Sept. 4, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State and the Western Athletic Conference will participate in the seventh annual ESPNU BracketBusters event, a two-day men's college basketball extravaganza pitting potential NCAA Tournament hopefuls against each other on February 20-21, will feature 13 nationally televised games - on either ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN360.com -- selected from a pool of 102 teams. The field is highlighted by the return of last season's BracketBusters participant Davidson, who made it to the Elite Eight in last year's NCAA Tournament.

For the fourth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will televise five BracketBusters games while ESPN360.com, ESPN's customized broadband service, will offer two. ESPN2 will televise six contests. ESPN360.com will also simulcast ESPN2's six telecasts.

Fresno State's game is slated for Feb. 21 on the road against an opponent that will be announced on Feb. 2, with game time and network assignments coming February 9.

BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play, will provide the 26 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks prior to Selection Sunday. The 76 teams not selected for BracketBusters will compete against each other over the same two days.

The 102-team field will feature 12 teams from the Mid-American and Colonial Athletic; 10 from the Ohio Valley, Missouri Valley, Horizon League and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from the Western Athletic and Big West; four from the America East and Southern; three from the Big South; two from the Big Sky, Summit League and West Coast; and one from the Mid-Eastern Athletic, Northeast and Patriot. As part of the agreement, all 13 of the BracketBusters home teams, as well as the remaining 38 home squads, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the following season.

This year's BracketBusters pool features teams with 77 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments, including a team in the Final Four - George Mason (2006); one in the Elite Eight - Davidson (2008); and six Sweet Sixteen squads - Butler (2007), Southern Illinois (2007), Bradley (2006), Wichita State (2006), UW-Milwaukee (2005) and Nevada (2004).

America East (4)
Home: Vermont, Boston University
Road: UMBC, U of Hartford

Big Sky (2)
Home: Portland State Road: Montana State

Big South (3)
Home: Winthrop
Road: Liberty, Gardner-Webb

Big West (9)
Home: Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC-Davis, UC-Santa Barbara
Road: CS-Fullerton, CS-Northridge, UC-Irvine, UC-Riverside, Pacific

Colonial (12)
Home: Drexel, James Madison, UNC-Wilmington, Old Dominion, Towson, William & Mary
Road: Delaware, George Mason, Georgia State, Hofstra, Northeastern, VCU

Horizon (10)
Home: Loyola, UIC, Valparaiso, Wright State, Youngstown State, Milwaukee
Road: Butler, Cleveland State, Detroit, Green Bay

Metro Atlantic (10)
Home: Fairfield, Marist, Niagara, Rider, Siena
Road: Canisius, Iona, Loyola, Manhattan, Saint Peter's

Mid-American (12)
Home: Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Kent State
Road: Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Toledo

MEAC (1)
Road: Morgan State

Missouri Valley (10)
Home: Creighton, Drake, Evansville, Indiana State, Wichita State
Road: Bradley, Illinois State, Missouri State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois

Northeast (1)
Road: Fairleigh Dickinson

OVC (10)
Home: Murray State, Eastern Kentucky, Southeast Missouri, Tennessee State, UT-Martin
Road: Morehead State, Tennessee Tech, Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Jacksonville State

Patriot (1)
Home: Bucknell

Southern (4)
Home: Davidson, Georgia Southern
Road: Appalachian State, Elon

Summit League (2)
Road: North Dakota State, South Dakota State

West Coast (2)
Home: San Diego, Saint Mary's

WAC (9)
Home: Hawai'i, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico State, San Jose State
Road: Boise State, Fresno State, Louisiana Tech, Utah State

Below are statistics of this year's BracketBusters pool of 102 teams in the 2008 NCAA Tournament:

2008 NCAA Tournament: 14 Berths - Austin Peay, Boise State, Butler, Cal State-Fullerton, Davidson, Drake, George Mason, Kent State, Portland State, St. Mary's, San Diego, Siena, UMBC and Winthrop. A 6-14 overall record: Davidson defeated Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin to reach the Elite Eight; Butler defeated South Alabama; Siena defeated Vanderbilt; and San Diego defeated Connecticut.

"Join the State - Fresno State" --- The `Dogs host Oregon State on Nov. 30, UNLV on Dec. 3, and welcome WAC competition starting Jan. 3. Tickets will soon be available for purchase by clicking on the "Tickets" icon at the top of this page, calling the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office. For the latest information on Fresno State men's basketball, log-on to www.gobulldogs.com.