Game 13 ? Bradley Braves (9-3, 0-0) at UNI Panthers (9-2, 0-0)
Tipoff: Wed., Dec. 27, 2006 ? 8:05 p.m. (CST)
Location: Cedar Falls, Iowa ? McLeod Center (7,018)
Television: ESPN2 -- Dave Revsine (play-by-play) and Doug Gottlieb (analyst)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 (www.wmbdradio.com) -- Dave Snell (play-by-play) and Joe Stowell (analyst)
Video Stream: Not available due to television contract
Bradley Begins Valley Play At UNI
? Having registered the most regular-season non-conference wins since the 1987-88 season (11-3), Bradley will begin the Missouri Valley Conference portion of its schedule Wednesday at Northern Iowa.
? For the second year in a row, the Braves will begin Valley play against UNI by coming off a double-digit victory against Southern Miss: last year, Bradley earned a 56-43 victory Dec. 21 at Southern Miss in front of a 68-60 overtime victory against UNI Dec. 28 at Carver Arena.
? Bradley has dropped five straight Valley openers played on the road, last winning a conference-opening road game Jan. 3, 1996 at Creighton, 75-62, to set the tone for its last MVC regular-season championship.
Bradley-UNI Series
? Bradley owns a 23-9 lead in the all-time series versus UNI, but the Panthers own an 8-7 home lead in the series.
? The Braves snapped a four-game road losing streak in the series in convincing fashion last season, routing then No. 25 UNI, 71-49, Feb. 22 on Senior Night and in the final Valley game at the UNI-Dome.
? Although UNI owns an 8-7 home lead against Bradley, the Braves are 2-0 in road games against the Panthers in venues other than the UNI-Dome: Bradley won 84-63 Dec. 31, 1994 in Cedar Rapids and 76-73 in overtime Feb. 3, 1999 at the West Gym.
? Both games were played away from the UNI-Dome due to problems with the facility's fabric roof.
? Wednesday's game will be the first-ever matchup between fifth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les and first-year Panthers head coach Ben Jacobson. Les sports a 5-3 record against UNI.
Bradley The Opening Opponent Of Choice
? Since the Braves earned a 71-49 win in the final Valley men's basketball game at the UNI-Dome, Bradley has become the opponent of choice for first games at UNI's new McLeod Center.
? In addition to becoming UNI's first-ever Valley men's basketball visitor at the McLeod Center, the Bradley women's volleyball team was the first-ever opponent of any kind at the arena, falling to the Panthers in three games Nov. 18.
? Bradley also will become the first-ever Valley women's basketball team to face the Panthers at the McLeod Center when the Braves visit Friday night.
The Re-Making Of The Braves
? Dominated by losses to its front line, Bradley lost 66.9 percent of its scoring and 65.0 percent of its rebounding from the 2006-06 squad that went 22-11 and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
? Bradley lost five players from last year's team -- 7-foot center Patrick O'Bryant as an early entry lottery pick in the NBA Draft, as well as graduates 6-7 power forward Marcellus Sommerville (Hungary), 6-foot-4 small forward Lawrence Wright (Harlem Globetrotters), 6-foot guard Tony Bennett (ABA) and 7-foot-1 center Brandyn Heemskerk.
? Fifth-year head coach Jim Les has re-designed the Bradley scheme, primarily utilizing an eight-man rotation built around six returning players and two newcomers in a four-guard attack.
? The changes have produced a 9-3 record to date and one of the nation's most prolific 3-point shooting attacks -- Bradley ranks among the nation's leaders in 3-point FG percentage (.472) and treys per game (11.3).
Replacement Points
? As mentioned, Bradley lost five players from last year's Sweet 16 squad who combined for 1,577 of the team's 2,359 (66.9 percent) points.
? The Braves have received only 182 of 978 (18.6 percent) points from newcomers this year.
? The bulk of Bradley's offensive production is the result of improved contributions from six returning players, including five players who have more than doubled their scoring average from last season.
