Thursday, September 15, 2005

The Valparaiso University men's basketball will host a game February 18, 2006 at the Athletics-Recreation Center as part of ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday, it was announced today.

The Crusaders will host one of 50 games scheduled to be played around the country, with a total of 11 games airing live on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. Official announcements of game pairings will be announced January 29, 2006, and the selection of the 11 televised games will be made by the staff of ESPN and the commissioners of participating conferences.

For the second straight year, the Mid-Continent Conference is represented by Valparaiso and Oral Roberts, with the Golden Eagles this year designated as a road team. The Crusaders went on the road last season and lost to Butler, 74-72 in overtime, as part of the Bracket Buster event.

Per Bracket Buster program rules, the Crusaders will play on the road against this year's opponent during the 2006-07 season in a non-Bracket Buster game. The Crusaders will also host Butler at the ARC in November of 2006 as a make-up from last year's contest.