Game #30 ? Southern Illinois (16-12, 10-6 MVC) at Bradley (17-12, 9-7 MVC)
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008
Tipoff: 6 p.m.
Location: Peoria, Ill. ? Carver Arena (11,164)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 -- Dave Snell, Joe Stowell & Chuck Buescher
TV: ESPN2 -- Bob Wischusen & Doug Gottlieb
Web Audio: www.BradleyBraves.com
Tickets: $8-18 based on location thru www.BradleyBraves.com
Coaches:
Bradley -- Jim Les (Bradley ?86), Sixth year at Bradley and overall (101-85)
Southern Illinois -- Chris Lowery (Southern Illinois ?95), Fourth year at SIU and overall (94-38)
Hot Valley Showdown
? Arguably the two hottest teams in the Missouri Valley Conference will square off in a nationally-televised game when Southern Illinois visits Bradley in front of ESPN2 cameras Tuesday night at Carver Arena.
? Both teams have won nine of their last 12 games, including victories for each squad against MVC champion Drake during their current winning streaks, as they continue to rebound from slow starts in The Valley race.
? Southern Illinois was picked to win the league title in The Valley's preseason poll and Bradley was tabbed for second, but while SIU struggled to find early consistency, the Braves got off to a 1-5 league start while playing without senior point guard Daniel Ruffin.
? Third place in The Valley standings will be on the line Tuesday: Bradley would move into a tie for third with the Salukis with a win, while SIU would continue to hold the spot outright with a victory.
Tuesday is Senior Night
? Bradley will conclude the home portion of its 2008-08 regular-season schedule Tuesday.
? Bradley's three seniors -- Jeremy Crouch, Daniel Ruffin and Matt Salley -- will be honored in a pregame ceremony and will address the crowd after the game versus the Salukis.
? Ruffin (1,176 points) and Crouch (1,137) make up just the fourth pair of Bradley teammates to each join the 1,000-Point Club during the same season in Bradley Basketball history.
? Although a junior college transfer, Salley is the most experienced post player on the Bradley roster.
About Bradley Basketball
? Bradley ranks 26th in NCAA Division I history with 1,512 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 29 games.
? Utilizing a three-guard attack, Bradley ranked among the national leaders in both 3-point field goals made (T-eighth, 269) and free throw percentage (T-20th, .750) through Saturday's action.
Series Information
Bradley leads 38-34
Current Streak: Southern Illinois W3
at BU: Bradley leads 23-9, 18-7 at Carver Arena
Jim Les vs. SIU: 3-10
Chris Lowery vs. Bradley: 7-2
Last Meeting: SIU 77-64 (Jan. 8, 2008 at SIU)
Last BU win: Jan. 10, 2007 (48-46 at Carver Arena)
Bradley-Southern Illinois Series
? Tuesday's game will be the 73rd meeting in the all-time series between Bradley and Southern Illinois, which dates back to a 31-23 Braves victory as Little 19 Conference rivals Dec. 21, 1927 at the old Peoria Armory.
? The teams did not face each other again until Southern Illinois joined the Missouri Valley Conference for the 1975-76 season.
? Although Bradley still owns a 38-34 advantage in the series, Southern Illinois has won 13 of the last 16 meetings since the start of the 2001-02 season.
? The last time these two teams met at Carver Arena, former Brave Will Franklin rattled home an off-balanced, 13-foot bank shot with 0.5 seconds left, lifting Bradley to a 48-46 victory Jan. 10, 2007.
? In a similarly tight game, Matt Shaw's tip-in with 3.2 seconds left gave #11 Southern Illinois a 53-51 victory in the semifinals of the 2007 State Farm MVC Tournament.
Recapping the Last Meeting
Jan. 8, 2008 ? at S. Illinois 77, Bradley 64
? In its fourth game playing without injured point guard Daniel Ruffin, Bradley committed 14 first-half turnovers and could not overcome the rough start in a 77-64 loss at SIU Arena.
? The Salukis took full advantage of Bradley's early turnover problems, turning the miscues into a 19-2 first-half scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
? After trailing 45-27 at halftime and again by 18, 59-41, with 10:47 left, the Braves did close to within eight points, 64-56, with 4:16 remaining, but could not completely close the gap.
? Box score and full recap
Alumni Coaches
? Two of the top point guards in Missouri Valley Conference history, Bradley's Jim Les and Southern Illinois' Chris Lowery now own the coaching reigns at their respective alma maters.
? Les was the 1986 MVC Player of the Year and the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award winner after leading the Braves to the last undefeated (16-0) conference season in Valley history.
