Bradley Braves (15-9, 9-7 MVC)
vs.
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (16-10, 11-7 OVC)
Sat., Feb. 18, 2006 ? 7:05 p.m. ? Peoria, Ill. ? Carver Arena (11,164)
Television: None
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 (Dave Snell, play-by-play; Joe Stowell, analyst)
Internet: www.bubraves.com (audio and video streams)
Final Non-League Game
? With only two Missouri Valley Conference games remaining before the State Farm MVC Tournament, Bradley will turn its focus to an Ohio Valley Conference foe when Tennessee Tech visits Saturday night.
? Saturday's game was created through participation in the 100-team pool for the BracketBusters presented by eBay.
? Bradley will return the game versus Tennessee Tech Nov. 29, 2006 (8:05 p.m.).
? Bradley owns a 6-2 non-conference record this season and the Braves own the Valley's longest non-conference home winning streak (16).
? Bradley owns a 3-1 record, 2-0 at home, in games related to the Bracket Buster series.
Series Notes
? Bradley won the only previous meeting versus Tennessee Tech, 100-83, Dec. 16, 1972 at Robertson Memorial Field House.
? Fourth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les owns a 2-0 record versus Ohio Valley Conference teams with both wins coming last season: 77-73 versus Southeast Missouri State and 79-59 against Samford.
? Bradley is 14-15 all-time versus teams from the state of Tennessee, most recently dropping an 80-72 decision to Chattanooga Nov. 30, 2002 at Carver Arena.
? Bradley's last win against a team from the Volunteer State was a 68-47 triumph versus Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee-Martin Nov. 21, 1998 at Carver Arena.
About the Golden Eagles
? Tennessee Tech enters Thursday's home game versus Tennesse-Martin with a 16-10 overall record and the Golden Eagles are third in the Ohio Valley Conference at 11-7 in the league.
? Tennessee Tech entered Thursday's game on a bit of a down turn as the Golden Eagles had dropped five of their last seven games, including three of five since the pairing against Bradley was announced.
? The Golden Eagles utilize a balanced attack as six players average between 7.2 and 12.7 points per game and all six play between 22.4 and 28.2 minutes.
? Tennessee Tech's non-conference schedule included home wins versus Oregon State (90-62) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee (72-67), as well as road losses to Cincinnati (62-105) and Michigan State (63-80).
TTU Head Coach Mike Sutton
? Mike Sutton (East Carolina ?78) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Tennessee Tech and enters Thursday's game versus Tennessee-Martin with a 67-47 career record.
? Sutton was stricken by Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder that attacks the nervous system and weakens the arms and legs, in April and has just recently returned to the sidelines.
? Restricted to a motorized wheel chair, he is expected to be on the sidelines Saturday night in Peoria.
Bradley-Tennessee Tech Series
? Bradley and Tennessee Tech have met once previously on the hardwood, a 100-83 Braves victory Dec. 16, 1972 at Robertson Field House.
? Seymour Reed had 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way for Bradley.
? The Braves are 15-12 all-time versus teams from the Volunteer State, but Bradley has lost six of its last eight games versus Tennessee teams.
? Eighteen of the previous 27 games versus Volunteer State teams were played against one-time Missouri Valley Conference member Memphis (9-9).
VAlley Challenge
? Saturday's Bradley-Tennessee Tech game will be one of two matchups between Missouri Valley and Ohio Valley Conference teams created by participating in the 100-team pool for the BracketBusters presented by eBay.
? Tennesse-Martin will visit Evansville Saturday night.
? During the 2005-06 season, the MVC owns a 2-1 record versus the OVC: Evansville (0-1), Indiana State (1-0), Southern Illinois (1-0).
? Bradley has won two straight versus the OVC, downing both Southeast Missouri State (77-73) and Samford (79-59) at home last season in the first games versus OVC teams since a 65-60 home loss against SEMO Dec. 22, 1999.
Making a Case
? Both Bradley and Tennessee Tech may approach Saturday's game with a chip on their respective shoulders after not being included in the television pairings for the BracketBusters presented by eBay.
