Inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament ? March 18 ? Peoria, Ill. ? Carver Arena (11,164)
Bradley Opens Inaugural Tournament Against Austin Peay
PEORIA, Ill. ? The Bradley men's basketball team will make its 34th all-time postseason appearance Wednesday when the Braves (18-14) host Austin Peay (19-13) in the first round of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at Carver Arena. The CIT becomes the sixth inaugural tournament to invite the Braves: following the 1938 NIT, the 1939 NCAA Tournament (Bradley declined bid in favor of the NIT), the 1951 National Campus Tournament, the 1974 Commissioner's Classic and the 2008 College Basketball Invitational. Austin Peay owns a 2-0 all-time record against Bradley, but the teams have not met since 1991.
Game Information ? First Round
TV: None
Radio: 1470 WMBD (Dave Snell, Chuck Buescher and Joe Stowell)
Video Stream: www.BradleyBraves.com (subscription service)
Audio Stream: www.BradleyBraves.com (free)
Live Stats: www.BradleyBraves.com
Tickets: $30, $25, $20, $14 and $9, based on location
Series: Austin Peay leads 2-0
Last: APSU 86-76 -- Jan. 14, 1991 at Austin Peay
Bradley Braves
2008-09 Record: 18-14
Missouri Valley: 10-8 (4th)
Head Coach: Jim Les (Bradley '86)
Career: 123-104 (7th year)
at Bradley: Same
Website: www.BradleyBraves.com
Austin Peay Governors
2008-09 Record: 19-13
Ohio Valley: 13-5 (T2nd)
Head Coach: Dave Loos (Memphis '70)
Career: 396-313 (23rd year)
at APSU: 314-260 (19th year)
Website: www.apsugovernors.com
The Opening Tips
? Bradley makes its fourth consecutive postseason appearance by hosting Ohio Valley Conference runner-up Austin Peay in the first round of the inaugural
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
? Bradley has been invited to the inaugural edition of a sixth national college basketball postseason tournament: 1938 NIT, 1939 NCAA (declined invitation in favor of NIT), 1951 National Campus Tournament, 1974 Commissioner's Classic, 2008 College Basketball Invitational and 2009 College Insider.com Postseason Tournament.
? Bradley is making its 34th overall postseason appearance, most among the 10 current Missouri Valley Conference members.
? Bradley is tied for eighth nationally with seven postseason wins since 2006: 2006 NCAA (2-1), 2007 NIT (1-1), 2008 CBI (4-2).
2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
First Round ? Tuesday, March 17 Result
Rider (19-12) at Liberty (22-11) Liberty, 79-64
Kent State (19-14) at Oakland (22-12) Oakland, 80-74
First Round ? Wednesday, March 18 Times CT
Mount St. Mary's (19-13) at James Madison (19-14) 6 p.m.
The Citadel (20-12) at Old Dominion (21-10) 6 p.m.
Austin Peay (19-13) at Bradley (18-14) 7:05 p.m.
Belmont (19-12) at Evansville (17-13) 7:05 p.m.
Portland (19-12) at Pacific (19-11) 9 p.m.
Drake (17-15) at Idaho (16-15) 9:05 p.m.
Quarterfinals ? March 23 ? Campus Sites
Pairings TBA
Semifinals ? March 25 ? Campus Sites
Pairings TBA
Championship ? March 31 ? Campus Site ? Fox College Sports
105th Season
? Now in its 105th men's basketball season, Bradley is tied for 25th with North Carolina State in NCAA Division I history with 1,534 wins.
? Bradley played its first men's basketball game Jan. 1, 1903 defeating a YMCA program known as the Invincibles, 12-8.
Postseason Streak
? Bradley is playing in the postseason for a fourth consecutive season, equalling the longest postseason streak in program history (1957-60) and 1994-97).
? Bradley will be trying to win at least one postseason tournament game for a school-record fourth consecutive season.
Style Of Play
? Due in large part to the loss of all-star big men Patrick O'Bryant (early entry NBA lottery pick) and Marcellus Sommerville (graduation) following the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 season, head coach Jim Les installed a “spread motion” offense modeled after the Phoenix Suns' system in 2006-07.
? Bradley has recruited to the system for three years and has assembled an athletic, skilled lineup that continues to fit with the uptempo style of play.
? The system often utilizes a four-guard attack and has helped Bradley rank seventh nationally with 879 3-pointers the last three years.
? More notably, Bradley has won at least 21 games three consecutive seasons and is tied for eighth nationally with seven postseason wins the last three years.
New-Look Braves
? While returning seven lettermen from the 2007-08 squad, Bradley is working six newcomers and a redshirt freshman into the lineup this season.
? Bradley entered the season with only two scholarship players boasting more than one year of experience in the program -- fifth-year senior center Sam Singh and junior guard Andrew Warren, both of whom have missed games this season due to injury.
