First things first: NO! I am not going to go over every single Bracket Buster game in this report. What started out as a great idea has become so bloated that it has lost it¹s a great deal of its value for the non betting fan, but no "mid major" coach wants to not be in these games, so we are left with the current overkill situation.
With that off my chest, wanted to let you know that this report will deal strictly with the televised games in the Bracket Buster series, starting on Friday. I will list each team's current RPI and conference standing, and for some of the games will have comments.
Friday:
Winthrop (21-4, First Place, 78 RPI) at Missouri State (19-8, Third place, 33 RPI)
On January 30th the Charlotte Observer printed this: "Last year, Winthrop beat Northern Illinois 98-97 in double-overtime in a Bracket Buster game at the Winthrop Coliseum. That game, coupled with the teams' [good] record the past 2 1/2 seasons, helped the Eagles get a favorable draw in this year's Bracket Buster. "This is a gift-wrapped game for Winthrop," said an ESPN source. "In most of the match-ups, we went by RPI, with one notable exception, this one." I am not sure how a road game against a tough team from a tough league is "gift wrapped" but I do think Winthrop has the depth and talent to stay with a Bears team that is off an emotional game vs. Southern Illinois. (Winthrop was going to be a Guaranteed Play for today, but I wanted to give readers of this article the play for free as way of thanking you for taking the time to read this.)
Albany (18-8, Second Place, 99 RPI) at Boise State (14-10, Fourth place, 114 RPI)
Boise has the third lowest RPI of any team in the "televised" field.
Saturday:
Southern Illinois (22-5, First Place, 8 RPI) at Butler (24-3, Second place, 30 RPI)
Over/Under might be in the 80's for this one, and I am sure both coaches were rooting against this matchup happening as both are in tight conference races and probably would have preferred an easier Bracket Buster draw.
Kent State (15-9, Second Place in division, 106 RPI) at George Mason (13-12, Sixth place, 125 RPI)
Kent has made the Elite Eight this decade and of course GMU made the Final Four this year, but this matchup does not hold a great deal of interest in down years for the respective teams.
Austin Peay (18-7, First Place, 104 RPI) at Akron (19-5, Second place in division, 88 RPI)
Northern Iowa (16-11, Sixth Place, 89 RPI) at Nevada (22-2, First place, 27 RPI)
And the ESPN source said they went with RPI's to determine the matchups? Nevada will kill this team if they are interested, something they did not appear to be in their last game.
Old Dominion (20-7, Second Place, 53 RPI) at Toledo (14-10, First place division, 91 RPI)
Rockets leading a very weak partition of the MAC.
Utah State (18-7, Third Place, 67 RPI) at Oral Roberts (18-8, First place, 94 RPI)
Fullerton (19-5, First Place, 132 RPI) at Wright State (19-8, First place, 87 RPI)
Fullerton has the lowest RPI in the television field and this warm weather team takes a trip to WSU to deal with the biggest Midwestern snowstorm since 1977. Sure, it will not be snowing in the gym, but the elements will still be new to these kids.
Bradley (17-10, Fifth Place, 50 RPI) at Virginia Commonwealth (21-5, First place, 46 RPI)
Drexel (19-6, Fourth Place, 52 RPI) at Creighton (18-8, Second place, 23 RPI)
It will be tough for these Dragons to slay the Bluejays in their nest.
Ohio (16-9, Fourth Place in division, 99 RPI) at New Mexico State (19-6, Second place, 72 RPI)
Bobcats capable of playing with just about every team in the nation, but just as capable of getting drilled by 20 on any given night. Do not stay up late trying to figure this one out!
