Bradley fans are reminded that Jim Les Live returns to the air tonight as Dave Snell and fifth-year Braves head coach Jim Les will discuss Bradley Basketball from 6 to 7 p.m. tonight on WMBD AM 1470. Fans may call into the show by dialing toll free (800-698-147), locally (309-685-1470) or from a Verizon Wireless phone (*1470). Prepare for tonight's show by checking out this week's Bradley Basketball Notebook:
vALENTINE'S nIGHT IN eVANSVILLE
? Bradley will visit Missouri Valley Conference rival Evansville for a Valentine's Night clash Wednesday at Roberts Stadium.
? Including Bradley's 85-78 win Dec. 30 in Peoria, the series has been dominated by the home team.
? Bradley owns a 16-13 lead in the all-time series, but the Purple Aces have won 10 of the previous 13 meetings at Roberts Stadium.
? Bradley will be shooting for its third straight win in the series, a streak the Braves have not enjoyed against Evansville since a 7-game streak that began with a non-conference win in 1987 and continued through the first six meetings as Valley rivals from 1995 through 1997.
BracketBusters Debut
? Bradley will make its official debut in the O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters Saturday when the Braves visit Colonial Athletic Association leader VCU (21-5, 13-2) for a 7 p.m. (CST) tip Saturday on ESPN2.
? This is the fourth year Bradley has been included in the pool of teams available for selection to the BracketBusters series and the Braves own a 4-2 record in games created through their participation, sweeping Northern Illinois (2004) and splitting the home-and-home series against Western Kentucky (2005) and Tennessee Tech (2006).
? Bradley owns a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against VCU, most recently splitting a two-year, home-and-home series in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons.
Conference Leaders
? Saturday's game at VCU will be Bradley's fourth this season against a team currently sitting atop its league standings.
? So far this year, the Braves have split their two games against Valley leader Southern Illinois and handled current Horizon League leader Wright State, 88-49, Dec. 5 at Carver Arena.
Four with 50 3-Pointers
? Bradley begins the week fifth nationally by averaging 10.2 3-pointers per game and with 275 3-pointers on the season, the Braves are on pace to break the Missouri Valley Conference single-season record (293) Saturday at VCU.
? When point guard Daniel Ruffin made 5-of-6 attempts from behind the arc Saturday against Drake, he became the fourth Brave to eclipse 50 3-pointers this season, joining Will Franklin (75), Jeremy Crouch (58) and Danny Adams (51) with his 51 treys.
? The 2006-07 season is just the third in the history of the 3-point line that Bradley has had as many as two players with at least 50 treys and the Braves had never before had more than two players eclipse the half-century mark.
Braves hit Century Mark
? Saturday's 100-85 victory against Drake marked the first time Bradley had reached triple digits against a Missouri Valley Conference rival since a 113-102 victory at Southern Illinois Feb. 29, 1988.
? The outburst came on the heels of Wednesday's 60-50 loss at Southern Illinois.
? The 50-point swing officially was the largest from one game to the next for Bradley since the Braves ended their 2001-02 season with a 66-44 loss to Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament and opened the Jim Les era with a 95-81 overtime victory against Pepperdine Nov. 22, 2002.
? It was the largest point swing in consecutive games during the same season since the 1976-77 season when the Braves followed a 65-57 loss at Butler with a 119-80 home win against Southeast Missouri State.
Twin Double-Doubles
? Bradley got double-double performances from a pair of players Saturday: Daniel Ruffin with 19 points and 10 assists and center Zach Andrews with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
? Andrews now boasts seven double-doubles this season, two more than 7-footer Patrick O'Bryant produced last season.
? Ruffin posted his second double-double of the season and now boasts four career games with double-digit assists.
10,000 Strong
? The Braves entertained an Alumni Weekend crowd of 10,707 Saturday against Drake, marking Bradley's seventh home crowd in excess of 10,000 this season.
? Bradley had not drawn at least 10,000 to as many as seven home games in a season since the 1998-99 campaign.
? Bradley's season attendance total at Carver Arena is up to 137,016 (9,787/game) and with two regular-season home games remaining, the Braves are on pace eclipse 150,000 at Carver Arena for just the third time in the arena's 25-year history.
? Bradley drew 154,209 to 16 home games in the arena's first season (1982-83) and a school record 160,263 to 16 home games in 1987-88.
