(13) Bradley Braves (22-10, 11-7 MVC)
vs.
#4 (1) Memphis Tigers (32-3, 13-1 Conference USA)
Thursday, March 23, 2006 ? 6:30 p.m. (CST) ? Oakland, Calif. ? Oakland Arena
NCAA Tournament Oakland Regional
TV: CBS (Gus Johnson, play-by-play; Len Elmore, analyst)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 (Dave Snell, play-by-play; Joe Stowell, analyst)
Internet: Video streaming on demand available at http://www.ncaasports.com/mmod
The links to Bradley's 2006 NCAA Tournament Guide PDF files may be found at the bottom of this web release, as well as the transcript from Jim Les' media teleconference Monday afternoon.
Eighth Appearance
? Bradley is making its eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but its first since the 1995-96 season.
? After its two wins in Auburn Hills, Bradley now owns a 12-7 (.632) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and the Braves have twice advanced to the national championship game -- 1950 and 1954.
? Prior to the 2006 tournament, Bradley had not reached the “Sweet Sixteen” since 1955 when the Braves began the 24-team tournament with a 69-65 victory at Oklahoma City, then advanced to the “Elite Eight” by downing SMU, 81-79, in Manhattan, Kan.
It Has Been A while
? Bradley had not won a NCAA Tournament game since 1986, when point guard Jim Les led the Braves to an 83-65 victory versus UTEP in the first round of the West Regional in Ogden, Utah.
? The 51 years between Bradley's appearances in the “Sweet Sixteen” is the longest in NCAA Tournament history.
Backing Up the Invite
? The 2006 event is the fifth for Bradley as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament field (1954, 1955, 1986 and 1996).
? In the five years Bradley now has received an at-large invitation, the Braves have accumulated a 9-4 (.692) record, advancing to the 1954 national championship game, the 1955 West Regional final, the second round in the 1986 West Regional and the 2006 “Sweet Sixteen” in the Oakland Regional.
Lucky 13
? As a No. 13 seed, Bradley is the lowest remaining seed still playing in the NCAA Tournament and the Braves are the first 13 seed to reach the “Sweet Sixteen” since Oklahoma in 1999.
? Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to a 64-team field in 1985, Bradley has become the fourth #13 seed to reach the “Sweet Sixteen.”
? Each of the three previous No. 13 seeds to reach “Sweet Sixteen” have lost in the third round: Richmond (1988), Valparaiso (1998) and Oklahoma (1999).
History Lessons
1950 NIT and NCAA Tournament Double
? Bradley advanced to the 1950 NCAA Tournament championship game after playing in the NIT championship game only 10 days earlier.
? Bradley lost to C.C.N.Y. in both championship games and both contested in New York City at Madison Square Garden, marking the only time in postseason history the same two teams played in the championship games of the NIT and NCAA Tournament in the same season.
? Bradley radio analyst Joe Stowell, who was a senior on the 1949-50 Bradley team, would be happy to share his account of the remarkable two-week stretch of postseason play in 1950.
First Championship on National TV
? Bradley earned its first at-large invitation to the NCAA Tournament in 1954 while competing as an independent.
? The Braves had withdrawn from the Missouri Valley Conference in 1951 in support of Drake University, following an incident involving Bulldogs star football halfback Johnny Bright during a game at Oklahoma State, and did not return to the Valley until the 1955-56 season.
? The Braves advanced to the 1954 NCAA Tournament championship game, losing to Tom Gola's La Salle squad in the first championship game to be televised nationally.
More than a Coincidence?
? In Bradley's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1950, the Braves began their march to the national championship game by beating #19 Kansas, 59-57, in the NCAA District 5 Playoff March 20 in Kansas City, Mo.
? This year, the Braves opened the NCAA Tournament by dropping #12 Kansas, 77-73, in the first round of the Oakland Regional March 17 in Auburn Hills, Mich.
? Bradley also defeated Pittsburgh, 84-48, during the 1949-50 regular season and dispatched the Panthers, 72-66, Sunday to reach the “Sweet Sixteen.”
? Bradley's second-round NCAA Tournament opponent in 1950 was #7 UCLA, one of the teams in the other regional semifinal game in Oakland.
Best in the Les Era
? At 22-10 overall and 11-7 in the Valley, Bradley has secured its best overall and league records in Jim Les' first four seasons.
? The overall record is now Bradley's best since the 1995-96 MVC regular-season champions finished 22-7 and the 11-7 league mark is the best since the 2000-01 squad tied for second with a 12-6 record.
? Even if the Braves lose their regional semifinal game, they will finish the year with their best winning percentage (currently .688) since the 1995-96 (.733).
? Bradley has not won as many as 23 games since 1993-94 (23-8) and the Braves have not earned as many as 24 wins since 1987-88 (26-5).
