PEORIA, Ill. – The 2012-13 Bradley Basketball schedule took another step toward completion today with the announcement of the team's two preseason opponents, as well as the pairings for the final two rounds of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.
After debuting to the public Oct. 12 at Renaissance Coliseum in the annual Red-White Scrimmage, which immediately will follow the Bradley Volleyball team's 6 p.m. match versus Southern Illinois, the Braves will play the first of two preseason exhibition games Oct. 29 against Upper Iowa at Renaissance Coliseum. The new floor at Carver Arena will make its public debut Nov. 3 when the Braves host Wisconsin-Parkside in downtown Peoria, a game that will be included in the 16-game season-ticket package.
Both of Bradley's preseason opponents compete at the NCAA Division II level, Upper Iowa in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and Wisconsin-Parkside in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
Wisconsin-Parkside is returning to Peoria for a second straight year. Bradley earned an 87-77 victory against the Rangers at Renaissance Coliseum in the first of two 2011-12 preseason exhibition games. Though the exact start time for the exhibition game against Wisconsin-Parkside is to be determined, the game will be played in the afternoon.
After hosting a pair of first-round games in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic Dec. 17 (Georgia Southern) and Dec. 19 (Mississippi Valley State) at Carver Arena, Bradley will travel to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the final two rounds of the exempt tournament. The Braves will take on Atlantic Coast Conference member Virginia Tech in the 5 p.m. (PT) game Dec. 22, then will face either Colorado State or Portland in the final round Dec. 23 at Orleans Arena. The final round games in the evening session Dec. 23 will start an hour later with the consolation game set for 6 p.m. (PT) and the championship game scheduled to tip at 8:30.
The third-round game in Las Vegas against Virginia Tech will be Bradley's first-ever game against the Hokies. Bradley has previously played nine of the ACC's 12 current members and the Braves are 12-5 all-time against those nine teams. The only other ACC teams Bradley has not faced are Maryland and North Carolina State. The game against the Hokies also will be Bradley's third of the season against teams from the six BCS football power conferences, following the Nov. 20 game at South Florida (Big East) and at home Dec. 1 against Michigan (Big Ten).
The final piece to the 2012-13 Bradley men's basketball schedule will be the announcement of the 18-game Missouri Valley Conference slate. Start times for the entire season will be determined after the release of the league's double round-robin schedule.
Second-year head coach Geno Ford will be available to discuss the schedule, as well as other Bradley Basketball topics, during an hour-long chat Thursday from noon-1 o'clock.
