College Basketball Invitational Championship Series
Games #36-37-38 ? Bradley (20-15, 9-9 MVC) vs. Tulsa (23-13, 8-8 C-USA)
Dates: Monday, March 31; Wednesday, April 2; Friday, April 4 (if necessary)
Tipoffs: All at 7:03 p.m. CST
Location: Tulsa, Okla. (Reynolds Center) ? Peoria, Ill. (Carver Arena)
Radio: WMBD AM 1470 -- Dave Snell, Joe Stowell & Chuck Buescher
TV: Fox College Sports -- Michael Reghi & Bob Sundvold
Online Audio, Video, Stats: http://cbistreaming.com
Tickets: at Tulsa ($5-20); at Bradley ($9-30)
Coaches:
Bradley -- Jim Les (Bradley ?86), Sixth year at Bradley and overall (104-88)
Tulsa -- Doug Wojcik (U.S. Naval Academy ?87), Third year at Tulsa (54-41) and overall
Old MVC Rivals in CBI Finals
? The last two Missouri Valley Conference teams to win a postseason national tournament will meet in the best-of-three championship series of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational when Bradley and Tulsa battle for the title.
? Bradley won the last of its four NIT championships in 1982, a year after then-Valley member Tulsa won the first of its two NIT titles.
? Tulsa was a member of the MVC from 1934-35 through 1995-96 and Monday's championship series opener will be the 100th all-time meeting in the series against Bradley.
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, a format that will insure Bradley and Tulsa will be among the final six teams in the nation still playing this season.
? 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 MVC 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 12-of-17 dating back to Jan. 19.
? Although often playing without some of its top scoring threats, Bradley leads The Valley in scoring at 74.0 ppg and the Braves rank among the national leaders in 3-point shooting (9.2 3FGM/gm) and free throw shooting (.750).
? The Braves are led by a pair of senior guards who have both eclipsed 1,200 career points: Jeremy Crouch leads The Valley in scoring at 15.9 ppg and also leads the MVC with a school-record 111 3-pointers this year, while point guard Daniel Ruffin chips in 14.3 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 44-29 (.603) all-time postseason record, including a 4-4 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 3-0 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 (chart on the next page).
? 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 (20-15) will need to win the 2008 CBI.
Bradley-Tulsa Series History
? Monday's CBI Championship Series opener will be the 100th all-time meeting between Bradley and Tulsa in a series that dates back to a 38-34 Braves victory Jan. 25, 1940 at the old Peoria Armory.
? Bradley owns a 60-39 lead in the all-time series, but the two teams have not met since the Golden Hurricane left the Missouri Valley Conference after downing the Braves, 60-46, in the championship game of the 1996 MVC Tournament in St. Louis.
? Tulsa had the series momentum when it withdrew from The Valley, having won 13 of the last 18 meetings.
? Tulsa owns a 5-1 postseason record against Bradley and the Golden Hurricane have won each of the last five postseason meetings, downing the Braves in the MVC Tournament in 1985, 1986, 1990, 1995 and 1996.
? Bradley's lone postseason win against Tulsa was a 97-76 victory in the quarterfinals of the 1980 MVC Tournament at Robertson Fieldhouse.
Calendar Milestone
? Monday's game in the first game of the CBI Championship Series will equal the latest date Bradley has ever played a sanctioned men's basketball game.
? Playing in the final of another first-year tournament, Bradley lost to Syracuse, 76-75, on March 31 in the 1951 National Campus Tournament at Robertson Fieldhouse.
? Wednesday's second game in the CBI Championship Series will mark Bradley's first-ever April game.
Shooting for a Fifth Title
? Bradley is shooting for its fifth postseason tournament championship.
? The Braves have won four NIT championships -- 1957, 1960, 1964 and 1982.
? In its 33rd postseason tournament, Bradley has now reached the championship round for the 10th time:
1950 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up
1950 NIT Runner-Up
1951 National Campus Tournament Runner-Up
1954 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up
1957 NIT Champion
1959 NIT Runner-Up
1960 NIT Champion
1964 NIT Champion
1982 NIT Champion
2008 College Basketball Invitational (TBA)
Tourney Title Drought
? Bradley has not won a tournament title of any kind -- regular season or postseason -- since winning the 1988 Missouri Valley Conference championship.
? The Braves won that title by winning three games at Carver Arena.
? The 2008 CBI will be the first time Bradley has played three postseason games at Carver Arena since winning that 1988 MVC championship.
? Bradley has played in 41 tournaments between that 1988 MVC title and this year's CBI: three NCAA Tournaments, six National Invitation Tournaments, 19 MVC Tournaments and 15 regular-season tournaments.
? The Braves did tie for first place in the 2003 Las Vegas Tournament, but Rhode Island was awarded the championship based on defensive points.
Les is More in the Postseason
? With a 3-0 record to date in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, sixth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les now boasts a 6-2 career record in national postseason tournaments.