Unique Staff Makeup
? Bradley's coaching staff is believed to be one of just two in the country to boast two staff members with NCAA Tournament head coaching victories.
? Seventh-year head coach Jim Les led the Braves to the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, while second-year Bradley assistant Steve Merfeld coached Hampton to the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
? North Carolina assistant Steve Robinson led Tulsa (1997) and Florida State (1998) to NCAA Tourney wins.
Graduate Players
? For the fourth consecutive year, Bradley's roster features a player who already owns his degree.
? Fifth-year senior center Sam Singh received his bachelor's degree in communications-public relations during commencement ceremonies May 17, 2008.
? Previously, Brandyn Heemskerk (?05), Danny Adams (?06) and Daniel Ruffin (?07) all earned their degrees before completing their eligibility the following season.
? Singh has been granted a sixth year of eligibility and plans to return next year.
Bradley's Postseason Success
? Bradley is making its 34th all-time appearance in a postseason tournament, the most among the 10 current Missouri Valley Conference members.
? Bradley owns a 45-31 (.592) all-time postseason record, including a 7-4 record since 2006.
? Including two NCAA Tournament runner-up finishes and four NIT championships, Bradley has reached the semifinals in 12 postseason tournaments.
? Bradley's seven postseason wins since 2006 are tied for the eighth-best total the last three years.
About The Governors
? Austin Peay tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference and just missed out on a trip to the NCAA Tournament by falling to Morehead State, 67-65, in double-overtime in the championship game of the OVC Tournament.
? Austin Peay's roster features just two seniors: 6-foot-5 forward Reed, who leads the Governors in scoring (21.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), and 6-foot-5 swingman Kyle Duncan, the team's third-leading scorer at 8.6 ppg.
? Since enduring a four-game losing streak against a trio of postseason teams -- Louisville (NCAA), Stephen F. Austin (NCAA) and Belmont (CIT) -- as well as SEC member Arkansas, Austin Peay has won 14 of its last 21 games.
? Three of the last seven losses have come in overtime.
Loos Streaking Against Bradley
? Bradley has not played the Governors since 1991, but Dave Loos was Austin Peay's head coach for that game.
? Now in his 19th season as the head coach at Austin Peay, Loos was in his first year on the job when he led the Governors to an 86-76 home win against Bradley Jan. 14, 1991.
? Loos also faced the Braves nine times as a player and assistant coach at Memphis, and although he has a combined 4-6 record against Bradley, he has been a part of four straight wins against the Braves.
School Position Date Result
Memphis Point Guard 12/7/67 at BU L 52-80
Memphis Point Guard 1/25/68 at MU L 69-92
Memphis Point Guard 1/7/69 at MU L 67-68
Memphis Point Guard 2/18/69 at BU L 62-88
Memphis Student Asst. 1/10/70 at BU L 59-74
Memphis Student Asst. 2/19/70 at MU L 75-91
Memphis Assistant 2/7/87 at BU W 82-74
Memphis Assistant 12/17/87 at MU W 113-108
Memphis Assistant 12/6/88 at MU W 84-77
APSU Head Coach 1/14/91 at APSU W 86-76
Common Opponents
? Bradley and Austin Peay have three common opponents in 2008-09: Drake, Evansville and Southeast Missouri State.
? Bradley owns a 3-2 record against the triumverate, winning all three home games.
? Austin Peay has a 2-2 record against the same three teams, losing road games at both Evansville and Drake, while sweeping its OVC series against SEMO.
Looking Ahead
? The winner of Wednesday's opening round game in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played March 23 at campus sites.
? Much like the way the NIT used to operate, the quarterfinal pairings will not be determined until all of the first-round games have been played.
? Geography suggests a Bradley win likely would lead to a quarterfinal game against the Kent State/Oakland winner, while an Austin Peay victory points to a quarterfinal game against the Evansville/Belmont winner or potentially Liberty, if the Flames beat Rider.
Team Of The Future
? Injuries have forced Bradley to play the entire year without its top returning scorer, junior guard Andrew Warren (13.2 ppg in 2007-08), and all but five games without emerging post Will Egolf.
? Although Bradley will graduate leading scorer Theron Wilson, as well as starting center David Collins, the Braves have a bright future as Warren and Egolf figure to return to a lineup that will boast 10 other returning lettermen in 2009-10.
Injury Bug Bites Yet Again
? For the third consecutive year, the injury bug has taken a big bite out of the Bradley lineup.
? Junior guard Andrew Warren, the team's top returning scorer (13.2 ppg in 2007-08), will not play this season due to a stress fracture in his right foot.
? Sophomore center Will Egolf, who was making his third career start, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee with 10:02 remaining Nov. 29 versus East Tennessee State and underwent season-ending surgery Dec. 18.
