The Central Michigan University Chippewas will provide the opposition for the Missouri State Bears in the 2008 edition of the O’Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters contest. The game will be in Hammons Student Center at Missouri State on Saturday, Feb. 23. A tentative start time is 7:05 p.m. and the game will not be televised.
  The Chippewas, members of the Mid-American Conference, own a 9-11 season record and are 4-4 in MAC play. CMU has spent most of its time on the road this season, posting a 6-1 mark at home in Mount Pleasant, Mich., while going 3-10 away from home. Central Michigan opened its season with two games in Mizzou Arena in Columbia in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Classic, and lost to Missouri and Central Missouri. The only common opponent between CMU and Missouri State is MAC member Toledo. The Bears lost by four at Toledo in their season opener while Central Michigan lost by 11 at Toledo Jan. 16, with a game at CMU still to be played.
 Ernie Ziegler is the Chippewas’ second year head coach. His first season saw him orchestrate one of the biggest improvements in Division I last year as he took the 4-24 team he inherited and fashioned a 13-18 record in 2006-07.
 Senior guard Giordan Watson is Central Michigan’s top scorer with a 17.0 average and junior guard Nate Minnoy is also in double figures at 10.4. Junior forward Marcus Van is the club’s top rebounder with 4.8 a game. CMU is averaging 70.8 points a game and allowing 71.1.
 Central Michigan has made one previous appearance in Hammons, losing to both Texas Tech and Cal State Northridge in the 1993 Price Cutter Classic. The Chippewas have never played Missouri State.
 This will be the Bears’ fifth appearance overall and third at home in the BracketBusters’ competition. The Bears lost at Miami (Ohio) in 2004, lost at home to Oral Roberts in 2005, won at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2006 and lost at home to Winthrop in 2007.
 The Missouri State Bears of coach Barry Hinson are 11-12 overall and 4-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference going into Wednesday night’s game at Bradley University.
 The complete BracketBusters schedule involving MVC teams includes #15 Drake at #11 Butler, Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Bradley, Creighton at Oral Roberts, Nevada at Southern Illinois, Wright State at Illinois State, UIC at UNI, Wichita State at Northern Arizona, Central Michigan at Missouri State, Indiana State at Murray State and Evansville at Eastern Illinois.