? Prior to this year's 3-0 start in the CBI, Les' Braves upset #12 Kansas (77-73) and #16 Pittsburgh (72-66) en route to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 and knocked off Providence (90-75) in the first round of the 2007 MasterCard NIT.
? Included in Les' 6-2 postseason record is a 3-0 mark against the Big East and 1-0 records against teams from the ACC and Big 12.
? One of the two losses, however, was to Tulsa's Conference USA counterpart, #3 Memphis (80-64), in the third round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
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 15-5 (.750) 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 (14.3 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 (13.2 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 has averaged 14.0 ppg in Bradley's first three CBI contests.
Strong Finish
? Bradley won nine of its last 13 regular-season games and now has won 12 of its last 17 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.
Road Tested
? With a 7-7 road record to date this year, Bradley has accumulated its most road wins in a season since the 1995-96 MVC regular-season champions went 7-4 on their opponents' home floors.
? If Bradley can win one of the two potential games at Tulsa, the Braves will secure their most road wins in a season since the 1987-88 Valley champions went 10-3 on the road.
? In Bradley's last three road games, the Braves knocked off #16/18 Drake (72-71) Feb. 19, played NIT second-round qualifier Creighton to a 111-110, double-overtime thriller March 1 and most-recently knocked off ACC member Virginia (96-85) Wednesday in Charlottesville.
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 scoring (74.0 ppg), assists (15.77 apg) and steals (7.77 spg), while the Braves (9.20) trail Drake (9.39) by a smidge for the league's top spot in 3-point field goals made per game.
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 (11.6 ppg), rebounding (6.3 rpg) and steals (1.4 spg).
? Freshman point guard Sam Maniscalco has twice 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 53 3-pointers.
Third Straight 20-Win Season
? By winning its first three games in the CBI, Bradley has reached 20 victories for a third consecutive season: 22-11 in 2005-06, 22-13 in 2006-07 and 20-15 this year.
? Bradley had not won 20 in three straight years since 1993-94 (23-8), 1994-95 (20-10) and 1995-96 (22-8).
? Looking ahead to next year, Bradley has not won at least 20 games in four consecutive seasons since a six-year run from 1956-57 through 1961-62.
Offensive Backcourt
? A large portion of Bradley's offensive attack comes from its backcourt rotation.
? The five-man rotation of Jeremy Crouch (15.9 ppg), Daniel Ruffin (14.3 ppg), Andrew Warren (13.2), Sam Maniscalco (7.8) and Tyrone Cole-Scott (3.8) combine for 48.6 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 32 of 35 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 Jeremy Crouch scored 27 points at Virginia Wednesday 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, eight different Braves standing no taller than 6-foot-5 have led the team in scoring in 49 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.
MVC 25-Point Scorers
Bradley (4): Jeremy Crouch, Daniel Ruffin, Andrew Warren, Theron Wilson
Creighton (2): Dane Watts, Cavel Witter
Drake (1): Josh Young
Evansville (3): Shy Ely, Jason Holsinger, Darin Granger
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 (1): P.J. Couisnard
Sharing the Wealth
? Senior point guard Daniel Ruffin leads the Braves with 152 assists this season, while freshman guard Sam Maniscalco (111) and senior guard Jeremy Crouch (107) 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 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 three 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.
? Bradley owns a +15 turnover margin through three CBI games.
? The Braves also have made 66-of-84 (.786) free throw attempts in the three CBI games, compared to 24-of-45 (.533) by the Bearcats, Bobcats and Cavaliers.
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 made it two years in a row with at least 300 treys with 322 in 35 games (9.20/game) this year.
Media Streaks
546 Consecutive games covered by beat writer Dave Reynolds for the Peoria Journal Star, dating back to the start of the 1990-91 season.
883 Consecutive Bradley Basketball broadcasts Voice of the Braves Dave Snell has participated in on WMBD.
1,503 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 1,503 Bradley men's basketball games since starting his varsity playing career in 1947.
1,200-Point Teammates
? For just the third time in program history, Bradley's roster features two players who have reached the 1,200-Point milestone in the same year.
? Senior guard Jeremy Crouch (1,264) has climbed to 19th on the school's career scoring list and senior point guard Daniel Ruffin (1,243 points) is close behind in the 24th spot.
? Most recenlty, junior Anthony Parker (1,335) joined Deon Jackson (1,491) in the 1,200-Point Club during the 1995-96 season.
? Jim Caruthers (1,425) and Greg Smith (1,215) were the first Bradley teammates to hit 1,200 points each in the same season in 1975-76.
Ruffin Makes History
? Having helped Bradley to 71 of its 1,515 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 627 career assists, Ruffin is 24th in school history with 1,243 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 1,243 627
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, School, Year 500 Pts. 100 Reb. 100 Ast. 50 Stl.
Jeremy Crouch, Bradley, 2007-08 558 127 107 53
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
