College Basketball Invitational Semifinal
Game #35 ? Bradley (19-15, 9-9 MVC) at Virginia (17-15, 5-11 ACC)
Date: Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tipoff: 7:03 p.m. EST
Location: Charlottesville, Va. ? John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 -- Dave Snell, Joe Stowell & Chuck Buescher
TV: Fox College Sports ? John Sanders (play-by-play) and John Griffin (analyst)
Online Audio, Video, Stats: http://cbistreaming.com
Coaches:
Bradley -- Jim Les (Bradley ?86), Sixth year at Bradley and overall (103-88)
Virginia -- Dave Leitao (Northeastern ?83), Third year at UVA (53-51) and eighth year overall (133-110)
CBI Semifinal
? Both Bradley and Virginia put together substantial second-half rallies Monday to advance to the semifinals of the inaurgural College Basketball Invitational.
? By overcoming a 14-point deficit in the final 8:19 Monday versus Ohio, Bradley has advanced to the semifinal round of a posteason tournament for the first time since winning the 1982 NIT.
? Bradley owns an 11-4 all-time record versus the 12 current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Wednesday's semifinal at Virginia will be Bradley's first-ever road game versus a school that was a member of the ACC at the time of the game.
About The CBI
? In its first year, the College Basketball Invitational is a 16-team tournament made up of teams from 13 conferences with RPI's ranging from 72-129 (The 2008 NIT is a 32-team tournament represented by 20 leagues and consisting of teams with RPI's ranging from 32-205).
? In a unique twist to the postseason, the CBI championship will be decided through a best-of-three series to be played by the two semifinal winners March 31, April 2 and April 4 (if necessary).
? From 2002-2006 the NIT was a 40-team event, but was reduced to 32 teams in 2007, meaning the CBI has created eight additional postseason opportunities compared to just two years ago (since 2002, however, NCAA Division I men's basketball has grown by 17 teams to 341 overall).
About The Braves
? Bradley was short-handed for a substantial portion of The Valley season, playing without at least one regular starter for 11 of the 18 league games, but the Braves are back at full strength for the CBI.
? Despite the continued shuffling of the lineup down the stretch, Bradley overcame a 1-5 start in the league race by winning nine of its last 13 regular-season games, including wins at Drake and at home versus Illinois State and Creighton, and the Braves now have won 11-of-16 dating back to Jan. 19.
? Although often playing without some of its top scoring threats, Bradley is second in The Valley in scoring at 73.4 ppg and the Braves rank among the national leaders in 3-point shooting (9.1 3FGM/gm) and free throw shooting (.749).
? The Braves are led by a pair of senior guards who have both eclipsed 1,200 career points: Jeremy Crouch leads the team in scoring at 15.6 ppg and leads the MVC with a school-record 106 3-pointers this year, while point guard Daniel Ruffin chips in 14.4 ppg and 5.8 apg.
General Postseason Notes
? Bradley is making its 33rd overall postseason appearance in its sixth different tournament.
? Bradley boasts an overall 43-29 (.597) all-time postseason record, including a 3-4 mark in road games.
? In its 33 postseason tournament appearances, Bradley now has won at least one game 20 times.
3 Straight with a Postseason W
? Bradley has won a postseason game in three consecutive years for just the second time in program history.
? The Braves went 2-2 in the 1949 NIT, had a collective 5-2 record in the 1950 NIT and NCAA Tournament and went 2-1 in the 1951 National Campus Tournament.
? Bradley's current run includes a 2-1 record in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, a 1-1 mark in the 2007 NIT and a 2-0 showing date in the 2008 CBI.
22 Wins & A Postseason Victory
? Bradley is one of 14 teams in the country to win at least 22 games in each of the previous two seasons while also earning at least one postseason victory.
? With Kentucky eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in the first round and Michigan not participating in the postseason, Bradley is one of 12 schools with a chance to run their streaks to three years.
? In order to continue the streak for a third straight year, Bradley (19-15) will need to win the 2008 CBI.
Bradley-Virginia Series History
? Bradley won the only previous meeting against Virginia, downing the Cavaliers, 77-58, Dec. 13, 1947 at the old Peoria Armory.
? Although the Braves and Cavaliers do not have much of a history, Virginia head coach Dave Leitao is familiar with Bradley.
? Leitao owns a 2-1 all-time record against Bradley in his two previous head-coaching stops.
? Leitao's Northeastern squad earned an 82-77 win against Bradley Dec. 20, 1994 in New Orleans.
? More recently, Leitao's DePaul team split a home-and-home series against Bradley in 2003 and 2004.
Bradley vs. Dave Leitao
12/20/94 vs. Northeastern (@New Orleans) L, 77-82
12/07/03 at DePaul L, 74-77
12/04/04 DePaul W, 63-53
First-Ever ACC Road Trip
? As the Atlantic Coast Conference closes in on the end of its 55th season, Bradley will be making its first-ever men's basketball visit to an ACC school Wednesday night.
