Tough Closing Stretch

?   With six games remaining in the regular season, Bradley faces arguably the toughest part of its schedule, beginning with two games this week:  Tuesday at Indiana State and Saturday versus Creighton at Carver Arena.

?   Four of Bradley's five remaining Missouri Valley Conference games will be played against teams either tied with or ahead of the fourth-place Braves in the league standings.

?   The lone exception is Tuesday's game versus Indiana State at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, where the Sycamores are 9-1 this season.

?   Bradley will follow by hosting third-place Creighton Saturday afternoon in the first matchup of the year against the Bluejays.

Saturday Redout

?   Bradley will sponsor its third t-shirt giveaway of the season Saturday and is promoting a “Redout” for the MVC-TV game versus Creighton.

?   Fans are encouraged to wear red Saturday, but to enhance the environment, everyone in attendance for the 1:05 p.m. game Saturday versus the Bluejays will receive a red Bradley Basketball t-shirt.

?   Bradley won its two “Redout” games during the 2006-07 season and averaged 11,262 fans in convincing wins versus DePaul (78-58) and Illinois State (88-67).

The 25-Point Club

?   When senior guard Daniel Ruffin scored a career-best 25 points Wednesday versus Missouri State, he became the fourth Brave to score at least 25 points in a game this season.

?   Sophomore guard Andrew Warren hit for 25 Nov. 18 versus Maryland-Eastern Shore, senior guard Jeremy Crouch scored 25 Dec. 1 versus Southeast Missouri State and junior forward Theron Wilson torched Evansville for 28 points Jan. 19.

?   Only seven other players in The Valley have scored at least 25 this year, no more than two on another team.

MVC 25-Point Scorers

Bradley (4):  Jeremy Crouch, Daniel Ruffin, Andrew Warren, Theron Wilson

Creighton (1):  Dane Watts

Drake (0):  N/A

Evansville (2):  Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger

Illinois State (2):  Levi Dyer, Osiris Eldridge

Indiana State:  N/A

Missouri State (2):  Dale Lamberth, Deven Mitchell

Southern Illinois:  N/A

UNI (0):  N/A

Wichita State (0):  N/A

Milestone Watch

90  Aaron Zobrist's school record for 3-pointers in a season ... Senior guard Jeremy Crouch has 73 treys so far this season and by averaging 2.9 per game, he is on pace to break Zobrist's mark during the March 1 game at Creighton.

100  Sixth-year head coach Jim Les enters Tuesday's game at Indiana State with 98 career wins ... Les needs two more wins to become the seventh coach in program history to win 100 games at Bradley.

233  Aaron Zobrist's school record for 3-pointers in a career ... Senior guard Jeremy Crouch has 217 career treys and also is on pace to break Zobrist's career mark during the March 1 game at Creighton.

1,500  Bradley Hall-of-Famer Joe Stowell has held an official capacity -- player (103 games), assistant coach (250), head coach (344), assistant A.D. (107) and radio analyst (688) -- for 1,493 Bradley men's basketball games ... Stowell is on schedule to work his 1,500th Bradley game when the Braves open play in the 2008 State Farm MVC Tournament.

2,500  Bradley has played 2,494 games in its 104-year men's basketball history ... The March 1 game at Creighton will be the 2,500th in program history.

February Record

?   Despite each splitting their two games last week, Bradley and Missouri State own the best February records in the Missouri Valley Conference the past three seasons. 

Team                Total   ?07-08  ?06-07  ?05-06

Bradley             13-5      2-1     5-2     6-2

Missouri State      13-5      1-2     5-2     7-1

Creighton           11-6      3-0     4-3     4-3

Southern Illinois   11-7      1-2     7-0     3-5

Wichita State        9-9      1-2     2-5     6-2

Drake                8-10     3-0     4-3     1-7

Evansville           7-10     1-2     2-5     4-3

UNI                  6-11     1-2     2-5     3-4

Illinois State       6-12     2-1     3-4     1-7

Indiana State        5-14     0-3     1-7     4-4

Creighton Not Included

?   Bradley does not have a player on its roster that has faced Creighton in a February game.

?   The Braves and Bluejays have not faced each other in February since the Bluejays earned a 74-56 win Feb. 11, 2004 in Omaha.

?   When Creighton visits Carver Arena Saturday, 382 days will have elapsed since the two teams last met, an 82-71 Creighton win Jan. 31, 2007 at Carver Arena.

?   Only 14 days will pass before the teams meet again, March 1 at the Qwest Center in Omaha.