MUNCIE, Ind. ? The 2009 ESPNU BracketBusters pairings have been announced and the Ball State men's basketball team will host Tennessee Tech from the Ohio Valley Conference February 21 at Worthen Arena with the game time to be announced at a later date. The Cardinals are 10-9 on the season and sit alone in first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division with a 5-2 record.
Ball State has been part of the BracketBusters event since its inception seven seasons ago as the MAC is a charter member of the event. The Cardinals are hosting a BracketBusters game for the fourth time in program history and the first since the 2005-06 season when BSU hosted Tennessee State.
Ball State and Tennessee Tech have met two times prior to this season's meeting with the Golden Eagles winning both previous games. The teams met in back-to-back seasons with Tennessee Tech claiming a 75-73 victory in the 1971-72 season and TTU took home a 73-68 victory in Muncie during the 1972-73 season.
Tennessee Tech is currently 11-10 on the season overall and 5-6 in OVC action. The Golden Eagles have two common opponents with the Cardinals as they split the season series with Eastern Illinois and fell at Eastern Kentucky. Ball State claimed a 72-59 victory over Eastern Illinois to open the season and dropped a 71-58 contest to EKU.
All 12 MAC schools participate in the ESPNU BracketBusters event. MAC East Division leader Buffalo and Ball State's upcoming foe Miami were selected to be part of the nationally televised games with the Bulls traveling to Vermont and the RedHawks traveling to Evansville. Other MAC contests include: Akron at Valparaiso, Ohio at Eastern Kentucky, Toledo at Indiana State, Northern Illinois at Southeast Missouri, Eastern Illinois at Western Michigan, Canisius at Bowling Green, Morehead State at Kent State, Fairleigh Dickinson at Central Michigan and Georgia State at Eastern Michigan.
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