For the first time, the UT Arlington men's team will host a Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters game when UC Irvine visits the Mavericks at 5 p.m. Feb. 23 at the College Park Center.
"As soon as we found out, we got online to find out everything we could about them," coach Scott Cross said. "They lost to UCLA by one in overtime, so we know they're a good team."Although UC Irvine sits at 12-11, the Anteaters have beaten USC, Nevada and Fresno State. The Anteaters are 3-9 on the road.The ESPN BracketBusters competition annually places mid-major basketball programs against each other for a weekend intended to provide television time to the smaller schools. But UT Arlington isn't one of the 26 teams given the chance to play on TV that weekend. The Mavericks are one of six teams in the Western Athletic Conference with a slot to participate in the event.In last year's BracketBusters game, the Mavericks traveled to Weber State and lost to the Wildcats and Damian Lillard, now the Portland Trail Blazers' starting point guard, 72-70, snapping their 16-game win streak.
Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters
UC Irvine at UT Arlington
5 p.m. Feb. 23, College Park Center
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