Bradley-UIC Pregame Notes

PDF version of Bradley's Pregame Notes Package

Bradley University Men's Basketball 11/9/2007 4:45:00 PM

Bradley Basketball Pregame Notes -- Game #1

Bradley (22-13 in 2006-07) at Illinois-Chicago (14-18 in 2006-07)

Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 ? 7:07 p.m.

Chicago, Ill. ? UIC Pavilion (8,000)

Radio: WMBD AM 1470: Dave Snell, Joe Stowell

Web Audio: www.BradleyBraves.com

Television: Insight Communications: Frank Bussone and Chuck Buescher

Video Stream: www.BradleyBraves.com

Tickets: $20 -- UIC Ticket Office (312) 413-8421, UIC Pavilion Box Office or TicketMaster

104th Season Opener

? Bradley will open its 104th men's basketball season Saturday night by visiting Illinois-Chicago at UIC Pavilion.

? A large crowd is expected for the rare meeting between the two programs as Bradley has a large alumni base in the Chicagoland area and UIC has been heavily promoting its season-opener versus the Braves.

? Bradley is 75-28 (.728) all-time in season-openers, including 5-0 under sixth-year head coach Jim Les, but the Braves are just 10-20 (.333) in season-openers played away from home (0-2 neutral, 10-18 road).

About the Braves

? Bradley is one of 14 teams in the nation to win 22 games and collect at least one postseason victory in each of the last two seasons.

? The Braves return seven lettermen, including two starters, from the 2006-07 squad that went 22-13, took fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 10-8 league record and advanced to the second round of the MasterCard NIT.

? Under the direction of head coach Jim Les, the strength of the team appears to be in the backcourt, where the Braves boast two national leaders: senior Jeremy Crouch led the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.500) last year and senior point guard Daniel Ruffin begins the year as the nation's active leader with 475 career assists.

Bradley's Last-Game Lineup

Starters              Pos Yr.  Ht.  Wt.  Hometown                  2006-07 Stats

12  Theron Wilson      F  Jr.  6-5  197  Topeka, Kan.              19.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 2.6 apg at Seward Co. C.C.

22  Matt Salley       F/C Sr.  6-7  230  Charlotte, N.C.           7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, .505 FG%

5   Sam Maniscalco     G  Fr.  6-0  174  Chicago, Ill.             20.3 ppg at St. Patrick H.S.

14  Jeremy Crouch      G  Sr.  6-5  216  Pekin, Ill.               13. 8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, .500 3FG% (national leader)

20  Daniel Ruffin      G  Sr.  5-10 162  Peoria, Ill.              13.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.4 apg

Reserves

0   Tyrone Cole-Scott  G  Jr.  5-10 186  Waterloo, Iowa            16.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 2.5 apg at Tyler J.C.

4   David Collins      C  Jr.  7-0  240  Toronto, Ontario          8.5 ppg, 6.9 rpb, 1.6 bpg at MSU-West Plains

21  Will Egolf         F  Fr.  6-9  220  Juneau, Alaska            18 ppg, 11 rbpg at Juneau-Douglas H.S.

24  Andrew Warren      G  So.  6-5  200  Indianapolis, Ind.        4.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg, .457 3FG%

32  Rashad Austin      F  Jr.  6-7  245  Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.  13.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg at Northeastern J.C.

41  Anthony Thompson   C  Fr.  6-10 186  Houston, Texas            13.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg at Klein Forest H.S.

54  Sam Singh          C  Jr.  6-9  256  Ozark, Mo.                0.9 ppg, 1.3 rpg

Bradley TV Network Affiliates

? Saturday's season-opener at Illinois-Chicago will be televised by Insight Communications and will air on a growing network of cable providers.

Metro Area          Cable Provider  Channel

Bloomington         Insight         22

Galesburg           Insight         74

Gibson City Master  Mediacom        78

Good Hope Master    Mediacom        78

Kincaid Master      Mediacom        78

Morton              Insight         74

Pekin               Insight         74

Peoria              Insight         44

Series Standings

Bradley leads 2-0

Home 2-0; Away 0-0; Neutral 0-0

11-29-80  Robertson Fieldhouse  W  99-48

11-19-06  !Carver Arena         W  81-72

! First round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge

Against Illinois-Chicago

? Although separated by just 169 miles, Bradley and Illinois-Chicago will meet for just the third time Saturday when the Braves visit UIC Pavilion.

? Bradley opened the 1980-81 season with a 99-48 victory versus the Flames at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse, then tacked on the second win, 81-72, during the opening round of last year's Chicago Invitational Challenge at Carver Arena.

About the Flames

? Illinois-Chicago returns five lettermen, including three starters, from last year's squad that produced a 14-18 overall record and tied for fourth in the Horizon League with a 7-9 league mark.

? Junior guard Josh Mayo is a second-team preseason All-Horizon League pick and is UIC's top returning scorer (12.2 ppg).