? Despite playing only two-and-a-half seasons at Bradley following his transfer from Cleveland State, Les still ranks third in Valley history with 696 career assists.
? A four-year starter at point guard for the Salukis, Lowery scored 1,225 career points and led SIU to the postseason during each of his four seasons (1990-94).
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 a 10-5 start at home this year, Bradley now owns a 281-90 (.757) all-time mark at Carver Arena.
? In his sixth season as Bradley head coach, Jim Les owns a 67-23 (.744) home record.
Record Crowds at Carver Arena
? The Braves are on pace for the second-best per game home attendance average in school history.
? Including four of the top 10 home crowds in program history, Bradley has averaged 10,083 fans through the first 15 home games, trailing only the norm of 10,178 in 1999-2000 for the program's best average.
Top 10 Bradley Home Crowds
Rk. Att. Opponent Date
1. 11,597 #9 Michigan St. 12/4/07
2. 11,444 Illinois State 1/24/07
3. 11,430 #15 Illinois 11/22/99
4. 11,421 Illinois State 1/23/08
5. 11,335 Creighton 2/16/08
6. 11,320 Indiana State 1/8/00
7. 11,309 Illinois State 2/21/01
8. 11,164 Illinois State 2/1/06
9. 11,161 Southern Illinois 1/17/04
10. 11,117 VCU 12/22/07
Injury Bug Has Bitten Twice
? The injury bug has delivered two big bites to the Bradley men's basketball team this season.
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin, a preseason candidate for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award, sustained a strained abdominal muscle prior to the Dec. 11 game at Wright State.
? Ruffin tried to continue to play, but was at less than full strength in the next three games, and ultimately re-aggravated the injury in the first half of the Dec. 22 game versus VCU.
? He underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Dec. 28 and missed the first seven games of the Missouri Valley Conference slate before returning to action Jan. 23 versus Illinois State.
? Sophomore guard Andrew Warren, the team's third-leading scorer at 13.1 ppg, suffered a broken bone in his left (non-shooting) hand Feb. 16 versus Creighton and had a six-screw plate inserted into his hand Feb. 18.
? Warren's status for the rest of the season will be evaluated on a game-to-game basis.
? Bradley managed only a 3-7 record with Ruffin either hurt (1-2) or out of action all together (2-5), but the Braves are 2-0 without Warren, knocking off #16 Drake, 72-71, last Tuesday night in Des Moines and Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 84-72, Saturday night.
Valley Schedule Has Stiffened
? The final third of Bradley's 18-game Valley schedule has shaped up as the toughest.
? Five of Bradley's final six league games are being played against the teams that entered the stretch run either tied or ahead of the Braves in the Valley standings.
? The sixth game -- Feb. 12 at Indiana State -- was played against a Sycamores team that is now 12-1 at home.
February Record
? Following Saturday's win against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bradley owns the best February record in the Missouri Valley Conference the past three seasons.
Team Total ?07-08 ?06-07 ?05-06
Bradley 16-6 5-2 5-2 6-2
Missouri State 15-7 3-4 5-2 7-1
Southern Illinois 15-7 5-2 7-0 3-5
Creighton 13-8 5-2 4-3 4-3
Drake 10-12 5-2 4-3 1-7
Evansville 9-12 3-4 2-5 4-3
Illinois State 9-13 5-2 3-4 1-7
Indiana State 9-13 4-3 1-6 4-4
Wichita State 9-13 1-6 2-5 6-2
UNI 7-14 2-5 2-5 3-4
Ruffin's Revenge
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin missed the first seven games of The Valley schedule following his surgery Dec. 28 to repair a sports hernia and the Braves went 2-5 in those games.
? Of the five teams to beat Bradley in those seven games without Ruffin, the Braves have returned the favor in each of their first four tries with only the return games versus Southern Illinois remaining.
MVC Losses W/O Ruffin Return Result
Dec. 29 versus UNI, 46-59 Jan. 12 at UNI, 75-73
Jan. 2 at Missouri St., 80-91 Feb. 6 vs. MSU, 83-71
Jan. 5 vs. Wichita St., 73-80 Jan. 26 at WSU, 63-54
Jan. 8 at S. Illinois, 64-77 Feb. 26 vs. SIU, TBA
Jan. 16 vs. Drake, 68-69 Feb. 19 at DU, 72-71
Experiencing Deja Vu?
? Bradley is hoping history will repeat itself as the Braves continue to bounce back from their 76-66 loss Feb. 12 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 2005-06 season after the Indiana State loss, 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.
