Game #27 ? Creighton (17-7, 8-6 MVC) at Bradley (14-12, 7-7 MVC)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008
Tipoff: 1:05 p.m.
Location: Peoria, Ill. ? Carver Arena (11,164)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 -- Dave Snell, Joe Stowell & Chuck Buescher
TV: MVC-TV -- Dan McLaughlin & Mac McCausland
Web Audio: www.BradleyBraves.com
Tickets: $8-18 based on location; Robertson Fieldhouse, Carver Arena, BradleyBraves.com
Coaches: Bradley -- Jim Les (Bradley ?86), Sixth year at Bradley and overall (98-85)
Creighton -- Dana Altman (E. New Mexico ?80), 14th year at Creighton (277-148) and 19th year overall (360-215)
Getting To Know Each Other
? It is not out of the question that Bradley and Creighton will play each other three times in the next six games, beginning with a Saturday afternoon clash at Carver Arena in a game to be televised on FSN Midwest, FSN Indiana, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and MetroSports in Kansas City.
? Bradley enters Saturday's game tied with UNI for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, one game behind Creighton, which is tied for third in The Valley standings with Southern Illinois.
? Saturday's game marks the latest date in the season Bradley will have played a Valley rival for the first time in the year since the Braves visited Creighton Feb. 16, 1995 for the only meeting between the two teams during the 1994-95 campaign.
Seeing Red
? The Bradley Department of Athletics will be sponsoring its third t-shirt giveaway of the year Saturday as part of a “Red Out” promotion at Carver Arena.
? Fans are encouraged to wear red to Saturday's game, but to enhance the look, the Department of Athletics will distribute red Bradley Basketball t-shirts to everyone in attendance.
? Bradley is 0-2 in its colored t-shirt give-away games this season, falling to #9 Michigan State in a “White Out” and to VCU in a “Red and White Out,” but the Braves were 2-0 in its two 2006-07 “Red Out” games by routing DePaul (78-58) and Illinois State (88-67).
About Bradley Basketball
? Bradley ranks 26th in NCAA Division I history with 1,509 all-time victories.
? Bradley is one of 14 teams to win at least 22 games and earn a postseason victory in each of the last two seasons: 22-11 in 2005-06 with two NCAA Tournament wins and 22-13 last year with a trip to the second round of the NIT.
? Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Jim Les (Bradley ?86), Bradley has won at least 22 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1958-59 and 1959-60, as well as postseason games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1994 (NIT 2-1) and 1995 (NIT 1-1).
? Following the graduation of four seniors -- Danny Adams, Zach Andrews, Will Franklin and J.J. Tauai -- who played prominent roles on Bradley's two postseason squads, the Braves brought in nine newcomers for the 2007-08 season, including six who have seen action through the first 19 games.
? Utilizing a three-guard attack, Bradley ranked among the national leaders in both 3-point field goals made (T-7th, 237) and free throw percentage (T-22nd, .748) through Thursday's action.
Bradley-Creighton Series
? Saturday's game will be the 74th meeting in the all-time series between Bradley and Creighton, which dates back to a 52-46 Braves victory Feb. 13, 1941 in a non-conference game played at the old Peoria Armory.
? Bradley owns a 38-35 lead in the all-time series, including a 23-13 home advantage and 16-11 edge at Carver Arena.
? Creighton, however, has held the upper hand of late, sweeping the 2006-07 season series and winning 12 of the last 14 meetings.
Series Information
Bradley leads 38-35
Current Streak: Creighton W2
at BU: Bradley leads 23-13, 16-11 at Carver Arena
Jim Les vs. Creighton: 2-9
Dana Altman vs. Bradley: 16-12
Last Meeting: CU 82-71 (Jan. 31, 2007 at BU)
Last BU win: March 3, 2006 (54-47 in St. Louis)
Futures Appear Bright
? Gauging by the Missouri Valley Conference weekly Newcomer-of-the-Week awards, the future appears bright for both the Bradley and Creighton programs.
? The two teams have combined to win the award in 12 of the season's first 14 weeks.
