Bradley Makes History

?   Bradley overcame an 11-point first half deficit en route to a 64-47 win Wednesday at Loyola Chicago to earn the 1,500th win in program history.

?   Bradley became the 26th program in NCAA Division I history to achieve 1,500 wins and now boasts a 1501-976 all-time record.

Ruffin Makes History, Too

?   Having helped Bradley to 63 of its 1,501 all-time wins as the team's starting point guard the last four years, senior Daniel Ruffin made some history of his own in Saturday's 90-72 victory against Southeast Missouri State.

?   Finishing with 10 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals against the Redhawks, Ruffin became the 41st member of Bradley's 1,000-Point Club.

?   The nation's active leader with 533 career assists, Ruffin also became the fourth player in Missouri Valley Conference history to record score at least 1,000 career points and dish out at least 500 career assists.

1,000 Points, 500 Assists in MVC History

Player, School, Years                 Points  Assists

Rick Fields, Indiana State, 1981-85   1,142   551

Anthony Manuel, Bradley, 1984-89      1,221   855

Ryan Sears, Creighton, 1997-01        1,309   570

Daniel Ruffin, Bradley, 2004-Active   1,003   533

Home Streak To Be Tested

?   Extended by the 90-72 win against Southeast Missouri State Saturday night, Bradley's non-conference home winning streak now stands at 29 games.

?   Bradley's streak is tied for fifth nationally heading into this week's action.

?   The streak will be put to the extreme test when the Braves host #10 Michigan State (6-1) Tuesday night at Carver Arena in an 8:05 game to be televised nationally on ESPNU.

?   The Braves have not lost to a team outside the Missouri Valley Conference at Carver Arena since a 74-71 setback to Chris Kaman's Central Michigan squad Dec. 18, 2002.

Rk.  School          Stk.  Next

1.   Duke             55   Dec. 8 vs. Michigan

2.   Sam Houston St.  40   Dec. 4 vs. Texas Lutheran

3.   Michigan State   31   Dec. 8 vs. BYU

     Washington       31   Dec. 8 vs. Pittsburgh

5.   Arkansas         29   Dec. 3 vs. Missouri State

     Bradley          29   Dec. 4 vs. Michigan St.

7.   New Mexico       27   Dec. 8 vs. San Diego

8.   Pittsburgh       26   Dec. 15 vs. Oklahoma St.

9.   UNI              24   Dec. 5 vs. Iowa

     Utah State       24   Dec. 15 vs. Prairie View

Bradley-Michigan State Series

?   Michigan State has won both of the previous meetings in the all-time series versus Bradley, which began with an 89-87 Spartans victory Dec. 19, 1969 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

?   Starting a three-year series last season, Michigan State earned an 82-53 win Dec. 4, 2006 at the Breslin Center.

?   Following Tuesday's game at Carver Arena, the series will conclude with another game in East Lansing next season.

Spartans Bring High Ranking

?   The first Big Ten team to visit Carver Arena since #15 Illinois Nov. 22, 1999, Michigan State figures to be the highest ranked team to ever visit Bradley's 26-year old home venue.

?   Bradley has not played a home game against a team ranked in the top 10 since beating #8 Tulsa, 82-79 in overtime, in the last regular-season game in Robertson Fieldhouse history Feb. 27, 1982.

?   Ranked as high as #10 last week, Michigan State likely will be the highest ranked non-conference team to visit Peoria since #4 UNLV pulled out a 107-106 win at Robertson Fieldhouse Feb. 1, 1977.

Elite Point Guard Matchup

?   Tuesday's game against Michigan State will feature the individual matchup of the nation's two active career assists leaders.

?   Both nominated for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award, Bradley's Daniel Ruffin leads all active players with 533 career assists.

?   Michigan State senior sharpshooter Drew Neitzel is second nationally with 471 career assists.

?   Neitzel is well known for his 3-point shooting proficiency and has made 18-of-38 (.474) from long range in his seven games this season.

?   Ruffin is 21-for-51 (.412) from 3-point range this season, including a 20-for-41 (.488) effort in his last seven games.

Player-of-the-Week NOminee

Jeremy Crouch ? Sr. ? G ? Pekin, Ill. ? Pekin H.S.

?   Crouch averaged 23.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals while leading the Braves to a pair wins last week.

?   Shooting 65.2 percent (15-23) overall from the field, Crouch drained 12-of-16 (.750) 3-point attempts in the two games.

?   Crouch was the leading scorer in both games last week, scoring 21 on 5-of-7 long-range shooting in Wednesdady's 64-47 win at Loyola Chicago, followed by 25 points on 7-for-9 3-point shooting in Saturday's 90-72 win against Southeast Missouri State.

?   Bradley's second-leading scorer at 14.8 ppg, Crouch now has made 30-of-64 (.469) 3-point field goal attempts this season.