Ahhhhh yes, it's that time of year again, when the mid-majors get their 15 minutes on the Ocho. As mid-majors seemingly grow ever stronger, this years Bracketbuster is sure to highlight some of the better teams college basketball has to offer. Two spotlight games feature the top teams from their respected conferences, but also, 4 of the top teams in the country. While those are certainly the marquee match-ups, there are some other very intriguing games that could end up having a big impact come Selection Sunday. Without further ado, here is Tourneybubble.com's preview of the Bracketbuster games scheduled this year.
The Marquee Match-ups:
Siena Saints at Butler Bulldogs
What a game this will be, two of the best mid-majors in the country, going at it in historic Hinkle Field house in front of a national TV audience. Butler is a lock for the tournament, everyone knows that, what is not a lock is their seed however, as several times in the past few years Butler has been royally screwed by the Selection Committee in terms of its seeding. With several good OOC marquee wins already on their resume, Butler is surely a top 6 seed. But running the table in their conference, beating a very good Siena squad on national TV and then running through their conference tourney could get Butler anywhere between a 3 and 5. One thing is for sure, Butler will be a tough out in the NCAA tourney this year.
On the flip side of the coin, Siena is a team that lacks a signature win. They went 0-4 in their attempts at an OOC marquee win, dropping games to Temple, St. John's, Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa, the latter of which they lost by 17 points. Those are, however, their only losses of the season and they have handled business against everyone else in putting up a 19-4 record. Right now their best wins are against Northeastern at home and on the road at Iona. Not exactly bubble-worthy wins, but all that can change thanks to the Bracketbusters. Siena will get 1 more shot at a big time OOC win to help secure a spot for them in the NCAA tourney. Hinkle Field house, on ESPN2, against an extremely solid Butler team and a sold out crowd of rabid Bulldog fans would be the perfect place for the Saints to finally get that marquee OOC win they so desperately need. This has game of the year potential all over it, a close game, in an amazing atmosphere on national TV between two great teams. Alex Franklin and Edwin Ubiles vs. Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard has the makings of an NCAA tourney battle where teams go shot for shot, blow for blow down to the last possession. Miss this game at your own peril.
Old Dominion Monarchs at Northern Iowa Panthers
For those who don't know, I am an ODU alum, so I'll try to present this match-up as unbiased as I possibly can, but forgive me if I get a little overexcited about this game. ODU fans have been waiting for a game like this for sometime, a high-profile Bracketbuster match-up against the top team from the Missouri Valley on National TV. After watching our CAA brethren take on the likes of Creighton and Wichita State the last several years in high profile MVC-CAA games, ODU has had several less interesting match-ups against teams like Marist, Toledo, Bucknell and Liberty. While all were fun games to watch, games which broke the monotony of 18 conference games in a row, none were all that meaningful outside of the Toledo game which helped ODU secure an at-large in 06-07. But finally, ODU has the game they have been looking for, a top-level opponent, on their home court, with all the marbles on the line. ODU needs this win badly to help wrap up and at-large bid. Northern Iowa can secure their spot in the tourney and really help improve their seeding in the tournament with another marquee win. Regardless, the winner of this game will not only help themselves secure a big for the NCAA tourney, but also might be the key RPI boost needed to help their respective conferences become multi-bid leagues.
There are many subplots to this game, whether it be the match-up of two of the top teams in the top mid-major leagues or the match-up of the number 2 defensive team in the country, Northern Iowa, against the number 3 rated defense in the country of the ODU Monarchs. Both teams can be lights out on defense, as both can employ devastating zone defenses which are capable of sending teams on long scoring droughts that can affect the outcome of the game. Another subplot to this game will be the running battle that will occur between Northern Iowa's 7 footer Jordan Eglseder and ODU's 6-10 big man, Gerald Lee. Both are capable of filling up a stat sheet, but Eglseder is more of a banger inside while Lee, who can bang, is a more polished European big man who can step outside and knock down a J. It will be interesting to see how these 2 big men are able to handle one another's presence in the paint and to see how they impact each others games. The other key match-ups will be how well Northern Iowa's guards are able to shoot the ball over ODU's long-armed, tall guards and how well they are able to rebound against one of the best rebounding teams in the country. If ODU can control the boards, they can win this game. However, if Northern Iowa's also very stout big men can clean the glass effectively against the Monarchs, they will take away one of ODU's main strengths (offensive rebounding) and limit the number of shots they get from the field. In what should surely be a very close game, that type of thing could end up being huge. ODU doesn't shoot that well from the 3, so if they are given extra opportunities to knock some down, it could end up being the difference in the game.