? Bradley has had three different MVC Newcomers of the Week -- David Collins, Theron Wilson and Sam Maniscalco (twice) -- while Creighton's lineup has featured five different winners.
The Last Time Out
Tuesday ? at Indiana State 76, Bradley 66
? Bradley shot a season-worst 14.8 percent (4-27) from 3-point territory and could not completely recover from a 10-0 Indiana State run midway through the second half.
? Compounding Bradley's cold night from behind the arc, the Braves also shot just 64.3 percent (18-28) from the free throw line and were outrebounded, 39-32.
? Sophomore guard Andrew Warren led the Braves with 17 points and a career-high-tying seven rebounds.
Hoping For Deja Vu
? Bradley is hoping history will repeat itself as the Braves try to bounce back its second straight loss, a 76-66 decision Tuesday at Indiana State.
? In 2006 Bradley dropped a 75-63 decision Feb. 8 at Indiana State for a second straight loss, falling to 13-9.
? With five games left in the season, Bradley won out, then went on to advance to the championship game of the 2006 State Farm MVC Tournament and ultimately claimed an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Milestone Watch
90 Aaron Zobrist's school record for 3-pointers in a season ... Senior guard Jeremy Crouch has 75 treys so far this season and by averaging 2.9 per game, he is on pace to break Zobrist's mark during the first round of the State Farm MVC Tournament.
100 Sixth-year head coach Jim Les enters Saturday's game against Creighton 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 219 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 (690) -- for 1,494 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 2,495 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 dropping its last two games, Bradley joins Missouri State with the best February records in the Missouri Valley Conference the past three seasons.
Team Total ?07-08 ?06-07 ?05-06
Bradley 13-6 2-2 5-2 6-2
Missouri State 13-6 1-3 5-2 7-1
Southern Illinois 12-7 2-2 7-0 3-5
Creighton 11-7 3-1 4-3 4-3
Wichita State 9-10 1-3 2-5 6-2
Drake 8-11 3-1 4-3 1-7
Evansville 8-10 2-2 2-5 4-3
UNI 7-11 2-2 2-5 3-4
Illinois State 7-12 3-1 3-4 1-7
Indiana State 6-14 1-3 1-7 4-4
Valley Schedule Toughens
? The final third of Bradley's 18-game Valley schedule shapes up as the toughest.
? Five of Bradley's final six league games are being played against the teams that enter the weekend ahead of the Braves in the Valley standings.
? The sixth game, Tuesday's visit to Indiana State, as played against a Sycamores team that is 10-1 at home.
Bradley Joins the 1,500-Club
? Bradley overcame an 11-point first half deficit en route to a 64-47 win Nov. 28 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 1509-986 all-time record.
Ruffin Makes History, Too
? Having helped Bradley to 66 of its 1,509 all-time wins as the team's starting point guard the last four years, senior Daniel Ruffin boasts some historically significant numbers of his own.
? The nation's active leader with 583 career assists, Ruffin is 29th in school history with 1,149 points, making him the fourth player in Missouri Valley Conference history to score at least 1,000 career points and dish out at least 500 career assists.
? Ruffin needs just 17 assists to become the second player in school and MVC history to record 1,100 points and 600 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- 1,149 583
The Ruffin Factor
? Including a 5-2 record since his return, the Braves are 11-5 in the 16 games they have played with a healthy Daniel Ruffin.
? In two of the losses, Bradley led Michigan State with four minutes remaining and the Braves had five shots to either tie or take the lead against Vanderbilt in the game's final 2:40.
? In the 16 games with a healthy Ruffin, Bradley has averaged 73.7 ppg while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and the Braves have a positive assists-to-turnover (267-252) ratio and turnover (252-272) margin.
? In the 10 games Ruffin was either injured or out, Bradley averaged 68.3 ppg on 39.7 percent shooting from the field while also suffering a negative assist-to-turnover ratio (142-145) and turnover margin (145-137).
