Mason at Creighton in ESPN BracketBusters
By Kevin Dunleavy
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It started harmlessly enough, a clever promotional vehicle of sports giant ESPN. Six years later, it’s the beast that ate the mid-majors.
It’s the ESPN BracketBusters, a weekend extravaganza that began in 2003 with 18 teams, but now has swelled to 102, a monument to mid-major excess.
GMU at CreightonWhen » Saturday, 9:30Where » Qwest Center, Omaha, Neb.TV/Radio » ESPNU/1260 AM
» The Jays have won seven straight behind senior G Booker Woodfox (15.9 points per game), sophomore G P’Allen Stinnett (12.7 ppg), and sophomore C Kenny Lawson Jr. (8.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.6 bpg). Coach Dana Altman (304-158), who has led the perennial power to 10 straight 20-win seasons, rotates 10 players in an up-tempo system.
BracketBusters matches elite teams from mid-major conferences, giving fans a rare opportunity to assess squads on the proverbial “bubble” for the NCAA Tournament.
Joining the party this year is George Mason (18-8), which gets a prime-time slot, Saturday night at Creighton (22-6).
ESPN is pumping up the volume for other enticing matchups, including No. 17 Utah State (25-2) at St. Mary’s (20-5), and No. 15 Butler (22-4) challenging Stephen Curry and Davidson (22-5).
At the opposite end of the BracketBuster spectrum are non-televised matchups such as Elon (8-16) at UNC Wilmington (6-22). What these teams are on the bubble for, no one is quite sure.
But there are genuine stakes in Mason-Creighton. A win here would be a huge boost for a Patriots squad that has struggled on the road (5-8) and needs a signature victory for its NCAA resume.
“Creighton is the highest-rated team in the RPI that a CAA team will face,” said Mason coach Jim Larranaga. “For that, we feel good. It gives us an opportunity to go to Nebraska and represent our league. We feel very strongly that this is a great conference.”
