Butler To Host Siena In Feature BracketBusters Game

Butler will be in the national spotlight for the fourth consecutive year when it hosts Siena in a feature game of the 2010 BracketBusters event on Saturday, Feb. 20.  The game will tip at 11 a.m. (ET) at Hinkle Fieldhouse and will be nationally-televised on ESPN2.

The pairing marks the fourth time in four years that the Bulldogs have played in one of the feature BracketBuster games.  Butler hosted nationally-ranked Southern Illinois in 2007 and nationally-ranked Drake in 2008, before visiting Stephen Curry-led Davidson last year.  All three games were nationally-televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

Siena boasts the nation’s longest winning streak with 13 consecutive victories and an overall 19-4 record.  The Saints are unbeaten (12-0) in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and can wrap up the league’s regular season title and the #1 seed in the MAAC Tournament with wins in their next two games against Iona (Feb. 5) and Fairfield (Feb. 8).

“I have a lot of respect for Siena.  I think they’re outstanding,” said Butler head coach Brad Stevens.  “They’re very well-coached.  In fact I’ve shared thoughts before with Fran McCaffery and picked his brain.  I really respect him as a coach.  They’ve got a great team, and we’ll learn more about them in the next few weeks.”

Butler, battling for a fourth consecutive Horizon League regular season championship, has six key league tests before the BracketBusters contest.  The league-leading Bulldogs are 11-0 in conference play and 18-4 overall, heading into a stretch of three straight home games against Detroit (Feb. 4), Wright State (Feb. 6) and Loyola (Feb. 8).  Butler is ranked #23 by the Associated Press (A.P.) and #15 by ESPN/USA Today in the national polls released on Monday, Feb. 1.