Fresno State Athletics
'Dogs Draw Northridge for BracketBusters
1/30/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2012
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team will visit CSU Northridge in the 10th annual Sears Bracketbusters on Feb. 18 in the Matadome, with tip off slated for 7 p.m. PT.
This will be 30th meeting between the programs, with Fresno State owning a 24-5 all-time series lead. The 'Dogs have won six of the past seven and 10 of the last 12 games against the Matadors.
Fresno State is 9-2 when playing CSUN on the road and this will be the first time the Bulldogs have played Northridge in a road game since the Bulldogs beat the Matadors 86-78 in 1972.
CSU Northridge (6-13) is coached by Bobby Braswell, who is in his 16th season with the Matadors and owns a 236-233 overall record. Braswell has led CSUN to three Big West regular season titles (2001, '08 and '09) and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2001 and '09).
In his first season as the Bulldogs head men's basketball coach, Rodney Terry is 8-8 against non-conference opponents. In addition to playing at CSU Northridge on Feb. 18, the 'Dogs will host Seattle University on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. PT to complete its non-conference slate of 16 games for the season.
The BracketBusters concept, named because of the success of participating teams from these conferences in NCAA Tournament play through the years, provides programs with an opportunity to play non-conference opponents roughly three weeks before Selection Sunday.
Each conference selects its participating teams before the season, and the matchups for the event are determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences.
This could mark the Bulldogs' final appearance in the annual event as the Mountain West Conference, which Fresno State will join July 1, 2012, does not participate in BracketBusters and instead partners with the Missouri Valley Conference for an annual challenge event.
Fresno State History in BracketBusters
Overall Record: 4-5
Home Record: 3-3
Road Record: 1-2
Feb. 22, 2003 - at Creighton (L, 67-66)
Feb. 21, 2004 - vs. East Tennessee State (L, 66-62)
Feb. 19, 2005 - vs. Buffalo (L, 52-49)
Feb. 18, 2006 - at Creighton (L, 67-62)
Feb. 17, 2007 - vs. Sam Houston State (W, 78-60)
Feb. 23, 2008 - vs. Cal Poly (W, 76-70)
Feb. 21, 2009 - at UC Davis (W, 71-70)
Feb. 20, 2010 - vs. UC Santa Barbara (L, 64-60)
Feb. 19, 2011 - vs. UC Riverside (W, 68-49)
"We Are Your Team!" --- Fresno State returns home to begin the second half of conference play against Idaho on Thursday night before hosting a special Heroes Night on Saturday evening versus the defending WAC champion Utah State Aggies. Both games tip at 7 p.m. PT and will also be featured on KMJ 580 AM, the flagship radio station for Bulldog men's basketball. Make sure to follow Coach @RodneyTerry on Twitter for updates all season long.