? Perhaps the most-telling statistic regarding Ruffin's injury: 10-of-11 Braves boast a better field goal percentage in the 15 games with a healthy Ruffin compared to the 10 games he was injured or unavailable:
The Ruffin Comparison
Healthy Stat Injured/Out
11-5 (.688) Overall Record 3-7 (.300)
5-2 MVC (.714) Conf. Record 2-5 MVC (.286)
73.7 Points/gm 68.3
67.0 Pts. Allowed/gm 75.2
45.7% FG% 39.7%
44.0% FG% Defense 47.5%
38.1% 3FG% 36.5%
32.7% 3FG% Defense 42.0%
9.1 3FG/gm 9.2
5.4 3FG Allowed/gm 7.1
72.7% FT% 78.1%
67.4% FT% Defense 74.4%
33.6 Rebounds/gm 31.6
+0.1 Rebound margin -3.3
16.7 Assists/gm 14.2
15.8 Turnovers/gm 14.5
17.0 Turnovers Forced/gm 13.7
2.6 Blocked Shots/gm 1.9
9.0 Steals/gm 6.3
New Look Braves
? Following the graduation of four seniors -- Danny Adams, Zach Andrews, Will Franklin and J.J. Tauai -- who were major contributors to Bradley's back-to-back 22-win seasons, Bradley welcomed nine newcomers to the roster and head coach Jim Les is working six of the newbies into the playing rotation.
? Junior forward Theron Wilson, a 6-5 transfer from Seward County C.C., started Bradley's first 19 games.
? Wilson is second among Valley newcomers in scoring (10.1 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and steals (1.32 spg).
? Freshman point guard Sam Maniscalco stepped into the starting lineup to replace the injured Daniel Ruffin and averaged 11.6 ppg and 5.2 apg in his nine starts.
Offensive Backcourt
? A large portion of Bradley's offensive attack comes from its backcourt rotation.
? The five-man rotation of Daniel Ruffin (14.6 ppg), Jeremy Crouch (14.0 ppg), Andrew Warren (13.1), Sam Maniscalco (7.2) and Tyrone Cole-Scott (3.4) combine for 47.7 points per game.
? Each of the five backcourt players has at least shared team-high scoring honors at least once this season and at least one member of the quintet has led the team in scoring in 24 of 26 games this year.
1,000-Point Teammates
? For just the fourth time in program history, Bradley's roster features two players who have reached the 1,000-Point milestone in the same season.
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin (1,149 points) has climbed to 28th on the school's all-time scoring list and senior guard Jeremy Crouch (1,070) has climbed to 35th on the list.
? Two Bradley teammates had not joined the 1,000-Point Club in the same season since Donald Reese (1,113) and David Thirdkill (1,261) both hit the mark during the 1981-82 NIT championship season.
? In addition, Billy Mann (1,128) and Charles Grover (1,054) joined the club together in 1950-51, while Eddie Jackson (1,178) and Ernie Thompson (1,032) joined the club together in 1965-66.
The 25-Point Club
? When senior guard Daniel Ruffin scored a career-best 25 points Feb. 6 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 eight 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 (1): Gabe Moore
Missouri State (2): Dale Lamberth, Deven Mitchell
Southern Illinois: N/A
UNI (0): N/A
Wichita State (0): N/A
Again Without Leading Scorer
? Ruffin's injury marked the third time in five years Bradley's leading scorer had gone down with an injury heading into the new calendar year.
? During the 2003-04 season, three-time All-MVC guard Phillip Gilbert was averaging 20.2 ppg when he suffered a stress fracture in his foot Dec. 20 at Pepperdine.
? The 2003-04 Braves, who were 7-3 at the time of the injury and went 14-7 on the year in the games Gilbert played, managed just a 1-9 record in the 10 games Gilbert missed.
? Last season, guard Jeremy Crouch was averaging 16.4 ppg when he suffered a sprained right knee toward the end of Bradley's Dec. 30 victory versus Evansville.
? Bradley was 10-4 at the time of Crouch's injury and finished with a 15-7 record in the 22 games he started, but the Braves were a modest 7-6 in the games he was out of the starting lineup.