? The 2005-06 season marks the third time in Les' four years he has improved the team's record compared to the previous season.
Les Joins the Club
? Jim Les has become the fourth consecutive Bradley coach to lead the Braves to the NCAA Tournament, joining Dick Versace in 1980 and 1986; Stan Albeck in 1988; and Jim Molinari in 1996.
? Six of the 12 coaches to direct the Bradley program now have led the Braves to the NCAA Tournament -- Forddy Anderson (1950 and 1954) and Bob Vanatta (1955) are the other two.
? Les also becomes the ninth consecutive Bradley coach to lead the Braves to a postseason tournament.
Coaching His Alma Mater
? Bradley's Jim Les joins Stan Albeck as the only individuals to both play and coach in the NCAA Tournament for the Braves.
? Les is the 45th coach nationally to play in the NCAA Tournament, then lead his alma mater back to the Big Dance as its coach.
? Bradley is one of just six schools that boast two alums who have both played and coached in the NCAA Tournament for the same institution.
The Turning Point
? On Jan. 11 visiting Wichita State dealt Bradley its third consecutive defeat and dropped the Braves to 8-6 overall and 2-4 in the Valley by running out to a 15-0 lead on the way to an 86-76 victory at Carver Arena, Bradley's only home loss in 14 games this season.
? Bradley head coach Jim Les announced in his postgame press conference that only senior guard Tony Bennett was assured of starting the next game and the other four starting assignments would be determined by the team's next two practices.
? Junior guard J.J. Tauai, who earned his first start of the season after not playing in four of the previous five games, and Zach Andrews replaced Marcellus Sommerville and Lawrence Wright among the starting five for Bradley's next game Jan. 14 versus Evansville.
? Bradley responded by drilling the Purple Aces, 90-62.
? Sommerville has returned to the starting lineup and Tauai has held his spot, helping the Braves to a 14-4 record in their last 18 games.
Knocking Out the Champs
? Including Friday's upset of Big 12 Conference regular-season and postseason tournament champion Kansas, Bradley has defeated five conference champions this year: Delaware State (MEAC regular-season), Kansas, Southern Illinois (MVC Tournament), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt regular-season) and Wichita State (MVC regular-season).
? Bradley's next opponent, #3 Memphis, swept the Conference USA regular-season and postseason tournament championships.
Rank and File
? Thursday's game versus Memphis will be Bradley's third straight versus a nationally-ranked opponent.
? The Braves have not played three consecutive games versus nationally-ranked opponents since the 1952-53 season: Feb. 21 at #14 DePaul (L, 69-75); Feb. 23 at #16 Louisville (L, 70-79); and Feb. 28 versus #7 Oklahoma State.
? Looking ahead to Thursday, Bradley has never played and won three consecutive games versus nationally-ranked opponents.
? Prior to this past weekend, the Braves had not played and won two consecutive games versus nationally-ranked opponents since winning the 1960 National Invitation Tournament by downing #9 St. Bonaventure (82-71) in the semifinals and #14 Providence (88-72) in the championship game.
? Memphis will become the highest-ranked Bradley opponent since the Braves lost at #3 Villanova, 70-63, Nov. 29, 1995.
? Bradley has not downed a top-3 team since beating Valley rival and second-ranked Wichita State, 55-47, Jan. 9, 1982 at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse.
Not An Easy Route
? On Jan. 18 Bradley was not on the NCAA Tournament radar screen after an 80-76 loss at Creighton, its fourth loss in five games, dropped the Braves to 9-7 overall and 3-5 in the Valley.
? Since that loss in Omaha, however, Bradley has won 13 of its last 16 games, including nine of the last 10.
? The hot finish included a 7-game winning streak, the team's longest since an 8-game ride in 1996-97, that carried Bradley to the MVC Tournament final.
? Among the last 13 wins, eight have come against teams that had combined for a 181-74 (.710) record through March 19.
Getting it Done on “D”
? Although Bradley remains an effective offensive team, its last-season surge can be attributed to its defensive effort.
? In addition to its play on the offensive end, Bradley has developed into a strong defensive team this year.
? The Braves now lead the Valley in field goal percentage defense (.400), rebound average (37.7 rpg), blocked shots per game (4.63) and steals per game (9.06) and are second in turnovers forced (16.7) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.305).
? In five postseason games, Bradley has limited the opposition to 59.4 points per game on 37.1 percent shooting from the field and 26.4 percent from 3-point range.
? Bradley also has enjoyed a +2.8 turnover margin in the postseason, while forcing the opposition into 0.64 assists-to-turnover ratio (48 assists, 75 turnovers).
