The Illinois State mens basketball team will renew an in-state rivalry as the Redbirds will host Loyola-Chicago on February 21, as part of ESPNs Bracket Buster II series, announced by the sports television network.
Tip-off for the game is 4:05 p.m. This will be the ninth meeting in the series between the two schools with the last contest taking place in Redbird Arena on January 20, 1993, which resulted in an 88-64 Illinois State victory. The Redbirds lead the series 5-3 and own a 2-1 record against the Ramblers in the arena.
Head coach Porter Moser likes the second-year concept.
I think that the whole bracket buster concept is an exciting idea, Moser said. Its exciting that there are a number of programs being matched up and that you dont know who you are playing until a couple weeks before the game. Obviously, we wish that our bracket buster situation had more tournament implications based on our record. We just wish we were in a situation every year where it has tournament implications.
A member of the Horizon League, Loyola owns a 7-13 record this season and is 3-7 in conference play. The Ramblers share two common opponents with the Redbirds this season, losing 79-63 at Bradley and dropped a pair of conference games to Illinois-Chicago, 77-59 and 64-57.
Loyola is a great draw based on proximity, added Moser. They get to come here and well get to go to Chicago next year. To get paired up with an in-state opponent that will just give it some extra excitement.
In last seasons bracket buster game, the Redbirds claimed a 57-53 victory at Marshall as the Missouri Valley Conference went on to post a 4-0 record in the first year of the event.
The second-annual Bracket Buster event includes 46 teams from 11 conferences paired in 23 games. The 46 teams in the field feature 13 teams from the Mid-American Conference, 10 from the Missouri Valley Conference, eight from the Horizon League, three from the Sun Belt Conference and two from the Southern Conference, plus single teams from the Big West Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Ohio Valley Conference and West Coast Conference.
While each conference selects their participating teams prior to the season and designates teams for home or road games, the match-ups, including the nationally televised games, were determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences.
Tickets for this game, along with the remainder of Illinois States regular season games, can be purchased through the Redbird Arena Ticket Office by calling 309/438-8000.
