DES MOINES, Iowa – The
Drake University men's basketball team will host Green Bay in the Ramada Worldwide
BracketBusters event Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:05 p.m. at the Knapp Center.
Pairings for the event, in its 11th and final year, were announced
this evening on ESPNU.
The Bulldogs are currently
11-11 overall and 5-6 in the Missouri Valley Conference, tied for fifth
place. Their BracketBusters opponent, the Green Bay Phoenix, is 12-11 overall
and 6-4 in the Horizon League to reside in third place. Green Bay is coached by
Brian Wardle, in his second season in the position.
Drake and Green Bay have met just one time with the Bulldogs
prevailing in the matchup. The teams met in 1984, with the Blue and White
defeating the Phoenix, 68-61, at Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
Since its first BracketBusters game in 2004, Drake owns a
7-2 record, including a 4-0 record in home BracketBusters games with victories
over San Jose State (73-57) in 2005, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (84-76) in 2007,
Austin Peay (71-54) in 2009 and Detroit (84-76) in 2011.
The Bulldogs are 3-2 on the road in BracketBusters games. In
road contests, the Bulldogs have defeated Akron (82-78, OT) in 2004; Butler
(71-64) in 2008 and Cal State Northridge (90-80) in 2010. Road defeats have
come at the hands of UC Irvine in 2006 (70-67) and New Mexico State in 2012
(71-55).
Drake continues its regular Missouri Valley Conference
schedule on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at home against Illinois State with tipoff
scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