? Bradley has played three all-time road games versus current ACC schools -- Boston College, Duke and Miami -- but the league had not yet formed when the Braves visited BC (1947) and Duke (1951) and the 1955 visit to Miami occurred 50 years before the Hurricanes joined the ACC.
? Bradley is 11-4 all-time versus the current ACC membership, but just 4-2 against teams that were in the ACC at the time of the meetings, including a 1962 win against former member South Carolina.
? Most recently, Bradley beat Georgia Tech, 84-82, in the first round of the 1995 Cable Car Classic in San Jose.
Bradley Against the ACC
School All Road As ACC Road
Boston College 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0
Clemson 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0
Duke 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-0
Florida State 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Georgia Tech 3-0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Maryland --- --- --- ---
Miami (Fla.) 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-0
North Carolina 1-1 0-0 0-1 0-0
N.C. State --- --- --- ---
South Carolina* 2-0 0-0 1-0 0-0
Virginia 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Virginia Tech --- --- --- ---
Wake Forest 2-0 0-0 2-0 0-0
Totals 11-4 1-2 4-2 0-0
* South Carolina was a charter member of the ACC in 1953, but withdrew in 1971. Neither game in the series is counted in the total for Bradley's overall record against the current ACC membership, but the 1962 win at Robertson Fieldhouse is counted in Bradley's record against ACC teams at the time of the game.
Les' First ACC Confrontation
? Wednesday's CBI semifinal game at Virginia will be the first game against an active ACC member for sixth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les.
? Les' Bradley squad did beat Miami, 83-82, in the final round of the 2003 Las Vegas Tournament, but the Hurricanes were in their final year as a member of the Big East Conference at the time of the game.
? Including the first-round CBI win against Cincinnati, Les owns an 11-5 career record against teams from the BCS football power conferences: ACC (0-0), Big Ten (1-3), Big 12 (3-0), Big East (7-0), Pac-10 (0-0) and SEC (0-2)
To the Victor
? The winner of Wednesday's CBI semifinal between Bradley and Virginia will advance to the inaugural tournament's best-of-three championship series, which is scheduled to be played March 31, April 2 and April 4.
? The series will be played at campus sites -- higher seed, lower seed and higher seed -- but the starting site will not be determined until after the completion of Wednesday's two semifinals.
? Conference USA members Tulsa and Houston will square off in Wednesday's other semifinal.
Point Guard Matchup
? Wednesday's game features two of the top point guards in the country.
? Bradley senior Daniel Ruffin is the second player in MVC history with 1,200 career points (1,232) and 600 assists (619).
? Virginia senior Sean Singletary has scored 2,062 caeer points and is averaging 19.9 ppg and 6.1 apg this season.
On the Mend
? Bradley has had to fight through injuries to two of the team's three leading scorers, but both players have returned to action during the CBI.
? Bradley owns a 14-5 (.737) record this season when both senior point guard Daniel Ruffin and sophomore guard Andrew Warren are at full strength, including a 10-1 home record (only loss was to Michigan State).
? Ruffin (14.4 ppg), a preseason candidate for the Bob Cousy Point Guard-of-the-Year Award and one of two players in the country with more than 600 career assists, was at less than full strength for three mid-December games (1-2) while trying to play through a strained abdominal muscle.
? After re-aggravating the injury in the first half of the Dec. 22 game versus VCU, Ruffin ultimately underwent surgery Dec. 28 to repair a sports hernia and he missed the first seven games (2-5) of the Missouri Valley Conference season.
? Bradley won six straight and 7-of-9 after Ruffin's return, only to see its third-leading scorer, Warren (13.3 ppg), go down with a broken bone in his left hand during the second half of the Feb. 16 rout of Creighton.
? Warren missed the next five games (2-3), but he returned to action versus Cincinnati, scoring nine points off the bench, and added a game-high 22 points Monday versus Ohio.
Strong Finish
? Bradley won nine of its last 13 regular-season games and now has won 11 of its last 16 overall.
? The Braves earned the season's only win for a visiting team at nationally-ranked Drake, downing the then No. 16 Bulldogs, 72-71, Feb. 19 in Des Moines.
? The strong finish began with a 76-75 win against Valley runner-up Illinois State and included an 87-59 romp versus NIT qualifier Creighton.
? Even a loss in the regular-season finale proved noteworthy, as the Braves dropped a 111-110, double-overtime thriller on Senior Night at Creighton in what proved to be the fourth-highest scoring league game in the 101-year history of The Valley.
One Win For 20
? Bradley needs one win to reach 20 victories for a third consecutive season. The Braves have not won 20 in three straight years since 1993-94 (23-8), 1994-95 (20-10) and 1995-96 (22-8).
Ruffin Makes History
? Having helped Bradley to 70 of its 1,514 all-time wins as the team's starting point guard the last four years, senior Daniel Ruffin boasts some historically significant numbers.
