PEORIA, Ill. -- Both Bradley (12-7) and Tennessee Tech (15-7) will have something to prove when they meet Feb. 18 at 7:05 p.m. at Carver Arena in a game that will not be part of the 13-game television package for the eBay BracketBusters series. As part of the agreement for participating in the 100-team pool of teams for the event, Bradley will visit Tennessee Tech during the 2006-07 season.
After the 13 television matchups for the eBay BracketBusters were announced Monday, the remaining 37 pairings were released today. Boasting a 54 ranking in the RPI data published at rpiratings.com, Bradley owns the 10th-best rating among the 50 home teams in the field and the best rating among the teams not selected for an appearance on the ESPN family of networks. With a 107 rating heading into last night's game at Morehead State, Tennessee Tech sported the 12th-best ranking among the 50 predetermined road teams and had the second-highest rating among the road teams not participating in the television series (Drake was 105, but the Bulldogs are 9-11 versus Division I teams this season).
Bradley enters Wednesday night's game versus Illinois State riding a three-game winning streak and owns victories in four of its last five games. Currently tied for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, the Braves boast a 6-2 non-conference record this season, which includes a 75-60 victory in the season-opener at DePaul, as well as December home victories versus current Sun Belt Conference leader Western Kentucky (78-76) and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference leader Delaware State (68-46).
Bradley will take a 9-1 home record into Wednesday night's game versus the Redbirds and the team's 16-game non-conference home winning streak is the longest among the Valley's 10 member programs. Tennessee Tech snapped a two-game skid with a 69-66 victory last night at Morehead State. The Golden Eagles are 7-5 on the road this season, including an 88-85 overtime victory Jan. 14 at Samford, which is just ahead of Tennessee Tech in the OVC standings.
Tennessee Tech is currently third in the OVC standings with a 10-4 league record, but only 1 1/2 games behind first-place Murray State. The Golden Eagles own a 5-3 non-conference record, which includes an 18-point home victory versus Oregon State (90-62) and a 72-67 home win versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which boasts the second-best RPI in the eBay BracketBusters field. Among its seven setbacks, Tennessee Tech has lost road games to Dayton (81-60), Cincinnati (105-62), Michigan State (80-63) and Murray State (55-51). The Golden Eagles suffered a serious blow to its BracketBusters television chances by dropping a 72-63 home decision Saturday to Tennessee State.
The Feb. 18 matchup at Carver Arena will be the second in the all-time series between the two programs. Tennessee Tech also visited Peoria during the 1972-73 season, losing a 100-83 decision Dec. 16, 1972 at Robertson Field House. Seymour Reed led the way for the Braves with 33 points and 10 rebounds, while Jim Caruthers added 23 points and six assists.
Single-game tickets are available for the Feb. 18 game versus the Golden Eagles and may be purchased at the Robertson Fieldhouse Ticket Office (309-677-2625), the Carver Arena box office or any TicketMaster location.