? Mayo drilled 6-of-8 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 21 points in Tuesday's 59-57 exhibition victory versus Lewis.

? Jimmy Collins is beginning his 12th year as a college head coach, all at UIC, and enters the season-opener with a 176-156 (.530) career record.

Tough Road on the Horizon

? Beginning with Saturday's season-opening visit to UIC, Bradley will play the top four teams in the 2006-07 Horizon League standings this year, all on the road.

? Following the game at UIC, Bradley will return to the Windy City for a Nov. 28 visit to Loyola Chicago, then will visit Horizon League co-champs Wright State (Dec. 11) and Butler (Dec. 19) in consecutive games.

Horizon League     All-Time  Road

Butler              11-9     2-7

Cleveland State      0-0     0-0

Detroit-Mercy       14-5     6-2

Illinois-Chicago     2-0     0-0

Loyola Chicago      28-15    8-10

Valparaiso           2-1     0-1

Wisconsin-Green Bay  1-0     0-0

Wisconsin-Milwaukee  1-1     0-0

Wright State         1-0     0-0

Youngstown State     0-0     0-0

10-Team Totals      60-31   16-20

Earliest Start

? Saturday's season-opener at UIC will mark the earliest start to a season in Bradley Basketball history, surpassing last year's Nov. 11 season tipoff versus DePaul.

? Bradley did not even play a November game until downing Hardin-Simmons, 83-63, Nov. 30, 1963.

? The below list chronicles the evolution of the earliest start date in Bradley Basketbal history:

1902-03  Jan. 1   at Invicibles      W   12-8

1906-07  Dec. 15  Abington H.S.      W   40-18

1908-09  Dec. 3   YMCA Clippers      L   23-47

1933-34  Dec. 1   at Northwestern    L   19-40

1963-64  Nov. 30  Hardin-Simmons     W   83-63

1972-73  Nov. 25  Wabash             W   92-75

1984-85  Nov. 23  at Loyola Chicago  L   80-98

1985-86  Nov. 22  at Loyola Chicago  W   94-84

1986-87  Nov. 21  at Michigan        L  107-115

1997-98  Nov. 15  Montana            W   81-54

2006-07  Nov. 11  DePaul             W   78-58

Les Likes Long Breaks

? Heading into Saturday's season-opener sixth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les is 13-2 (.867) in his career when given at least a full week to prepare for a game, incuding a 9-0 mark with at least 10 days to prep his team.

? Those marks include a 5-0 record in season-openers.

? Les has won seven straight when given at least a week of prep time.

Date      Opponent         Result     Prep Days

11-22-02  Pepperdine       W, 95-81   Opener

12-07-02  Ark.-Monticello  W, 107-70  7

11-21-03  La.-Monroe       W, 73-65   Opener

12-17-03  Loyola Chicago   W, 79-63   7

12-28-03  at UNLV*         L, 55-73   8

11-19-04  SE Missouri St.  W, 77-73   Opener

12-18-04  Pepperdine       W, 76-58   11

12-28-04  at Creighton     L, 62-71   7

11-19-05  at DePaul        W, 75-60   Opener

12-14-05  Western Ky.      W, 78-76   8

12-28-05  Northern Iowa    W, 68-60   7

03-17-06  vs. #12 Kansas   W, 77-73   12

11-11-06  DePaul           W, 78-58   Opener

12-16-06  vs. Iowa State   W, 76-66   10

03-14-07  Providence       W, 90-78   10

*First game without Valley preseason player of the year Phillip Gilbert (broken foot)

Preseason Points Flow

? Bradley put on a pair of offensive clinics en route to its two preseason routs last week, dropping NAIA Saint Ambrose, 110-84, Thursday at Robertson Fieldhouse and NCAA Division II Quincy, 105-82, Sunday afternoon at Carver Arena.

? Utilizing a deep bench, the Braves were particularly explosive in the second half of both games, outscoring Saint Ambrose 64-44 in the final 20 mintues and Quincy 66-35 after the break.

? In the 16 seasons Bradley has played at least two preseason games, the Braves had never before averaged triple digits in the multiple exhibitions.

The New Bomb Squad

? The bulk of Bradley's 3-point attack last season came from six players who combined to make 344-of-809 (.425) attempts from behind the arc last season.

2006-07 Shooters   3FGM-A  3FG%

Will Franklin      88-203  .433

Jeremy Crouch      83-166  .500

Daniel Ruffin      66-173  .382

Danny Adams        61-147  .415

J.J. Tauai         25-74   .338

Andrew Warren      21-46   .457

? Three of those six players graduated -- Danny Adams, Will Franklin and J.J. Tauai-- but if the preseason is an indication, the Braves have assembled a new bomb squad for the 2007-08 campaign.

? Bradley's top five 3-point shooters in the preseason combined to make 27 of the team's 28 3-pointers in the two exhibition games and hit at a combined 50 percent (27-54) from behind the arc.