? Second among the nation's active leaders with 619 career assists, Ruffin is 24th in school history with 1,232 points, making him the second player in Missouri Valley Conference history to score at least 1,200 career points and dish out at least 600 career 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, 2004-08 1,232 619
All-Around Valley Seasons
? Senior guard Jeremy Crouch is producing one of the finest all-around statistical seasons in recent Missouri Valley Conference history.
? Crouch has joined former Brave and Valley Hall-of-Famer Hersey Hawkins among a group of just five players in Valley history to score at least 500 points, grab 100 rebounds, dish 100 assists and snare 50 steals in a single season.
? While Hawkins hit all four thresholds in three of his four seasons, the only other players to pull of the statistical quadruple are Kyle Korver (Creighton ?03), Rod Mason (Creighton ?88) and Shea Seals (Tulsa ?95).
? Bradley has tracked steals every year since 1978-79 and the SID staff has solicited the assistance of the SID's of the other current and former league members to put together the list below.
Player, Year 500 Pts 100 Reb 100 Asst 50 Stl
Jeremy Crouch, Bradley, 2007-08 531 123 104 52
Kyle Korver, Creighton, 2002-03 604 217 104 50
Shea Seals, Tulsa, 1994-95 601 222 127 52
Hersey Hawkins, Bradley, 1987-88 1125 241 111 82
Rod Mason, Creighton, 1987-88 651 141 109 51
Hersey Hawkins, Bradley, 1986-87 788 195 103 59
Hersey Hawkins, Bradley, 1985-86 656 200 104 66
Attendance Record
? Bradley has set the single-season school record for total home attendance, drawing 173,378 to its 18 home games this year.
? Bradley averaged 10,115 fans during the 16 regular-season games, the second-best regular-season home average in program history.
Valley Leaders
? Bradley leads The Valley in assists (15.74 apg) and steals (7.88 spg), while the Braves (9.15) trail Drake (9.19) by a smidge for the league's top spot in 3-point field goals made per game.
? Bradley also ranks second to Drake in scoring at 73.4 ppg.
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., is second among Valley newcomers in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounding (6.2 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 (7.8 ppg).
? Maniscalco also leads all MVC newcomers with 3.2 assists per game and MVC freshmen with 51 3-pointers.
Offensive Backcourt
? A large portion of Bradley's offensive attack comes from its backcourt rotation.
? The five-man rotation of Jeremy Crouch (15.6 ppg), Daniel Ruffin (14.4 ppg), Andrew Warren (13.3), Sam Maniscalco (7.8) and Tyrone Cole-Scott (3.8) combine for 48.3 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 31 of 34 games this year.
Scoring Big
? Junior forward Theron Wilson (three times) is the only non-guard to lead the Braves in scoring this year.
? In a streak extended when Andrew Warren scored 22 points versus Ohio Monday night, 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 6-foot guard Will Franklin Feb. 3, 2007 at Illinois State.
? Including that game at ISU last season when Franklin shared game-high honors, seven different Braves standing no taller than 6-foot-5 have led the team in scoring in 48 consecutive games.
? With 21 points, Andrews was the outright team scoring leader Jan. 20, 2007 at Wichita State.
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 13 other players in The Valley have scored at least 25 this year, no more than three on another team.
Sharing The Wealth
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin leads the Braves with 144 assists this season, while freshman guard Sam Maniscalco (109) and senior guard Jeremy Crouch (104) have joined Ruffin in the 100-Assists Club.
? Bradley has tracked assists every year since 1965-66 and the 1985-86 campaign is the only other 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 -- Ruffin was averaging a team-best 14.2 ppg when he was forced out of the lineup following sports hernia surgery.
? 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.
Winning The Tight Ones
? Including the 70-67 victory versus Cincinnati in the first round of the CBI, Bradley owns a 6-2 (.750) record in games decided by one possession (three points or less at the end of regulation) this year.
? Including a 2-1 record in overtime games, Bradley is 11-4 (.733) the last two years in games when the teams have been separated by three points or less at the end of regulation.
Turnovers and Free Throws
? Bucking it recent decision trend, Bradley has won its first two games in the CBI, despite being outrebounded by 11.0 rpg in the first two rounds.
? The biggest factors in Bradley's two postseason wins have been turnovers and free throw shooting.
? Bradley forced 20 turnovers by both Cincinnati and Ohio and outscored the two teams 46-22 in points off turnovers.
? The Braves also have made 45-of-57 (.789) free throw attempts in the two games, compared to 18-of-31 (.581) by the Bearcats and Bobcats.
Making 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.
? Bradley has now made it two years in a row with at least 300 treys, boasting 311 triples in 34 games 9.15 per game) this season.
Media Streaks
545 Consecutive games covered by beat writer Dave Reynolds for the Peoria Journal Star, dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season.
882 Consecutive Bradley Basketball broadcasts Voice of the Braves Dave Snell has participated in on WMBD.
1,502 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 1,502 Bradley men's basketball games since beginning his varsity playing career in 1947.
