» MAIN

Published Tuesday January 31, 2006 BracketBuster game could be BedtimeBuster for Creighton BY STEVEN PIVOVAR
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

		RELATED LINKS
		»	CU Men's Basketball
		»	MVC Men's Basketball
		»	College Basketball - RPI

The one pressing question still to be answered regarding Creighton's BracketBusters game Feb. 18 is whether the Bluejays will be passing out NoDoz at the door.

Creighton drew Fresno State, a matchup that lacks pizzazz. The Bulldogs are 10-8, and their No. 105 RPI doesn't figure to give Creighton's NCAA resume much of a bump should the Bluejays win.

Then there's the start time. With Qwest Center Omaha also playing host to the Nebraska high school wrestling tournament on Feb. 18, Creighton cannot start its game before 8 p.m. If ESPN elects to televise the basketball game, the network would slot it for either the 9 p.m. window on ESPNU or the 11 p.m. window on ESPN.

"To make us play that late is not fair for us oldtimers," Creighton coach Dana Altman said.

Altman has no problems with sharing the Qwest Center with the wrestling tournament.

"It's great for Omaha and the arena," he said, "but it makes us start a lot later that night than we'd like to."

This is the second time Creighton and Fresno State will meet in the BracketBusters series. They played in 2003 in the inaugural event, an 18-team event that was designed to provide schools from mid-major conferences with a national showcase to possibly enhance their NCAA tournament bids.

The event has now grown into a 200-team series matching teams from 18 conferences. Game times and channel assignments will be announced Feb. 7.

No. 2 Bruins knock off Park

Joe Webb scored 16 points and Bryce Johnson added 14 to lead NAIA No. 2 Bellevue University to a 66-61 win over visiting Park on Monday night .

Park (8-18).........................24 37-61
At Bellevue (15-6).........................31 35-66
• P: Simms 7, Williams 5, Thompson 23, Baptiste 2, Wilson 15, Gupton 7, Aljic 2.
• BU: Hough 9, Webb 16, Owens 4, Johnson 14, Cardenas 2, McDaniel 1, Cofield 8, Pollock 12.

Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom

Copyright ©2006 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any purpose without permission from the Omaha World-Herald.