Bradley Braves (14-9, 8-7 MVC)
vs.
Southern Illinois Salukis (18-7, 11-4 MVC)
Tues., Feb. 14, 2006 ? 7:35 p.m. ? Peoria, Ill. ? Carver Arena (11,164)
TV: MVC-TV (FSN Midwest, Fox College Sports) -- Mitch Holthus (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 (Dave Snell, play-by-play; Joe Stowell, analyst)
Internet: www.bubraves.com (audio streams only)
Valentine's Day Clash
? Bradley returns home from a three-game road swing Tuesday night to host Southern Illinois, one of the four Missouri Valley Conference teams to begin the week in a tie for first place in the league standings.
? Bradley is 10-1 at home this season, including a 2-1 record against the other three co-leaders (Wichita State is responsible for the loss).
? Southern Illinois actually becomes the sixth team that begins this week as a conference leader to visit Carver Arena this year: the Braves are 4-1 in the other five games with non-conference wins versus Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) and Delaware State (Mid-Eastern Athletic).
? Bradley will be trying to secure its first overall winning record and a .500 MVC mark since 2000-01.
Series Notes
? Tuesday's game will be the 67th in the all-time series between Bradley and SIU, which dates back to a 31-23 Braves victory Dec. 21, 1927 at the Peoria Armory.
? Bradley owns a 36-30 lead in the all-time series.
? Southern Illinois, however, has won five straight and nine of the last 10 meetings.
? Bradley is 22-9 all-time at home versus Southern Illinois, including a 15-7 advantage at Carver Arena.
? The Salukis, however, have won two straight at Carver Arena and will be trying for their first-ever, three-game Peoria winning streak.
? SIU head coach Chris Lowery sports a personal 3-2 record at Carver Arena: 1-0 as head coach and 2-2 as the Salukis point guard from 1991 to 1995.
About the Salukis
? Southern Illinois lost three starters from last year's squad that finished 27-8 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Salukis are in position to challenge for their fifth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
? The Salukis have bounced back from consecutive losses at home to Indiana State and in double-overtime at Wichita State with two straight wins to move back into a four-way tie for first in the Valley standings.
? Southern Illinois is 8-6 away from home this year, and at 4-3 on the Valley road, can secure a winning MVC road record for a seventh consecutive season.
? Junior guard Jamaal Tatum leads SIU in scoring at 15.2 points per game and he is the rare scoring leader that also leads his team in assists (3.5 apg).
? Junior guard Tony Young is second on the team at 12.4 points per game, including a 30-point effort Jan. 8 against the Braves.
Let's Talk Defense
? Southern Illinois leads the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring defense by allowing only 56.7 points per game.
? The Salukis also lead the Valley in field goal percentage defense (.398) and turnovers forced per game (18.4).
? Bradley can play a little defense, too, and the Braves lead the Valley in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.312), blocked shots per game (4.8), steals per game (9.3) and rebounding (38.8 boards per game).
? Bradley also is second to the Salukis, forcing 17.0 turnovers per game.
Streaking Opponents
? Creighton is the only current Valley member that has won as many as three straight regular-season games in Peoria, twice accomplishing 4-game streaks.
? Both Southern Illinois and Drake are working on 2-game Peoria winning streaks.
? Following Tuesday's game versus SIU, Bradley will host Drake Feb. 25 in the regular-season finale.
Team Streak Years
Creighton 4 2002-05, 1989-92
Drake 2 ?04-SA, ?92-93, ?69-70, ?42-45
Evansville 1 2003, 1998
Illinois St. 3 1982-84 (began in postseason)
Indiana St. 2 1992-93, 1978-79
Missouri St. 2 2002-03, 1995-96, 1991-92
UNI 1 2002
S. Illinois 2 2004-SA, 1992-93
Wichita St. 2 2003-04, 1976-77
? Of all the former Valley members, only Louisville (1972-74) and Tulsa (1990-92) managed to win three straight MVC games at Bradley.
Tough on League Leaders
? Southern Illinois becomes the sixth team that currently sits atop its respective league standings to visit Carver Arena this year.
? The Braves are 4-1 in the five previous home games against those current league leaders, with the lone loss coming Jan. 11 to Wichita State.
Date Opponent (League) W/L Score
Dec. 14 Western Kentucky (Sun Belt) W 78-76
Dec. 17 Delaware State (MEAC) W 68-46
Dec. 28 Northern Iowa (MVC) W 68-60
Jan. 2 Creighton (MVC) W 86-69
Jan. 11 Wichita State (MVC) L 76-86
? The five previous league-leading visitors have a combined 90-33 (.732) record this season and they have a collective 52-13 (.800) record since their respective visits to Carver Arena.
Building Momentum
? Despite playing four of its last five games on the road, where the Braves have admittedly struggled in recent years, Bradley has won five of its last seven games overall.