? At the time the 13 television pairings were announced, Bradley (54) owned the 10th-best RPI among the 13 pre-determined home teams.
? Likewise, Tennessee Tech (119) owned the 12th-best RPI among the road teams at the time of the selections and had won six of its previous seven games.
? Through Tuesday, Bradley's RPI had improved slightly to 51, moving the Braves up to ninth among the 50 home teams involved in the eBay BracketBusters pool.
Bracket Buster Success
? This is the fourth year of the Bracket Buster series and the third year Bradley has been in the pool of teams.
? The Braves currently own a 3-1 record in the games that have resulted from their participation.
2/21/04 Northern Illinois W 76-67
12/1/04 at Northern Illinois (OT) W 76-74
2/19/05 at Western Kentucky L 60-75
12/14/05 Western Kentucky W 78-76
? The Missouri Valley Conference is 9-3 in the television package during the first three years of the event and the league's 10 teams have combined for a 33-13 (.717) overall record in the games created by the series.
What About Six
? The Missouri Valley Conference has deservedly attracted a lot of talk from around the nation about the possibility of receiving four, and now possibly five, bids to the NCAA Tournament.
? While it certainly is of utmost importance for Bradley to keep winning games, it is not out of the question to also talk about the Braves as a “Bubble” team.
? As of Thursday morning, Bradley was ranked 51st in the daily RPI report published by www.collegerpi.com and the Braves had won six of their last eight games.
? Coming off of Tuesday's 72-60 victory versus Southern Illinois, Bradley sports a 5-5 record versus teams currently in the RPI top 50 and the Braves are likely to play at least two mare games against teams in the Top 30, Feb. 22 at Northern Iowa and March 3 in the quarterfinals of the State Farm MVC Tournament.
? Of the teams currently ranked between 31 and 60 in the RPI, no other team outside the Missouri Valley Conference can match Bradley's five wins versus the Top 50.
? In fact, only Washington (4-1) and Indiana (4-6) have as many as four wins versus RPI Top 50 teams.
? Bradley's two non-conference losses came on the road without sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant or junior guard Will Franklin at Butler (85) and at Loyola-Chicago (144), both of which easily remain in the top half of the nation's 334 Division I teams.
Valley Holding at No. 6 in RPI
? According to the numbers published at www.collegerpi.com, the Missouri Valley Conference continues to hold at No. 6 among the 31 NCAA Division I leagues.
Conference RPI (Through Feb. 15)
DI Non-Con Record
Rk. Conference W L Pct. RPI
1 Big Ten 105 26 .8015 .5892
2 Big East 148 43 .7749 .5845
3 Atlantic Coast 117 30 .7959 .5801
4 Southeastern 113 36 .7584 .5776
5 Big XII 102 32 .7612 .5614
6 Missouri Valley 61 22 .7349 .5562
7 Pac-10 71 30 .7030 .5518
Rk. School W L Pct. RPI
17 Wichita State 20 6 .7692 .6161
24 Northern Iowa 19 6 .7600 .6061
27 Southern Illinois 18 7 .7200 .6039
29 Missouri State 17 7 .7083 .6018
31 Creighton 17 7 .7083 .6009
51 Bradley 15 9 .6250 .5761
146 Indiana State 10 13 .4348 .5084
152 Drake 10 15 .4000 .5036
206 Evansville 7 17 .3043 .4725
208 Illinois State 8 15 .3478 .4724
Home Court Advantage
? Bradley is nearing completion of its 24th season of playing its home games at Carver Arena.
? The Braves are 255-82 (.757) all-time at Carver Arena, including a 107-27 (.799) mark in non-conference contests.
? The Braves are 11-1 (.917) at home this year and 34-8 (.810) at Carver Arena since the start of 2003-04.
? Bradley has won five straight at Carver Arena since Wichita State snapped its six-game home winning streak to start the season.
? Bradley's 16-game non-conference home winning streak is the longest among the Valley's 10 teams and dates back to a 74-71 loss to Chris Kaman's Central Michigan team Dec. 18, 2002.
