Bradley Braves (16-9, 9-7 MVC)
at
Northern Iowa Panthers (22-6, 11-5 MVC)
Wed., Feb. 22, 2006 ? 7:37 p.m. ? Cedar Falls, Iowa ? UNI-Dome (10,000)
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)
The Iowa Finales
? For the second year in a row, Bradley will close the season by visiting Northern Iowa and hosting Drake.
? Wednesday's game at UNI will be the final Missouri Valley Conference game at the UNI-Dome, where the Braves own a 4-8 record and have lost four straight.
? Bradley, which has won seven of its last nine games, will be trying four its fourth consecutive victory overall and a regular-season series sweep versus the Valley preseason favorite Panthers.
? After downing Illinois State, 71-59, Feb. 11 at Redbird Arena, Bradley will be trying for consecutive Valley road wins for the first time since the final two road games of the 2002-03 season: Feb. 25 at Wichita State (86-77) and March 3 at Drake (77-67).
Series Notes
? Wednesday's game will be the 32nd in the all-time series versus Northern Iowa, which dates back to a 117-71 Bradley win Jan. 27, 1971 at Robertson Field House.
? The Braves own a 22-9 overall lead in the series, including a 21-9 advantage as Valley rivals.
? Bradley is 6-8 all-time on the road versus the Panthers, including 4-8 at the UNI-Dome.
? Bradley's win Dec. 31, 1994 was in Cedar Rapids and the 1999 overtime victory came in the West Gym.
? The Braves have dropped four straight at the UNI-Dome, last winning a road game in the series on Jan. 16, 2001 (84-71).
? Bradley has not swept the season series versus UNI since that 2000-01 campaign (3-0).
About the Panthers
? Returning all five starters from last year's team that went 21-11 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, Northern Iowa was the preseason favorite to win the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference title.
? The Panthers (22-6, 11-5) began the week invovled in a three-way tie for second in the Valley standings, one game behind league-leading Wichita State.
? UNI is one Valley victory shy of tying the school single-season record (12), set in 2003-04.
? Only six Panthers have played in all 28 games this season and the top six players average between 28.2 and 35.9 minutes per game.
? Senior guard Ben Jacobson leads the team in scoring (14.2 ppg), assists (3.6 apg) and steals (1.7 spg) and he is third by averaging 4.3 rebounds per game.
? Junior forward Grant Stout and sophomore center Eric Coleman both average 12.3 points per game, while Stout leads the Valley with 9.1 boards per game and 71 total blocked shots.
? The Panthers had lost three of their last five games before snapping a season-long two-game slide with a 65-61, double-overtime victory versus then No. 24 Bucknell Saturday in the BracketBusters.
What's On the Line
For Bradley
? With two games remaining, Bradley can finish no lower than its current sixth-place position, but the possibility still exists the Braves could finish as high as tied for third in the final Valley regular-season standings if they win the final two games and get some help from around the league.
? Such a potential tie with Creighton, Missouri State and UNI would leave Creighton the MVC Tournament's No. 3 seed (4-2 in the grouping with a win over Wichita State), Bradley fourth (4-2, but swept by WSU), Missouri State fifth (3-3) and UNI sixth (1-5).
? Just as important for the Braves, a win Wednesday at UNI would give Bradley its fourth win versus an RPI Top 30 program and its sixth against the Top 50, the most among NCAA Tournament “Bubble” teams.
? The win also would improve Bradley to 8-2 in its last 10 games and give the Braves a final 5-8 road record.
For UNI
? With two games remaining, Northern Iowa still could wind up being seeded anywhere from first to sixth in next week's State Farm MVC Tournament.
? One game behind league-leading Wichita State, a UNI victory Wednesday would keep the Panthers in the hunt for their first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title.
? Although UNI remains a strong contender for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, a loss would be its fourth in the last seven games and second in the last three games to a team currently in the bottom half of the Valley standings.
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 Monday morning, Bradley was ranked 51st in the daily RPI report published by www.collegerpi.com and the Braves had won seven of their last nine games.
? Site administrator and RPI expert Jerry Palm has placed six Valley teams in his last two projected NCAA Tournament brackets at www.collegerpi.com. In his latest Bracket posted Monday, Bradley is a 12 seed playing No. 5 seed Wisconsin in San Diego.
? Including last 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 more 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 61 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 (4-7) 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 (78) and at Loyola-Chicago (148), both of which easily remain in the top half of the nation's 334 Division I teams.
Did You Know?
? Bradley (2-0) and UNI (4-0) have combined for a 6-0 record versus non-conference teams that began the week sitting atop their respective league standings:
Bradley Northern Iowa
W. Kentucky, Sun Belt W. Michigan, MAC West (T1)
Delaware State, MEAC Iowa, Big Ten
LSU, SEC West
Bucknell, Patriot
? Against all teams that began the week among the top two in their respective league standings (including the Valley), Bradley owns a 5-5 record, while Northern Iowa is 8-3.
Offense vs. defense
? Bradley leads the Valley in scoring during league play by averaging 73.9 points in its first 16 MVC games.
? In its nine Valley wins, Bradley has averaged 78.9 points, eclipsing 70 points in every league win except the 68-60 overtime victory in the league opener versus Northern Iowa Dec. 28 at Carver Arena.
