Bracket Busters schedule released

The schedule has been released for Bracket Busters, ESPN's annual showcase of all things mid-major. The televised games are listed below, while a complete schedule can be found by clicking this link:


I was covering the Georgetown-Louisville game last night when this news broke, which means that I'm late to the party. I could give a top five games list like everyone else did, but do you really need to see me say the exact say thing as Andy Katz, Jeff Eisenberg, or Dave Ommen?

Didn't think so.

Instead, I'll give you this list -- the top seven players-you-have-never-seen-and-thus-need-to-see-play in Bracket Busters:

• Kent Bazemore, Old Dominion: Bazemore is a sensational athlete and one of the best defenders in the country, which is enough in and of itself to attract my attention. But Bazemore has also added to his offensive repertoire. The 6'5" junior is averaging a career-high 11.8 ppg and shooting 37% from three, which are impressive given his limitations coming into the season.

• Norris Cole, Cleveland State: How many players at any level of the sport do you know that average 20-5-5? Well, Cole does, has his 20.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg, and 5.2 apg (to go along with 2.9 spg) is the single biggest reason that the Vikings are 20-3 on the season, in first place in the Horizon, and in the conversation for an at-large bid.


• Mike Glover, Iona: Glover, the younger brother of former St. John's forward Anthony Glover, has taken a bit of a windy road to get to Iona, but the streetballer known has Optimus Prime has been living up to his nickname with the Gaels. The 6'7" combo-forward is averaging 19.7 ppg and 10.1 rpg, including 13 double-doubles and a 25 point, 16 rebound effort against Syracuse.

• Andrew Goudelock, Charleston: If you are a college basketball fan, then you should know who Andrew Goudelock is. In fact, if you consider yourself a real fan, and you have never seen this young man play, then this game is your homework assignment. He's averaging 23.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 4.4 apg while shooting 41.0% from three. Last year, he led an upset of North Carolina. This season? Charleston barely missed against Maryland, UNC, and Clemson, but they did knock off Tennessee.


• Charles Jenkins, Hofstra: Everything I just said about Goudelock can be repeated for Jenkins. He's a big time scoring guard that has thrown this Hofstra team on his back this season. He's averaging 23.3 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.7 rpg, and shooting 43.3% from the field while appearing to be well on his way to winning a third straight Haggerty Award as the best player in the NYC metro region.


• Cam Long, George Mason: The Patriots got off to a bit of a slow start this season, but the biggest reason they have rebounded and are now contending for the CAA title has been the emergence of long. This 6'4" guard has always had the talent, but consistency was the issue. Since GMU lost three of four back in early January, Long has averaged 19.1 ppg during a seven game winning streak.

• Derek Needham, Fairfield: The Stags are 17-4 on the season and 10-1 in MAAC play thanks in very large part to their 5'11" sophomore point guard. Needham is averaging 14.9 ppg and 4.9 apg this season, which, believe it or not, is down from his performance as a freshman.