? Bradley again had five games left in the regular season following this year's loss at Indiana State and has immediately bounced back with three straight wins to date: an 87-59 win Feb. 16 versus Creighton, a 72-71 victory last Tuesday at #16 Drake and an 84-72 win Saturday against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
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 (10.5 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and steals (1.4 spg).
? Freshman point guard Sam Maniscalco has stepped into the starting lineup for injured starters Daniel Ruffin and Andrew Warren and has responded as the team's fourth-leading scorer (7.7 ppg).
? Maniscalco also leads all MVC newcomers with 3.3 assists per game.
Offensive Backcourt
? A large portion of Bradley's offensive attack comes from its backcourt rotation.
? The five-man rotation of Jeremy Crouch (14.9 ppg), Daniel Ruffin (14.5 ppg), Andrew Warren (13.1), Sam Maniscalco (7.7) and Tyrone Cole-Scott (3.8) combine for 48.4 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 27 of 29 games this year.
All-Around Bradley Seasons
? Senior guard Jeremy Crouch is producing one of the finest all-around seasons ever by a Brave.
? In the 30 years since Bradley began tracking steals, only four individuals have scored 400 points, snared 100 rebounds, dished 75 assists and made 50 steals in the same season.
Player, Year 400 Pts. 100 Reb. 75 Asst. 50 Stl.
Jeremy Crouch, 2007-08 431 109 87 44
James Gillingham, 2003-04 452 114 82 58
James Gillingham, 2002-03 450 123 98 61
Rob Dye, 1999-00 498 102 84 59
Rob Dye, 1998-99 504 125 84 79
Hersey Hawkins, 1987-88 1125 241 111 82
Hersey Hawkins, 1986-87 788 195 103 59
Hersey Hawkins, 1985-86 656 200 104 66
Mitchell Anderson, 1981-82 591 275 76 50
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 Jeremy Crouch scored 24 points Saturday versus Milwaukee, 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 43 consecutive games.
? With 21 points, Andrews was the outright team scoring leader Jan. 20, 2007 at Wichita State.
Milestone Watch
90 Aaron Zobrist's school record for 3-pointers in a season ... Senior guard Jeremy Crouch has 88 treys so far this season and needs just three more to break the record.
233 Aaron Zobrist's school record for 3-pointers in a career ... Senior guard Jeremy Crouch has 232 career treys and needs just two more to break Zobrist's mark.
300 Bradley became the first team in MVC history to make 300 3-pointers in a season with 349 last year ... With 269 treys to date, Bradley has at least three games remaining and needs 31 more treys to hit the mark for a second consecutive season.
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 (693) -- for 1,497 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 2,4987 games in its 104-year men's basketball history ... The March 1 game at Creighton will be the 2,500th in program history.
Winning The Tight Ones
? With last Tuesday's 72-71 win at #16 Drake, Bradley improved to 5-1 in games decided by one possession (three points or less at the end of regulation) this season.
? Including a pair of overtime wins, Bradley is 10-3 (.769) the last two years in games when the teams have been separated by three points or less at the end of regulation.
The 25-Point Club
? When senior guard Daniel Ruffin scored 25 points Feb. 6 versus Missouri State, he became the fourth Brave to score at least 25 points in a game this year.
? 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 10 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 (1): Josh Young
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 (1): Eric Coleman
Wichita State (0): N/A
Sharing the Wealth
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin leads the Braves with 123 assists this season, while freshman guard Sam Maniscalco (97) and senior guard Jeremy Crouch (87) are closing in on the century mark themselves.
? Bradley has tracked assists every year since 1965-66 and the 1985-86 campaign is the only season in which the Braves have boasted three players with 100 assists: Jim Les (275), Trevor Trimpe (127) and Hersey Hawkins (104).
Again Without Leading Scorer
? Daniel 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.
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 14-2 (.875) this year when it pulls down more rebounds than the opposition.
? Conversely, the Braves are 3-10 (.231) when the rebounds are equal (0-2) or they lose the rebound battle all together (3-8).
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.
? Averaging 9.3 treys per date this year, Bradley will need to increase its average to 10.3 in its next three games to guarantee consecutive seasons with at least 300 3-pointers.
Media Streaks
540 Consecutive games covered by beat writer Dave Reynolds for the Peoria Journal Star, dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season.
877 Consecutive Bradley Basketball broadcasts Voice of the Braves Dave Snell has participated in on WMBD.
1,497 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 1,497 Bradley men's basketball games since beginning his varsity playing career in 1947.