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 15-0 this season and 46-11 (.807) in Jim Les' four years as head coach when they commit fewer fouls than their opponents.
? During their last 13 wins, the Braves have been whistled for a total of just 198 fouls, an average of only 15.2 per game.
? Bradley has been whistled for more fouls in each of its 10 losses this season, committing an average of 8.4 more personal fouls per game than the opposition (240-156) in those losses.
More FTs=More Wins
? In Bradley's 22 wins this season, the Braves have converted 354-of-478 (.741) free throw attempts.
? In the 22 wins, Bradley has averaged 21.7 free throw attempts per game and has outscored the opposition by an average of 4.9 points per game at the line.
? In the 10 losses, the Braves have made only 105-of-161 (.652) attempts.
? In those 10 losses, Bradley has averaged only 16.1 free throw attempts per game and the opposition has outscored the Braves by 11.9 points per game from the stripe.
Some Names to Know
? Here are some names to know when discussing Bradley Basketball:
Jack Brickhouse and Chick Hearn
? Both of the Hall-of-Fame sports broadcasters cut their play-by-play teeth on Bradley Basketball.
? Brickhouse was the first radio “Voice of the Braves,” calling the action for the “Famous Five” for WMBD Radio, beginnig with Bradley's first-ever radio broadcast versus Yale on Dec. 30, 1938 from the old Peoria Armory.
? Brickhouse, who gained fame as the WGN-TV play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs, was a Peoria native and a 1937 Bradley graduate.
? Hearn also got his start as a radio play-by-play man for the Braves, calling the action for WEEK radio for five years in the early 1950s.
? A former Bradley student, Hearn became the first play-by-play man for the Los Angeles Lakers and called more than 3,000 consecutive games for the NBA franchise beginning Nov. 21, 1965.
Hersey Hawkins, 1984-88
? A two-time MVC Player of the Year, Hawkins shared national player-of-the-year honors with Kansas' Danny Manning in 1988 after leading the nation in scoring at 36.3 points per game.
? Hawkins now is the seventh-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history with 3,008 points and he went on to enjoy a 13-year NBA career.
Anthony Parker, 1993-97
? Parker was the 1996 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
? The current, two-time Euroleague Finals Most Valuable Player for Maccabi Tel Aviv, he is the older brother of current Tennessee women's basketball star Candace Parker.
Marcus Pollard, 1992-94
? Although Bradley has not fielded a football team since 1970, the former Bradley power forward has gone on to enjoy an 11-year career as an NFL tight end.
? After playing 10 seasons for the Indianapolis Colts, Pollard recently completed his first year with the Detroit Lions.
A.J. Robertson
? Robertson is the winningest coach in Bradley Basketball history.
? In addition to his 312-187 (.625) record as the school's basketball coach from 1920 to 1948, Robertson also coached the football team to a 144-63-10 (.687) record and the baseball team to a 244-157-6 (.608) mark while also serving as the athletic director during his 26 years on the Hilltop.
Chet “The Jet” Walker, 1959-62
? Walker was a two-time, consensus All-American at Bradley in 1961 and 1962 and he remains one of only two players in school history with more than 1,000 points (1,975) and 1,000 rebounds (1,036).
? A seven-time NBA All-Star, Walker is currently a finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Bradley-Memphis Series
? Bradley will face an old Missouri Valley Conference rival Thursday when the Braves meet the Oakland Regional's top seed, #3 Memphis at Oakland Arena.
? The all-time series is tied at 9-9 and Thursday's game will be the second postseason meeting between the Braves and Tigers.
? In the first meeting of the series, Bradley clinched its first of four National Invitation Tournament championships by pulling out an 84-83 win against #12 Memphis March 23, 1957 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
? The next 12 games in the series were played as Missouri Valley Conference rivals during Memphis' six-year membership in the league from 1967-68 through 1972-73.
? Memphis has won three straight against Bradley, in addition to seven of the last eight and nine of the last 11 meetings.
Bradley Vs. C-USA
? Thursday's game will be Bradley's second against a member of Conference USA this season.
? Despite playing without the services of sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant or junior guard Will Franklin, and enduring an off game by senior forward Marcellus Sommerville, Bradley pulled away late for a 56-43 victory Dec. 21 at Southern Miss.
Against the Other Bracket
? Bradley is 7-5 all-time versus the other two teams that have advanced to the Oakland Regional semifinals.
? The Braves are 2-0 against Gonzaga, sweeping a home-and-home series during the 1958-59 and 1959-60 seasons.
? The last time the two teams met resulted in the 10th win in a 15-game Bradley winning streak that eventually helped catapult the Braves to the 1960 NIT championship.
? Bradley is 5-5 all-time versus UCLA, including a 73-59 victory in the only previous NCAA Tournament meeting, March 24, 1950 in Kansas City, Mo.