Scoring Big
? Junior forward Theron Wilson scored a career-best 28 points Jan. 19 versus Evansville to become the first non-guard to lead the Braves in scoring this year.
? In a streak extended when Andrew Warren scored 17 points Tuesday at Indiana State, no Brave taller than 6-foot-5 has led the team in scoring since 6-foot-8 Zach Andrews (15 points) shared game-high honors with guard Will Franklin Feb. 3, 2007 at Illinois State.
? Including that game at ISU when Franklin shared game-high honors, seven different Braves standing no taller than 6-foot-5 have led the team in scoring in 40 consecutive games.
? With 21 points, Andrews was the outright team scoring leader Jan. 20, 2007 at Wichita State.
Rebounds Tell The story
? The stat that appears to be the best predictor for the Braves this season is rebounding.
? After posting a 6-1 record the entire 2006-07 season when winning the rebound fight, Bradley is 12-2 this year when it pulls down more rebounds than the opposition.
? Conversely, the Braves are 2-10 (.167) when the rebounds are equal (0-2) or they lose the rebound battle all together (2-8).
Chasing 300 Treys, Again
? Bradley became the first Missouri Valley Conference team to make 300 3-pointers in a season by draining 349 in 35 games (10.0 per game) last year.
? Through Thursday's action Bradley was tied for seventh nationally with 237 triples and the Braves are averaging 9.1 3-pointers per game this season.
? Bradley will need to average 10.5 treys during its next six games to guarantee consecutive seasons with at least 300 3-pointers.
Media Streaks
537 Consecutive games covered by beat writer Dave Reynolds for the Peoria Journal Star, dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season.
874 Consecutive Bradley Basketball broadcasts Voice of the Braves Dave Snell has participated in on WMBD.
1,494 Although he has not attended the games in one singlular streak, Bradley Hall-of-Famer Joe Stowell has held some sort of official capacity -- player (1947-50), assistant coach (1956-65), head coach (1965-78), assistant athletic director (1978-85) and radio analyst (1985-present) -- for 1,494 Bradley men's basketball games since beginning his varsity playing career in 1947.
Opponents Tourney Tested
? By facing Vanderbilt in the final round of the South Padre Island Tournament, the Braves now will play a school-record nine regular-season games against teams that advanced to the previous year's NCAA Tournament.
? Not only are the seven 2007 NCAA Tournament participants on the schedule a program record, but five of the opponents won at least one postseason game in 2007: Butler (2-1), Creighton (0-1), Michigan State (1-1), Southern Illinois (2-1), Vanderbilt (2-1), VCU (1-1) and Wright State (0-1).
? Bradley faced six NCAA Tournament participants from the previous year in 1999-2000, 1986-87, 1985-86 and 1981-82 and the Braves have never faced as many as four teams that won games in the previous year's tournament.
Carver Arena -- Home of the Braves
? The 2007-08 campaign is the 25th anniversary season of the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena, which has served as the home court for the Braves since the start of the 1982-83 season.
? Bradley played its first game at Carver Arena Nov. 27, 1982, downing in-state rival Loyola Chicago, 90-82.
? Including an 8-5 start at home this year, Bradley now owns a 279-90 (.756) all-time mark at Carver Arena.
? In his sixth season as Bradley head coach, Jim Les owns a 65-23 (.739) home record, including a 34-18
(.654) record in Valley games at Carver Arena.
Top 10 Bradley Home Crowds
Att. Opponent Date Result
11,597 #9 Michigan St. 12/4/07 L, 61-66
11,444 Illinois State 1/24/07 W, 88-67
11,430 #15 Illinois 11/22/99 L, 62-72
11,421 Illinois State 1/23/08 W, 76-75
11,320 Indiana State 1/8/00 W, 62-51
11,309 Illinois State 2/21/01 W, 64-52
11,164 Illinois State 2/1/06 W, 73-44
11,161 Southern Illinois 1/17/04 L, 62-72
11,117 VCU 12/22/07 L, 64-79
11,080 Wichita State 1/20/07 W, 78-63
11,080 DePaul 11/11/06 W, 78-58
