Feb. 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The matchups for the 2008 ESPNU BracketBusters event were officially released Monday as Samford learned it will play Feb. 23 on the road against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The game time for the non-conference duel will be announced at a later date.

Samford (11-12, 8-7 Ohio Valley Conference) will be making its third-straight appearance in the nationwide BracketBusters competition. Last season, the Bulldogs were chosen to host the Evansville Purple Aces in the event, but dropped a hard-fought 69-65 decision in Seibert Hall.

In 2006, Samford squared off against Ohio in the premier of ESPN360 and suffered a 64-52 setback to the Bobcats. The matchup was the Bulldogs' first as a member of the ESPNU BracketBusters competition.

Currently, Samford is in the midst of a two-game winning streak and owns sole possession of fifth place in the OVC standings. The Bulldogs are coming off a pair of victories against Tennessee State 65-59 and Eastern Illinois 65-52, and will square off against first-place Austin Peay on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Louisiana Tech (3-16, 0-7 Western Athletic Conference) has been defeated in seven-straight games and has not been victorious since a 73-63 win against McNeese State on Dec. 29. The Bulldogs are still winless in WAC play and are losing by an average of 12 points per conference matchup.

"As a native of Louisiana, I would follow Louisiana Tech growing up, but I have to be honest in that I've kind of lost touch with them since they joined the WAC," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I don't really know much about their team this season, but we'll start watching film in the next couple of weeks to get up to speed.

"We're glad that we'll be able to take a bus over to Ruston, La., and that we won't have to mess with flying and dealing with airports. It's still going to be a six and a half hour drive, which isn't easy, but it's a little more of what we're accustomed to."

Samford and Louisiana Tech have played against one common opponent this season.

Both teams squared off against Southeast Missouri and were defeated in close matchups at home. Samford fell to the Redhawks 63-62 on a last-second shot Dec. 18, while Louisiana Tech was defeated by Southeast Missouri 59-54 on Nov. 28.

Samford owns a 2-2 all-time record against Louisiana Tech.

The teams last played 20 years ago during the 1987-88 campaign when Louisiana Tech rallied for a 73-67 win in Rustin, La. Louisiana Tech also won the first meeting between the schools in 1936, 37-36, while Samford was victorious in the two middle games of the series 55-42 in 1939 and 60-54 in 1982.

The ESPNU BracketBusters event includes 50 games over a three-day period beginning Feb. 22.

BracketBusters started in 2003 as a way to match up some of the nation's best mid-major teams late in the season when schools were vying for at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament. The event quickly expanded in 2004 to include most of the teams in each of the nation's mid-major conferences.

All 11 OVC schools are playing in this year's event for the third-straight season.

2008 ESPNU BracketBusters
Ohio Valley Conference Games

Georgia Southern at Austin Peay
Ball State at Eastern Kentucky
Evansville at Eastern Illinois
Georgia State at Jacksonville State
Indiana State at Murray State
Morehead State at James Madison
Samford at Louisiana Tech
Southeast Missouri at Eastern Michigan
Tennessee State at Northern Illinois
Tennessee Tech at East Tennessee State
UT Martin at Elon