PEORIA, Ill. ? The Bradley University men's basketball team will depart Robertson Fieldhouse shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday to begin its trip to Starkville, Miss. for Saturday morning's nationally-televised game against Mississippi State in the second round of the MasterCard National Invitation Tournament. Fans interested in sending the team off are asked to please begin gathering at the Fieldhouse around 1 o'clock Friday afternoon for an informal pep rally.
The Braves (22-12) advanced to the second round of the nation's oldest postseason tournament with a thrilling, 90-78 overtime victory against Providence (18-13) Wednesday night at Carver Arena. By outscoring the Friars 16-4 in the extra session, Bradley extended its non-conference home win streak to a Missouri Valley Conference best 25 games and ran its winning streak against the Big East Conference to six games (3-0 this season).
Wednesday's game was sure to be the final home game of the season for the Braves, as the top seeds in the NIT's North Bracket all won their first-round games. The Bradley-Mississippi State winner will face the winner of tonight's second-round game between Michigan and Florida State in Tallahassee. If the fourth-seeded Braves win Saturday, the quarterfinal game will be played at the home site of tonight's Michigan-FSU winner. As is tradition, the NIT semifinals and championship game will be played in New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Saturday's second-round game between Bradley and Mississippi State (19-13) will be televised nationally at 11:05 a.m. (CDT) on ESPN. The game will be the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Braves on the hardwood, although it will not be Bradley's first visit to the Magnolia State. The Braves are 3-0 against both Ole Miss and Southern Miss, including a road win against both schools. Most recently, the Braves completed a two-year, home-and-home sweep of Southern Miss by winning in Hattiesburg last season and at Carver Arena Dec. 23 this season.
By downing Providence Wednesday night, Bradley has achieved consecutive 22-win seasons and the Braves have earned postseason victories in consecutive years for the first time since 1994 and 1995. Following up last year's 22-11, NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 campaign with a 22-12 mark to date this year, Bradley's 44 wins the last two seasons are the most by the Braves in consecutive seasons since amassing 17 wins on either side of the 32-3 mark in 1985-86.
