Monday, January 31, 2005

As a member of the 64-team Bracket Buster Saturday pool, Valpo will travel to play Butler in Indianapolis on Feb. 19. The time of the game has not been announced.

Valpo (9-11, 5-3 Mid-Continent Conference) will face Butler (7-11, 2-6 Horizon League) for the first time since the 1994-95 (Dec. 1, 1994) season when the Bulldogs defeated the Crusaders 82-80. The game between Valpo and Butler, both longtime members of the old Indiana Collegiate Conference, will be the 90th in the all-time series.

?We are excited about the opportunity to renew the series with Butler," Valpo head coach Homer Drew said. ?The two schools have had a long association with each other as Indiana universities and both have enjoyed a significant amount of championship success over the last decade."

Valpo has captured either or both the Mid-Continent Conference regular season or tournament championship in 10 straight years. Butler has won the Horizon League regular season and/or tournament championship six times since the 1996-97 campaign.

Oral Roberts, the other Mid-Con team participating in the Bracket Buster pool, will travel to play Southwest Missouri Feb. 19.