? Boasting a 10-1 home record this season, Bradley will play three of its final four games at Carver Arena.
? The Braves have their work cut out for them, though, as the next three opponents -- Southern Illinois (18-7), Tennessee Tech (16-10) and Northern Iowa (21-5) -- begin the week with a combined 55-22 (.714) record.
Magic Number is one
? With three Valley games remaining for all 10 league members, one Bradley win or one Drake loss will put the Braves into the quarterfinal round of next month's State Farm MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
? Bradley will host Southern Illinois and visit Northern Iowa before hosting the Bulldogs in the regular-season finale.
? Drake will visit Illinois State and host Wichita State before visiting Peoria.
Home Court Advantage
? Bradley is nearing completion of its 24th season of playing its home games at Carver Arena.
? The Braves are 254-82 (.756) all-time at Carver Arena, including a 147-55 (.728) record in Missouri Valley Conference games.
? The Braves are 10-1 (.909) at home this year and 33-8 (.805) at Carver Arena since the start of 2003-04.
Winning Record at Stake
? With 28 games guaranteed for the 2005-06 season, a win Tuesday would secure Bradley's first winning season since the 2000-01 squad went 19-12 overall and earned a spot in the National Invitation Tournament.
? A win against the Salukis also would give Bradley nine Missouri Valley Conference wins, which would mean the Braves would finish at least .500 in league play for the first time since the 2000-01 squad tied for second in the Valley race with a 12-6 league record.
Fouls Tell The Story
? More than any other stat, the foul count has been the most-accurate factor in determining the outcome of Bradley's games this season.
? The Braves are 8-0 this season and 39-11 (.780) in Jim Les' four years as head coach when they commit fewer fouls than their opponents.
? During their last five wins, the Braves have been whistled for a total of just 70 fouls, an average of only 14.0 per game.
? During the current two-game slide that interrupted the five wins, Bradley was called for 15 more fouls than Missouri State (26-16) and Indiana State (18-13).
More Free Throws=More Wins
? In Bradley's 14 wins this season, the Braves have converted 224-of-305 (.734) free throw attempts.
? In the 14 wins, Bradley has averaged 21.8 free throw attempts per game and has outscored the opposition by an average of 4.9 points per game at the line.
? In the nine losses, the Braves have made only 98-of-149 (.658) attempts.
? In those nine losses, Bradley has averaged only 16.6 free throw attempts per game and the opposition has outscored the Braves by 12.0 points from the stripe.
Wins (14) Losses (9)
Team FTM FTA Pct. FTM FTA Pct.
Bradley 224 305 .734 98 149 .658
Opponents 155 220 .705 206 269 .766
Let Me Assist You
? Bradley leads the Missouri Valley Conference by averaging 16.7 assists per game.
? Bradley averaged 21.8 assists during a recent four-game winning streak and has recorded at least 20 assists eight times this season (8-0).
? Bradley reached 20 assists in a game only one time last season, while averaging just 13.5 assists per game.
? In Bradley's 14 wins, the Braves have averaged 19.1 assists, setting up 69.6 percent of their field goals.
? In the nine losses, Bradley has averaged 12.9 assists per game, setting up 51.1 percent of its field goals.
Sommerville Bobblehead
? Tuesday's game will feature the first Bradley Bobblehead promotion.
? The first 2,500 fans to arrive Tuesday night will receive a Marcellus Sommerville bobblehead doll.
Bradley's Olympian
? Bradley University alum and native Peorian Matt Savoie will begin his quest for an Olympic medal Tuesday.
? Savoie, who is an honorary member of the Bradley Alumni B-Club, will begin competition in men's figure skating with the short program Tuesday in Torino, Italy.
? The long program will be held Thursday.
? Savoie is the sixth Bradley University student to compete in the Olympic Games, but the first to participate in the Winter version.
Student, Year Sport Medal
Hersey Hawkins, 1988 Basketball Bronze
Mike Dunne, 1984 Baseball Silver
Kim Howard, 1984 Handball 4th
Marcel de Souza* Basketball ---
Lambert “Pat” Redd, 1932 Broad Jump Silver
*de Souza was a five-time Olympian for the Brazilian National Team
Speech Team Honor
? The Bradley University competitive speech program will be honored during a halftime ceremony Tuesday.
? Since beginning competing at the national level in the 1970s, the Bradley Speech Team has won 38 national titles.
? No other school has won more than four national titles during the same time period.
Looking Ahead
? Like the other nine teams in the Valley, Bradley will step out of the conference race for the final non-conference game of the season Saturday.
? As participants in the 100-team pool for the BracketBusters presented by eBay, Bradley will host Ohio Valley member Tennessee Tech Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
? At the time the 13 pairing for the television portion of the series were announced, Bradley had the 10th-best RPI among the home teams and Tennessee Tech had the 12th-best RPI among the road teams.
