Jan. 29, 2007

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) -No. 13 Butler will host Southern Illinois in one of ESPN's BracketBuster games next month between prominent teams from mid-major conferences.

The cable sports network announced its 14 feature games Monday that will be played either Friday, Feb. 16, or Saturday, Feb. 17. The games feature 11 teams that played in the NCAA tournament last season and include squads from 12 conferences.

Game times will be announced Feb. 5 along with the channel they will appear on - ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN-360.

Butler (20-2) won the NIT Season Tip-Off, beating Tennessee and Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are leading the Horizon League. Southern Illinois (17-5) is tied with Creighton atop the Missouri Valley Conference.

The other matchups include: Northern Iowa at No. 15 Nevada; Winthrop at Missouri State; Albany at Boise State; Cal State Fullerton at Wright State; Holy Cross at Hofstra; Old Dominion at Toledo; Appalachian State at Wichita State; Bradley at Virginia Commonwealth; Utah State at Oral Roberts; Austin Peay at Akron; Drexel at Creighton; Ohio at New Mexico State; and Kent State at George Mason.