracketBusters game will play non-conference opponents on Saturday, Feb. 18. Those matchups are as follows:
Non-Televised Big West Home Games
Montana State at Cal State Fullerton
Fresno State at Cal State Northridge
Eastern Washington at UC Irvine
Southern Utah at UC Riverside
Idaho State at Pacific
Non-Televised Big West Away Games
Cal Poly at Northern Colorado
UC Davis at Northern Arizona
UC Santa Barbara at Utah State
The SEARS BracketBusters concept, named because of the success of participating teams from these conferences in NCAA Championship play through the years, provides participating 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.