? UCLA has won three straight versus Bradley, as well as six of the last seven meetings.
CAlifornia Homecoming
? Bradley's trip to Oakland for the regional finals will be a homecoming of sorts for three individuals involved with the Bradley men's basketball program.
? Bradley's primary eight-man rotation includes two Northern Californians: senior forward Lawrence Wright (Beale A.F.B./Wheatland H.S.) and junior forward Zach Andrews (Sacramento, Calif./Cordova H.S.).
? Both Wright and Andrews transferred to Bradley from Yuba College, where they teamed together during the 2003-04 season.
? In addition to the two players, Bradley head coach Jim Les played four years (1990-94) for the NBA's Sacramento Kings then made the state capital his permanent home after retiring from the league in 1995, until becoming head coach at Bradley in 2002.
About the Nickname
? Bradley's intercollegiate athletic teams had several nicknames during the early years, Techsters, Hilltoppers and Indians among them.
? In the 1920s, then multi-sport coach and athletic director A.J. Robertson decided too many schools were using the Indians nickname and changed Bradley's nickname to help give the program its own identity.
? In 1994 Bradley University did away with all direct references to Native Americans as it related to the Department of Athletics, including the use of a mascot, and adopted the current logo (displayed above).
? Despite the changes, Bradley was among the 18 institutions cited by the NCAA in August for using a “hostile and abusive” nickname.
? Bradley University has appealed the ruling and the NCAA Management Council is scheduled to consider the latest and final appeal in April.
? Since the initial ruling in August, Bradley University was allowed to host a first-round game in the 2005 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship and the players have not be forced to cover the “BU Braves” logo on their uniforms.
Bracket Friendly Braves
? In Bradley's seven previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the team that beat Bradley went on to win the national championship three times: 1950 (CCNY), 1954 (La Salle), 1986 (Louisville).
? In fact, Bradley has never been more than one team removed from the Final Four.
? In addition to the three years listed above, Colorado downed the Braves in the 1955 West Regional final to advance to the Final Four.
? In 1980, Texas A&M beat Bradley in the first round, then knocked off No. 3 seed North Carolina in the second round, 78-61, in double overtime before losing to eventual national champion Louisville in the regional semifinals.
? In 1988, Auburn downed the Braves in the first round, then bowed to eventual national runner-up Oklahoma in the second round.
? In 1996, Bradley lost to Stanford in the first round and the Cardinal were knocked out in the second round by Marcus Camby's Final Four bound Massachusetts squad.
strength of the valley
? The second-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the nation (Big Ten), the Missouri Valley Conference is enjoying arguably the best men's basketball season in its 98-year history.
? For the first time in NCAA Tournament history, the Valley sent four teams to the “Big Dance” and two more members, Creighton and Missouri State, received first-round byes and are No. 2 seeds in the National Invitation Tournament.
? While Bradley and Wichita State have advanced to the NCAA Tournament “Sweet 16,” Creighton and Missouri State both won their first-round NIT games and were scheduled to host second-round games when this book went to print.
? The Valley ended the regular season ranked sixth among all 31 NCAA Division I conferences in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI).
? All 10 Valley members finished the regular season within at least one game of .500 in non-conference play and have combined for a 78-29 (.729) non-conference record entering the second week of the postseason.
? The Valley's six postseason teams all have accumulated at least 20 wins and have combined for a 134-56 (.705) overall record, which includes a 55-15 (.786) record against teams outside the Valley.
Only Bradley and SIU
? Bradley and Southern Illinois are the only two teams to beat each of their nine Valley rivals this season.
? Southern Illinois did no worse than a split with its nine league rivals during the regular-season.
? Bradley was swept during the two-game regular-season series versus Wichita State, but the Braves advanced to MVC Tournament championship game by downing the regular-season champion Shockers, 60-52, in the semis.
Record-Setting Performances
? Bradley's previous seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament have produced some record-setting performances:
? In the 1996 first-round game versus Stanford, then junior guard Anthony Parker connected on 8-of-10 tries from 3-point range to set the school record for 3-pointers made in a game.
? Parker's eight treys are still tied for the eighth-most ever in a NCAA Tournament game.
? In the 1988 first-round game versus Auburn, Hersey Hawkins pumped in 44 points, the most-ever by a collegian in Atlanta's old Omni arena.
? Hawkins' 44 points are still tied for 14th on the NCAA Tournament all-time single-game scoring list and remain the last 40-point effort in school history.
? In the 1955 regional semifinal versus Colorado, Bob Carney sank 23 free throws.
? Carney's 23 free throws are still tied for the most-ever in a NCAA Tournament game and remain the school single-game record.