3 Millionth Fan Saturday
? Bradley will welcome its 3 millionth fan to Carver Arena during Saturday's game versus Tennessee Tech.
? Entering Saturday's game 2,995,057 fans have witnessed Bradley Basketball games at Carver Arena since the facility opened for the 1982-83 season.
? In the 24 years Bradley has hosted games at Carver Arena, the Braves have averaged 8,887 fans per game, including 9,162 fans in the first 12 games this season.
? The 3 millionth fan will be selected by Bradley staff and will receive four tickets to the regular-season finale Feb. 25 versus Drake.
Building Momentum
? Bradley is trying to build some momentum heading into the postseason and the Braves have won six of their last eight games.
? Bradley began the week facing a three-game stretch versus teams -- Southern Illinois (18-7), Tennessee Tech (16-10) and Northern Iowa (21-5) -- that began the week with a 55-22 (.714) combined record.
? The Braves were up to the challenge Tuesday by dispatching the Valley co-leading Salukis, 72-60.
Winning Record Secure
? By winning six of its last eight games, Bradley has secured its first winning season since finishing 19-12 in 2000-01.
? Bradley has three regular-season games remaining, as well as at least one game in the State Farm MVC Tournament, so if the Braves failed to win again this season, they would finish no worse than 15-13.
? The 15 wins to date equals the most in Jim Les' four seasons as head coach, previously achieved with a 15-16 record in 2003-04.
? The nine Valley wins secures at least a .500 league record and represent the most MVC wins in a season for Les.
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 9-0 this season and 40-11 (.784) in Jim Les' four years as head coach when they commit fewer fouls than their opponents.
? During their last six wins, the Braves have been whistled for a total of just 85 fouls, an average of only 14.2 per game.
? During the recent two-game slide that interrupted the six 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 15 wins this season, the Braves have converted 241-of-327 (.737) free throw attempts.
? In the 15 wins, Bradley has averaged 21.8 free throw attempts per game and has outscored the opposition by an average of 5.2 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 (15) Losses (9)
Team FTM FTA Pct. FTM FTA Pct.
Bradley 241 327 .737 98 149 .658
Opponents 163 229 .712 206 269 .766
Let Me Assist You
? Bradley leads the Missouri Valley Conference by averaging 16.8 assists per game and the team's 404 assists already are the most in a season by the Braves since the 1997-98 squad finished with 433 assists in 29 games.
? Bradley has recorded at least 20 assists nine times this season (9-0).
? Bradley reached 20 assists in a game only one time last season, while averaging just 13.5 assists per game.
? In Bradley's 15 wins, the Braves have averaged 19.2 assists, setting up 70.2 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 on the Verge
? Bradley senior forward Marcellus Sommerville is on the verge of joining some pretty exclusive company in the history of Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball.
? The 6-foot-7 Peorian enters Saturday's game with 592 rebounds and 139 3-pointers during his three-year Bradley career.
? He is almost a cinch to grab eight more rebounds, but if he can manage to sink 11 more 3-pointers in his 4+ remaining games, he will become the second player in school history, and the eighth in Valley, history to record 600 rebounds and 150 3-pointers:
Player, School Years Reb. 3FGM
M. Sommerville, BU 2003-SA 592 139
Darren Brooks, SIU 2000-05 673 156
Kyle Korver, CU 1999-03 716 212
Craig Snow, UE 1997-01 608 176
Jason Perez, WSU 1996-00 659 196
Rodney Buford, CU 1995-99 716 212
Dan Muller, ILS 1994-98 682 204
Anthony Parker, BU 1993-97 643 195
? Sommerville could become the first player to hit the two thresholds during his final three seasons of eligibility.
Looking Ahead
? As was the case last year, Bradley will close out the regular-season against the Valley's two Iowa teams by visiting Northern Iowa Wednesday night and hosting Drake next Saturday night.
? Wednesday's game at UNI, which will be televised live on FSN Midwest and Fox College Sports, will be the final regular-season men's basketball game at the UNI-Dome.