? Bradley started its current winning streak by scoring 71 points at Illinois State (58.6 points allowed per game) and 72 versus Southern Illinois (57.2).
? Northern Iowa is second in the Valley in scoring defense, both overall (58.5) and in league play (59.6).
? UNI has held eight straight opponents to less than 70 points, and its 91-72 win Jan. 21 versus Drake is the only game UNI has allowed as many as 69 points.
Bradley Can Play “D”, Too
? Bradley leads the Valley and is tied for 19th nationally by averaging 9.5 steals per game and the Braves are second to Southern Illinois by forcing 17.1 turnovers per game.
? While UNI ranks second in the Valley by limiting teams to 40.1 percent shooting from the field, Bradley's field goal percentage defense is just behind at .407.
? Bradley also has the league's best 3-point field goal percentage defense (.319) and the Braves also lead the Valley in blocked shots per game (4.92) and rebounding (38.0 boards per game).
Minneapolis, Peoria Pipelines
? Nine potential participants in Wednesday's game come from the Minneapolis and Peoria, Ill., metro areas.
? Freshman guards Ray Brown (Bradley) and Travis Brown (UNI) were teammates at Richfield High School, where they led the Spartans to a 25-5 record and a runner-up finish in the Minnesota AAA state tournament.
? The teams also feature a frontcourt matchup of Bradley sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant (Blaine H.S.) and UNI sophomore center Eric Coleman (Tartan H.S.), both members of the 2005 MVC All-Newcomer and All-Freshmen Teams.
? Bradley's roster features four Peoria-area products: Daniel Ruffin and Marcellus Sommerville from Central High School, as well as Jeremy Crouch (Pekin) and Danny Adams (Metamora).
? UNI's John Little is a Peoria Richwoods H.S. product.
Building Momentum
? Bradley is trying to build some momentum heading into the postseason and the Braves have won seven of their last nine games.
? Bradley began last 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.
? So far the Braves have been up to the challenge, downing Southern Illinois (72-60) and Tennessee Tech (77-62) by an average of 13.5 points.
In search of fifth Road Win
? With a 4-8 road record entering Wednesday's game, Bradley already has achieved its highest number of road victories since the 1997-98 team went 4-9 on its opponents' home floors.
? Bradley has not won as many as five true road games since the 1995-96 squad put a 7-4 road record on its NCAA Tournament resume.
Best in the Les Era
? At 16-9 overall and 9-7 in the Valley, Bradley has secured its best overall and league records in Jim Les' first four seasons.
? Both the overall and league win totals are the best since the 2000-01 Braves went 19-12 and tied for second in the MVC with a 12-6 Valley record.
? The 2005-06 season marks the third time in Les' four years he has improved the team's record compared to the previous season.
?01-02 ?02-03 ?03-04 ?04-05 ?05-06
9-20 12-18 15-16 13-15 16-9
Let Me Assist You
? Bradley leads the Missouri Valley Conference by averaging 16.9 assists per game and the team's 422 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 16 wins, the Braves have averaged 19.1 assists, setting up 70.0 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.
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 10-0 this season and 41-11 (.788) in Jim Les' four years as head coach when they commit fewer fouls than their opponents.
? During their last seven wins, the Braves have been whistled for a total of just 103 fouls, an average of only 14.7 per game.
? During the recent two-game slide that interrupted the seven 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 16 wins this season, the Braves have converted 259-of-352 (.736) free throw attempts.
? In the 16 wins, Bradley has averaged 22.0 free throw attempts per game and has outscored the opposition by an average of 5.1 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 (16) Losses (9)
Team FTM FTA Pct. FTM FTA Pct.
Bradley 259 352 .736 98 149 .658
Opponents 178 247 .721 206 269 .766
Sommerville on the Verge
? Bradley senior forward Marcellus Sommerville enters the UNI game with 596 rebounds and 140 3-point baskets in his three-year Bradley career.
? The 6-foot-7 Peorian is almost a cinch to grab four more rebounds, but if he can manage to sink 10 more 3-pointers in his 3+ 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 596 140
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 would become the first-ever Valley player to hit both thresholds during a three-year period.
Ball-Handling Quartet
? Bradley boasts three of the Valley's top 10 individuals in assists-to-turnover ratio.
? Point guard Daniel Ruffin is second in the Valley, boasting a 2.03 assists-to-turnover ratio, while combo guad Will Franklin is fourth (1.89) and shooting guard Tony Bennett is ninth (1.39).
? Junior guard J.J. Tauai, who is nine assists shy of qualifying for the stat (2.5 apg), would easily top the Valley with his 2.44 assists-to-turnover ratio.
Near Triple-Double
? Sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant just missed the second triple-double in school history with 19 points, 16 rebounds and nine blocked shots Saturday versus Tennessee Tech.
? Cal Criddle recorded Bradley's only triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) Feb. 28, 1970 in an 82-74 win versus Saint Louis at Robertson Field House.
Looking Ahead
? Bradley will close out the regular season Saturday night by hosting Drake in a 7:05 p.m. contest at Carver Arena.
? Saturday's game will be the final regular-season home game in the careers of four Bradley seniors: Tony Bennett, Brandyn Heemskerk, Marcellus Sommerville and Lawrence Wright.
