PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley will visit current Colonial Athletic Association leader Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) Feb. 17 in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters, according to an announcement made on ESPNU this evening. Although the game time and specific network have not yet been announced, the Bradley-VCU game will be part of the 13-game television package of games to air on ESPN2 and ESPNU.
With the second-best RPI among the 51 pre-determined road teams in the 102-team pool for the series, Bradley (15-8, 6-5 MVC) will make its official O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters debut against the Rams (18-3, 10-0 CAA). The Braves have participated in the series pool the previous three years, but today's announcement marks the first time Bradley officially has been considered part of the BracketBusters package. Bradley owns a 4-2 record in the games created through the series, sweeping Northern Illinois (2004) and splitting the two games against Western Kentucky (2005) and Tennessee Tech (2006).
VCU owns the fifth-best RPI among the home teams, but the third-best rating among the teams not in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Rams also will be making their television package debut. VCU begins this week riding a nine-game winning streak, which most recently includes road wins against 2006 NCAA Tournament darling George Mason and fellow 2007 CAA title contender Drexel. The Rams are 8-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming against an Appalachian State team that currently owns the third-best road RPI in the BracketBusters pool. The Rams own non-conference wins against Conference USA members Houston (102-84) and UAB (53-44), as well as a 70-67 loss to Xavier on a neutral floor. The Rams are second among the “others receiving votes” in this week's ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll and fifth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Bradley owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, which dates back to a 102-70 Braves victory, Dec. 1, 1970 at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse. The teams then defended their home courts in a two-year series in the late ?80s: Bradley won, 75-50, Feb. 8, 1989 at Carver Arena and VCU took the return game, 89-66, Dec. 14, 1989 in Richmond. As part of the agreement to participate in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters pool, VCU will join Iowa State and Michigan State on Bradley's 2007-08 home schedule.
The last sports meeting between the two schools came at a significant time: the Bradley soccer team was scheduled to play in the University of Richmond's tournament in 2001 the weekend following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Although the tournament was cancelled after Bradley arrived in Richmond, VCU agreed to host the Braves Sept. 15 and the two teams played to a scoreless draw.
While Monday's announcement finalized Bradley's 2006-07 non-conference schedule, the Braves will turn their attention back to the Missouri Valley Conference race. Currently tied for fourth in the league standings, Bradley will host Valley co-leader Creighton (14-7, 8-3) Wednesday night at Carver Arena in a 7:35 game that will be televised on Fox Sports Midwest, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Fox College Sports. In search of a third consecutive crowd in excess of 11,000 for the first time in program history, Bradley will distribute red pom-pons to everyone in attendance Wednesday night. A limited number of tickets remain for Wednesday night's game and may be purchased through the Bradley Ticket Office in Robertson Fieldhouse (309-677-2625), the Peoria Civic Center Box Office (309-676-8700) or any TicketMaster outlet.