? Among that group of six, five already have doubled their total point production from last year.
Returning 2005-06 2006-07
Player Pts. PPG Pts. PPG +/- Pct.
J.J. Tauai 53 1.8 89 7.4 411.1%
Jeremy Crouch 102 4.6 204 17.0 369.6%
Danny Adams 51 1.7 72 6.0 352.9%
Will Franklin 134 5.0 175 14.6 292.0%
Zach Andrews 171 5.3 133 11.1 209.4%
Daniel Ruffin 254 7.7 114 12.7 164.9%
Tough Schedule
? Through Saturday's action, Bradley's 21 scheduled opponents this season have combined for a 159-76 (.677) overall record and only two opponents -- Illinois-Chicago (6-8) and Tennessee Tech (5-6) -- were under .500.
? Bradley's nine Valley rivals have combined for a 74-26 (.740) record and the only non-conference game remaining will be played Feb. 17 in the ESPN Bracketbuster series, which at this point would likely be on the road against another high-ranking mid-major.
Spreading the Wealth
? Through 12 games, six different Bradley players have led the team in scoring: Jeremy Crouch (five times), Will Franklin (twice), J.J. Tauai (twice), Danny Adams (Florida A&M), Zach Andrews (at Tennessee Tech) and Daniel Ruffin (at Michigan State).
? The Braves also have featured five different 20-point scorers in the first 12 games: Crouch (four times), Franklin (twice), Adams, Andrews and Tauai.
Impressive 24
? Following Saturday's 83-73 win versus Southern Miss, Bradley now boasts a 19-5 (.792) record in its last 24 games, dating back to Feb. 11, 2006.
? Included among the 19 wins are victories at rival Illinois State (71-59) and then #25 Northern Iowa (71-49), MVC Tournament wins versus Creighton (54-47) and Wichita State (60-52), NCAA Tournament wins against #12 Kansas (77-73) and #16 Pittsburgh (72-66), a home win versus Southern Illinois (72-60), two victories against Big East members DePaul (78-58) and Rutgers (101-72) a semi-neutral site win versus Big 12 member Iowa State (76-66) and a win against Horizon League preseason favorite Loyola-Chicago (82-73).
? And the five losses: vs. Southern Illinois, against #3 Memphis in the NCAA Sweet 16, versus Illinois in the final of the 2006 Chicago Invitational Challenge and road games at Michigan State and Tennessee Tech.
Blistering 3-Point Pace
? Utilizing a four-guard lineup, it should not come as a surprise that Bradley has been bombing away from 3-point land in the early going.
? Aided by a Valley record-tying 20 3-pointers Nov. 21 versus Florida A&M, Bradley ranks second nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.472) and third in 3-point field goals per game (11.3).
? During one 40-minute stretch -- second half versus Florida A&M (10-15) and the first half against Rutgers (13-17) -- Bradley sank 23-of-32 (.719) 3-point tries.
? With 32 games guaranteed this year, the Braves are on pace to shatter the school (224) and MVC (293) single-season records for 3-point field goals and could challenge Duke's 2000-01 NCAA Division I record (407) by playing in three more postseason games.
Chasing the Records
Bradley's Bomb Squad
? Eight Bradley players have combined for the team's 136 3-pointers and each of the eight players is shooting better than 41 percent from long range.
? By comparison, only 22 of the 336 NCAA Division I teams are shooting better than J.J. Tauai's group low 41.2 percent from 3-point range.
Player 3FGM-A Pct.
Jeremy Crouch 43-83 .518
Brian Lavin 1-2 .500
Will Franklin 33-66 .500
Andrew Warren 10-21 .476
Danny Adams 21-45 .467
Daniel Ruffin 18-42 .429
Matt Salley 3-7 .429
J.J. Tauai 7-17 .412
Deep Backcourt
? Seven of Bradley's nine returning lettermen are backcourt players and six guards are playing prominent roles for the Braves in the early going.