Regardless, this match-up has all the makings of a Bracketbuster Classic. Much like when Drexel went into Creighton and picked up a hard fought road win or when George Mason helped secure their first at-large bid in school history by winning at Wichita State, this game has all the makings of another CAA-MVC barn burner. The winner should be in the NCAA tourney, the loser will still have some work to do. Regardless, it will be a heck of a game to watch between two of the best defensive teams in the country and another game that should go down to the wire.
The Best of the Rest:
College of Charleston Cougars at George Mason Patriots
The Patriots of George Mason can owe pretty much ALL of their recent success to the bracketbusters, as it was their amazing road at Wichita State in 2005-06 that spurred them on to reach the Final 4 and establish themselves as one of the premier mid-major college basketball teams in the country. This year might be considered a "down year" for them, but believe it or not, they are in first place right now in the rugged CAA despite having one of the youngest teams in the nation. GMU fans, however, understand that this overachieving bunch has benefited from an easy early CAA schedule to achieve this accomplishment, but don't be surprised if they are still near the top of the standings at the end of the season. This should surely be a great test for them OOC to see how they stack up against a very solid Charleston team.
The Cougars pulled off a huge upset earlier this season, knocking off the defending NCAA Champion North Carolina Tar Heels earlier this season. While UNC certainly isn't the same team as they were last year, it was still a very good win for this Cougars teams an a win that could serve them well if they manage to win their conference tourney and make the NCAA tourney this year. While they are not an at-large team, a win for them against the CAA's first place team would definitely help their case for a better seed come NCAA tourney time were they to win their conference tourney or at the very least, would help them lock up an NIT bid. Should be another great Bracketbuster game as GMU is very tough to beat in the Patriot Center.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Northeastern Huskies
In what should surely be a "dogfight", the Bulldogs of La. Tech travel to Boston to take on the Northeastern Huskies in a crucial OOC match-up for both the CAA and for La Tech. On one hand, Northeastern is pretty much out of contention for an at-large, but a victory over a very good La Tech squad would only further bolster the CAA's claim for multi-bids this year. Teams like Old Dominion, William and Mary and VCU would all benefit greatly from Northeastern taking down one of the best teams from the WAC. On the other hand, the Bulldogs are looking for a good solid road win over a top 60 RPI team that currently sits in second place in the CAA and has good wins over Utah State, VCU and ODU.
Louisiana Tech is another team that much like Siena, lacks a marquee OOC victory. They didn't play a very challenging OOC schedule this year, with their two toughest games both resulting in losses against New Mexico and Arizona. A win over Northeastern could really help bolster their claim for an at-large bid by giving them a road victory in a place that is very tough for opposing teams to play. Their 18-4 record looks very good and they have good in conference victories over Nevada and Utah State, but this game would definitely help them to secure a spot in the NCAA tourney. Matt Janning vs. Kyle Gibson should be a great duel of mid-major gunners who can shoot the lights out of the gym. Another fine match-up put together by ESPN.
Wichita State Shockers at Utah State Aggies
Another great game between two solid mids, the Shockers and Aggies have both been two of the better mid-majors in college basketball in recent years. The Shockers made the Sweet 16 in 05-06 and Utah State came within a hair of knocking off Marquette in last years tourney. Wichita State is a bubble worthy team with wins over Texas Tech, Iowa and Northern Illinois, but a good solid OOC win against Utah State would do wonders for their at-large potential. Likewise, Utah State is also just hanging on to a bubble worthy resume, with their win over BYU looking better and better by the day. They have 3 more shots at big time wins with games against Nevada, Wichita State and La Tech all on the horizon and all at home, games which could help push them into the NCAA tourney. Right now they are on the outside looking in, but Stu Morrow is a great mid-major coach and could very well get his boys into the tourney were they to win all 3 games.
Regardless, the match-up of Jared Quayle vs. J.T. Durley should be a 3 point shooting contest on par with any you will find in the country. Should be a great watch as the Smith Spectrum is an incredibly tough place to play, with a great home atmosphere in which USU has lost only once this year to a very good St. Mary's squad.
A few other comments....
William and Mary really got shafted this year as did VCU, both barely bubble teams who were looking for high profile games in the Bracketbuster to improve their resumes and help them move up the ladder, but who instead got high rpi teams in Akron and Iona that will do little for both in terms of helping their resumes. Both are winnable games for the two CAA squads, but you can't help but think both would rather have played a Murray State (who also got shafted by getting Morgan State) or Nevada/MVC team to really help boost their profile. VCU-Murray State would have been an amazing match-up, as would William and Mary/Nevada. I guess they can't all be winners though, so we'll just have to enjoy ODU-UNI and Butler-Siena.
