Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's basketball team will take part in the ninth annual ESPN BracketBusters event with a home non-conference game during the weekend of Feb. 18-20, 2011. It will be the Seawolves' first-ever appearance in the event and will be among five America East teams representing the conference.
For the sixth straight year, ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will feature five BracketBusters games, while ESPN or ESPN2 will televise up to six contests. The 11 BracketBusters matchups will be announced Jan. 31.
BracketBusters, named because of the success of the teams in NCAA Tournament play, will provide the 22 televised teams an opportunity to play other top non-conference opponents three weeks before Selection Sunday. The 92 teams not selected for BracketBusters will compete against each other through the same three days.
The 114-team field will feature teams from 15 conferences as well as one independent: 12 from the Mid-American Conference and Colonial Athletic; 10 from the Ohio Valley Conference, Missouri Valley and Metro Atlantic Athletic; nine from Big Sky, Big South, Big West and Western Athletic; eight from the Horizon League; five from America East and Southern; two from the MEAC and West Coast; and one from the Summit League, as well as independent Seattle.
As part of the agreement, all 11 of the BracketBusters home teams in televised games, as well as the remaining 46 home squads, will play a "return" game at the home facility of their opponent in November or December of the 2012-13 season.
Teams participating this season in BracketBusters have produced 74 appearances in the last five NCAA Tournaments.
Should it be selected for a BracketBusters national television broadcast, Stony Brook will be no stranger to ESPN. The Seawolves will play at Monmouth on ESPN Nov. 16 as part of the ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon and then will host Maine on ESPNU Feb. 12.
The Seawolves, under sixth-year head coach Steve Pikiell, return three starters from last season's team that earned the program's first-ever America East regular season championship and first-ever postseason appearance. Stony Brook went 22-10 last season and hosted Illinois in the first round of the NIT.
