Complete list of the Bracket Buster matchups

On Monday, ESPN released their schedule of televised Bracket Buster games, and we got a couple of very good ones. If you are planning on filling out a bracket (which, if you read this site, is probably true multiple times over), than this is a pretty big weekend for you. Upsets are what make the tournament exciting, but not just because everyone loves an underdog story.

We do.

Watching Stephen Curry carry undermanned Davidson to within a shot of the Final Four is the stuff Disney movies legends are made of.

But lets not kid ourselves. The reason upsets are so exciting is because you called that 12 seed beating that 5 seed; or you picked the 4 seed that's about to lose to a 13 seed to make the Elite 8; or you thought that 10 seed would beat that 2 seed. The key to winning a bracket is predicting those upsets. Everyone had UNC making the Final Four last season, but it was the guy that had Arizona in the Sweet 16, Dayton beating West Virginia, and Wisconsin getting past Florida State that probably won money.

So what is so great about Bracket Busters weekend?

It allows the nation a chance to see the team's that will make or break our brackets. Bragging rights will be earned and money will be made by the people that take Saturday to enjoy some of the best mid-major hoops in the country. Hit the jump for the full breakdown of games.


Games with Bubble implications

• 2/19 - 7:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Northern Iowa (ESPN2): Barring a collapse, Northern Iowa is in. They are 20-2 on the season and 10-1 in the MVC, with their only loss coming at a Wichita State, another bubble team with one of the best home courts in the country. Old Dominion, on the other hand, has a little bit of work to do to feel safe. The Monarchs are 17-6 on the season, but they don't exactly have any bad losses. The worst, believe it or not, is probably to Mississippi State. They are 9-2 in the CAA, but those losses came at George Mason and at Northeastern, the two other teams competing for the CAA title. They've knocked off Georgetown and William & Mary on the road as well. The Monarchs still could earn an at-large bid if they lose to UNI with a strong finish in league play, but beating a team on the road with an RPI in the top 20 is always a good thing.


• 2/20 - 11:00 am: Siena @ Butler (ESPNU): I feel like I could just retype the previous preview, exchange Butler with Northern Iowa and Siena with Old Dominion, and nothing would change. Butler should be in. They are 18-4, they have a top 20 RPI, and if the regular season has shown us anything, they shouldn't have a problem cruising to a win in their conference tournament. Siena, on the other hand, whiffed on all of their chances for a signature win. But they have no bad losses (at Temple, at Georgia Tech, at Northern Iowa, only vs. St. John's is questionable), an RPI in the 40's, and a 13 game winning streak. There is a shot that they could still get in even with a loss, and will definitely be the favorites to win the MAAC Tournament, but I'm sure every Saints fan will like to see them pad that resume a little bit.


• 2/20 - 11:59 pm: Wichita State @ Utah State (ESPN2): If you want an idea of how weak the bubble is this season, both the Shockers and the Aggies have a shot at earning an at-large bid this season. The Shockers probably have the better chance at making a run to a bid, simply because they get another shot an Northern Iowa on Wednesday. They probably need to sweep UNI (they beat them in their first meeting at home earlier in the season) and pick up the win at Utah State if they want any serious consideration. The Aggies have a very nice win over BYU, but other than that they have not played much of anyone. The WAC probably doesn't warrant an at-large bid this season, but if anyone is going to get it, it will be USU. To do that, however, the Aggies are probably going to have to win out.
  

Other televised games

• 2/19 - 9:00 pm: William & Mary @ Iona (ESPN2)
  
• 2/20 - 12:00 pm: Morgan State @ Murray State (ESPNU)
• 2/20 - 1:00 pm: Louisiana Tech @ Northeastern (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 3:00 pm: Nevada @ Missouri State (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 4:00 pm: Akron @ VCU (ESPNU)
• 2/20 - 8:00 pm: Charleston @ George Mason (ESPN2)
• 2/20 - 8:00 pm: Western Carolina @ Kent State (ESPNU)
  
• 2/20 - 10:00 pm: New Mexico State @ Pacific (ESPNU)

Non-televised games: These games have not had their times or dates announced by the schools as of yet. They will be trickling out over the course of the next week or so.

Tennessee Tech at Appalachian State
Oral Roberts at Austin Peay
Tennessee-Martin at Ball State
California-Davis at Boise State
Valparaiso at Bowling Green
Drexel at Bradley
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at Cal State Fullerton
Drake at Cal State Northridge
Marist at California-Irvine
Youngstown State at California-Riverside
Fresno State at California-Santa Barbara
James Madison at Canisius
Tennessee State at Central Michigan
Toledo at Cleveland State
Loyola (Ill.) at Creighton
Boston University at Delaware
Eastern Michigan at Detroit
Northern Illinois at Eastern Illinois
Winthrop at Eastern Kentucky
Illinois-Chicago at Evansville
Elon at Gardner-Webb
South Carolina State at Georgia State
Cal Poly at Hawaii
Rider at Hofstra
Long Beach State at Idaho
Morehead State at Illinois State
Presbyterian at Jacksonville State
New Hampshire at Loyola (Md.)
Towson at Manhattan
Southeast Missouri at Miami (Oh.)
San Jose State at Montana State
Wright State at Ohio
North Carolina-Wilmington at Radford
Buffalo at Saint Peter's
Western Michigan at Southern Illinois
Fairfield at Vermont
Indiana State at Wisconsin-Green Bay
Niagara at Wisconsin-Milwaukee