The Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team learned Monday that it will host Tennessee Tech next month as part of the annual BracketBusters lineup.
The Chanticleers, off to a 16-5 start and second in the Big South Conference, will welcome the Golden Eagles of the Ohio Valley Conference to Kimbel Arena on Feb. 18 at a time to be announced later.
BracketBusters features 71 games between 142 teams spanning 16 conferences from Feb. 17-19, with 13 of those contests to be televised by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3. The Chants’ game will not be part of the television package.
“I think it’s good for basketball,” CCU coach Cliff Ellis said of the BracketBusters opportunity. “… BracketBusters is a time to watch other leagues and how they play. It kind of makes statements for [the] league, and the year we have had in our league, we’ve all been very proud of it. Now that we go against another league, it’s another gauge.”
Tennessee Tech is 13-9 overall and 5-4 in its conference and hasn’t played Coastal since the 1987-88 season. The team is highlighted by 6-foot-7 senior guard Kevin Murphy, who leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring at 20 points per game.
Ellis said he hasn’t seen the Golden Eagles play yet, but he has respect for the program and for the OVC in general.
The matchup is the only non-conference game remaining on Coastal’s schedule, and it’s the Chants’ second appearance in BracketBusters. They defeated Canisius 83-66 in 2007 as part of the event.
“I think it gives you an opportunity to play out of the league and just kind of get a sense of where you are against somebody you don’t know and they don’t know you,” Ellis said. “It kind of has a postseason feel.”
All 11 Big South teams are taking part in BracketBusters this season. As part of the agreement to participate in the event, all the home teams will play a return game at the opponent’s venue early in the 2013-14 season.
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