Every year, ESPN hosts the Bracket Buster weekend, a chance for 'mid-major' teams across the country to show us what they've got. The best matchups pit top teams from non-major conferences against each other, with not only bragging rights, but NCAA Tournament bids, on the line. This year's Bracket Buster figures to be as good as we've ever had! Here are some of the headliners: 1:00 Eastern (ESPNU) Appalachian State (20-6) @ Wichita State (17-10) 3:00 Eastern (ESPNU) Holy Cross (20-7) @ Hofstra (19-8) <font size=""3"">4:00 Eastern (ESPN2) Southern Illinois (22-5) @ Butler (24-3)</font> 5:00 Eastern (ESPNU) Austin Peay (18-7) @ Akron (19-5) 6:00 Eastern (ESPN) Memphis (22-3) @ Gonzaga (18-9) 6:00 Eastern (ESPN2) Northern Iowa (16-11) @ Nevada (23-2) 6:00 Eastern (ESPN 360) Old Dominion (20-7) @ Toldedo (14-10) 7:00 Eastern (ESPNU) Utah State (19-7) @ Oral Roberts (19-8) 8:00 Eastern (ESPN2) Bradley (18-10) @ Virginia Commonwealth (22-5) 10:00 Eastern (ESPN2) Drexel (19-7) @ Creighton (18-8) Midnight Eastern (ESPN2) Ohio (16-9) @ New Mexico State (19-6)
Southern Illinois vs. Butler is obviously the game to watch today...The Salukis have been hot and I think are overall the better team, but head-to-head, i'll go w/Butler. They're a team that will know what to do to exploit SIU's intense pressure and double teams. Butler don't turn it over too much, and even though they probably will a little more than usual, their ball movement is something that is you don't see too much. It will just be a matter of it they hit the shots. I'll go with Butler 60-56 in a low scoring affair...
Appalachian State knocks off Wichita State, 60-58. Looks like the Shockers' hopes for an at-large, if they had any, are gone. Could App State make a move towards the Big Dance with this huge road win? Outside of Southern Illinois and Creighton, the Missouri Valley is really starting to look very unimpressive.
Two good games on ESPN and ESPN2 right now. Memphis has a 30-27 lead over Gonzaga and Nevada leads 32-31 over Northern Iowa. I would recommend any true college hoops fan to watch one of these two games!
Nevada went on to win big 79-64. Nevada had a balanced attack from it's big 4 with Kemp, Shiloh, Fazekas and Sessions all scoring over 15 points each. Memphis beat Gonzaga in a thriller, 78-77 in OT. Chris Douglas-Roberts hit a layup with 5.6 seconds remaining in overtime to give Memphis their 15th straight win.
I love everything about Southern Illinois this year. That team is just what I'd want if I were coaching. VERY impressive win @ Butler - hey, we all know it's 'mid major' competition, but Butler is a very good team this year, and Hinkel Fieldhouse is a tough place to play. Go Salukis!