? Six of Bradley's top three scorers, asl well as six of the top eight -- are guards: Jeremy Crouch (17.0 ppg), Will Franklin (14.6), Daniel Ruffin (12.7), J.J. Tauai (7.4), Danny Adams (6.0 and Andrew Warren (5.8).
Up Tempo, But Under Control
? In addition to its proficiency from long range, another advantage of Bradley's four-guard lineup is the ability to play at a quick pace, but under control.
? Through Dec. 23 Bradley was tied for 23rd nationally in points per game (81.5), but also tied for 13th in fewest turnovers per game (12.0).
? Bradley is the only team in the nation averaging better than 80 points, but no more than 12.0 turnovers per game.
Let Me Assist You
? Bradley's hot start from behind the 3-point line is largely attributed to the team's ability to move the ball.
? As evidence, the Braves average 17.5 assists per game, an average that was tied for 17th nationally to start the week.
? Four Braves are averaging better than 2.0 assists per game, led by junior point guard Daniel Ruffin (5.3) and senior combo guard Will Franklin (4.8).
Keeping Them Fresh
? Head coach Jim Les does not have a deep bench to draw from -- only 10 available scholarship players -- but he has done a masterful job of spreading the minutes.
? Working primarily from an eight-man rotation, Bradley has eight players averaging between 16.8 and a team high of 32.4 (Will Franklin) minutes per game.
Disadvantage On The Boards
? The most glaring disadvantage of Bradley's four-guard attack has been the team's inability to consistently keep the opposition off the boards.
? Bradley is being outrebounded by 3.8 boards per game thus far.
? On the bright side, though, Bradley has at least played the opposition to a draw on the boards in five of the 12 games, including +1 advantages versus the much bigger lineups of DePaul and Illinois.
Making An Impact
? It is easy to rate a player's value to the team based on the traditional statistics: points per game, rebounds per game, etc.
? In addition to those traditional stats, Bradley tracks the impact each player has on the game by tabulating the points scored and points allowed during each player's time on the court, then factoring that margin by playing time.
? Although senior guard J.J. Tauai boasts only modest traditional statistics -- 7.4 ppg and 3.8 rpg -- he owns the team's top impact ratio.
Min. PF PA +/- Impact
J.J. Tauai 330 691 553 138 .418
By The Numbers
4 The number of assists and 3-point field goals needed by junior guards Daniel Ruffin and Jeremy Crouch, respectively, to crack Bradley's career top 10 lists (see lists to the left).
11 The number of seniors who have played for current head coach Jim Les. All 11 seniors have earned their Bradley degrees, including current fifth-year Brave Danny Adams, who earned a bachelor's degree in management and administration in May and now is pursuing a second degree in business marketing.
14 Consecutive home wins, tied for the 14th-longest active home winning streak in the country.
20 Three-pointers made by the Bradley Nov. 21 versus Florida A&M to tie The Valley single-game record.
24 Consecutive non-conference home wins. The streak is the ninth-longest in the nation, the longest in the Valley and the longest in Carver Arena's 25 years.
351 Career assists by junior point guard Daniel Ruffin. The Bob Cousy Award candidate is the Valley's active leader with 351 career assists.
363 Bradley is on pace to make 363 3-pointers in 32 games this season, well ahead of the pace to break Creighton's 2005 MVC record (293).
488 Consecutive games covered by beat writer Dave Reynolds for the Peoria Journal Star, dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season.
824 Consecutive Bradley men's basketball radio broadcasts on WMBD AM 1470 by play-by-play man Dave Snell. Now in his 28th season, Snell (49) began his Bradley broadcasting career Nov. 30, 1979.
1,445 Bradley men's basketball games witnessed in an official capacity by current radio analyst Joe Stowell. Stowell played for the Braves from 1947 to 1950, served as the assistant coach from 1956 to 1965, head coach from 1965 to 1978, Assistant A.D. from 1978 to 1985 and as radio analyst since 1985.