? Senior center Sam Singh suffered a broken nose Dec. 14 and missed the next two games after undergoing corrective surgery Dec. 17.
? Junior guard Dodie Dunson, the team's third-leading scorer at 10.4 ppg, injured his shooting hand toward the end of the Feb. 21 game at Loyola and did not dress for the regular-season finale versus Drake as a result.
Newcomer Impact
? With junior guard Andrew Warren (foot) and sophomore forward Will Egolf (knee) out, Bradley's lineup features six rookies and four returning players.
? The six newcomers -- Dodie Dunson (27.4 mpg), Chris Roberts (25.4), Eddren McCain (25.2), Darian Norris (12.6), Taylor Brown (11.3) and Anthony Thompson (4.2) -- have combined for 3,269 of the team's 6,450 total minutes played -- 50.7 percent.
? The six rookies also combine to average 30.9 points per game, compared to 35.2 ppg by the four returning players in the current rotation.
Playing the Percentages
? The Braves are 15-1 (.938) this season when they shoot at a better percentage than their opponents and 3-13 (.188) when colder from the floor.
? Along those shooting percentage lines, Bradley is 7-0 when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor and 10-0 when limiting the opposition to less than 40 percent.
Free Throw Differential
? Bradley enters the postseason second in the MVC by averaging 23.1 free throw attempts per game.
? Bradley is 12-0 this year when it makes at least six more free throws than its opponent, but just 6-14 when the differential does not favor the Braves by at least six.
Leading The Parade To The Line
? Senior forward Theron Wilson continues to lead the parade to the line.
? After easily pacing the Braves with 179 free throw attempts last season (4.8 FTA/gm), Wilson already has smashed that total with 230 charity shots through 32 games (7.3 FTA/gm).
? Wilson is tied for 16th nationally with his 230 free throw attempts this season, which are the most by a Brave since Hersey Hawkins set the single-season school record with 335 attempts in 1987-88.
? Wilson already has been fouled 205 times in 32 games, drawing 31.1 percent of the total fouls (660) committed against the Braves.
? The number of trips Wilson makes to the free throw line is a good gauge of Bradley's overall success this season: Wilson has averaged 8.8 free throw attempts in the 18 wins, compared to 5.1 attempts in the 14 losses.
Bench Provides A Lift
? Although the Braves have used nine different starting lineups throughout the season, the lineup shuffle has not prevented the reserves from being contributors off the bench.
? Bradley's bench has outscored the opposition reserves by 132 points (+4.1 ppg) so far this year, 642-510.
? The Bradley bench has been particularly strong of late, winning the reserve scoring battle in 10 of the last 16 games by a combined total of 331-225.
Scoring In Threes
? Bradley is seventh nationally with 879 total treys since the start of 2006-07.
? Bradley became the first-ever Missouri Valley Conference team to make as many as 300 3-pointers in a season with 349 during the 2006-07 season and the Braves followed with 346 more last season.
Changing Gears
? Bradley entered the season as one of the nation's most proficient 3-point shooting teams the last two years and the Braves still rank seventh nationally with 879 3-pointers since the start of the 2006-07 campaign.
? During a 5-5 start to the season, the Braves were averaging 21.3 3-point field goal attempts per game, but were shooting just 28.6 percent from behind the arc.
? During the last 22 games, however, the Braves have become more selective with their long range shooting, averaging only 16.6 3-point attempts per game, but are connecting on 33.7 percent of those tries.
Defensive Magic Number is 60
? Bradley is 9-1 when allowing 60 points or less this season.
? Conversely, the Braves are 9-13 this season when allowing at least 60 points.
Offensive Magic Number is 66
? The Braves are 12-2 (.857) this year when scoring at least 66 points and have won 16 of their last 19 overall when hitting for at least 66.
? Bradley has won eight straight when scoring at least 66 points.
First Half Momentum
? Bradley is 15-2 (.882) this year when leading at the half, but 3-12 (.200) when tied or trailing at the break.
Winning The Close Games
? Including the 77-75 win against Drake in double ovetime Feb. 28, the Braves are 7-4 (.636) in games decided by six points or less this season.
? In the last six years, Bradley is 37-22 (.627) in games decided by six points or less.
Big Media Numbers
? Now in his 30th year as the radio Voice of the Braves, Dave Snell has participated in 917 Bradley Basketball game broadcasts, all in succession, on WMBD AM 1470 since taking over play-by-play duties for the 1979-80 season.
? Snell's longtime radio sidekick, Joe Stowell has been witness to 1,523 Bradley Basketball games in his various roles as player (103, 1947-50); assistant coach (250, 1956-65); head coach (344, 1965-78); assistant athletic director (107, 1978-85); and radio analyst (719, 1985-present).
? Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 581 Bradley Basketball games, all in succession, since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season.
