PEORIA, Ill. - Marking the silver anniversary of the Bradley men's basketball team's last game against the defending national champion, Bradley will once again face the defending champ when the Braves visit Duke Dec. 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Dec. 8 game against the Blue Devils is the latest non-conference game added to Bradley's 2010-11 schedule. The Braves will face Southern California and either Massachusetts or New Mexico State Nov. 20-21 during the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. Bradley's two home games in the four-game, exempt tournament still are to be determined.
Additional Bradley non-conference games contracted to date include a visit by Utah in the second annual Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge Dec. 4 at Carver Arena a road game in the annual BracketBusters series Feb. 18 or 19. The Braves also will continue existing contracts by hosting Northern Illinois and visiting Western Carolina, dates to be determined as the schedule continues to evolve.
The game against Duke will be Bradley's first against the defending NCAA Tournament champion since the Braves knocked off Villanova, 58-56 in overtime, in the second round of the 1985 Rainbow Classic. That win against the Wildcats launched Bradley on a 22-game winning streak that carried the Braves through what remains the last undefeated Valley regular-season championship in leauge history and a second-round berth in the 1986 NCAA Tournament.
