Butler Draws State Foe In Sears BracketBusters X

INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Butler will host long-time foe Indiana State at 2 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Feb. 18, in the 2012 Sears BracketBusters X.  The pairing of the two Indiana teams was announced by ESPN on Monday.

Butler and Indiana State will be meeting for the 124th time in a series that dates back to 1903-04.  The two teams were league foes from 1950 to 1977 in the Indiana Collegiate Conference and met as non-conference opponents every season from 1978-79 to 2006-07.  Butler captured the last meeting in the series, 76-48, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in November of 2006.

The Bulldogs are returning to BracketBusters action after a one-year absence.  Due to a scheduling conflict, Butler did not participate in last year event.  Butler is 4-3 all-time in BracketBusters’ competition, including wins in its last two appearances.  The Bulldogs defeated Siena, 70-53, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2009-10 in Butler’s last appearance in the event.

Sears BracketBusters X features the largest field in the event’s history with 142 teams participating.  The competition features teams from 16 conferences, including 12 each from the Colonial Athletic Association, the Mid-American Conference and the Southland, 11 each from the Ohio Valley Conference and the Big South, 10 each from the Horizon League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the Missouri Valley Conference and the Summit League, nine each from America East, Big Sky and Big West, eight from the Western Athletic Association, four from the Southern Conference, three from the MEAC and two from the West Coast Conference.

Teams participating this season in Sears BracketBusters have produced 88 appearances in the last six NCAA Championships, including Butler’s back-to-back trips to the national title game.