'Birds land UW-Green Bay, ESPN for Bracket Buster III

[FEB. 1, 2005]  NORMAL -- The Illinois State men's basketball team will take its perfect 2-0 Bracket Buster record to Wisconsin-Green Bay on Feb. 19 as part of the Bracket Buster III series, and the contest will be a part of the ESPN broadcast schedule.

The Phoenix are members of the Horizon League and have a 14-5 record on the season, including a 10-1 mark at home. With victories over UW-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago and Detroit, UW-Green Bay currently has an RPI of 83. Illinois State head coach Porter Moser sees Green Bay as a formidable opponent, with four starters averaging double figures.

"I know they are having a great year," Moser said. "They are a very good team. I've been following their scores and I know they are hot. They've beaten three quality, good teams recently.

"It's a good game for us RPI-wise and hopefully it will help us down the stretch for the postseason. I'm excited about being part of the ESPN television package. It really shows how far our program has come in a short time."

This will be the 11th meeting between the two schools in a series that began in 1983. Illinois State leads the series 7-3 and has won the last three meetings, including two at Green Bay. In the last meeting, the Redbirds topped the Phoenix 60-49 in Normal on Nov. 18, 1998.

The game's start time will not be announced until Feb. 8, when ESPN schedules all the televised games of the Bracket Buster series.

[Todd Kober, assistant athletics director, media relations,
Illinois State University]

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