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Bradley Braves (14-11, 6-7 MVC)
at
Illinois State Redbirds (15-10, 6-7 MVC) 

Feb. 13, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Normal, Ill. | Redbird Arena (10,200)
TV:  WTVP | Kurt Pegler (pbp) and Danny Adams (analyst)
Radio:  1470 WMBD | Dave Snell (pbp), Chad Kleine (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (pregame)
Twitter:  @BPtheBrave | #BRADvILS
Tickets:  Adults $11, $18; Youth $9 | Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office (309-438-8000) or online at goredbirds.com

Tip-Off
•   Interstate 74 rivals Bradley and Illinois State will meet for the second time this season Wednesday night at Redbird Arena, just 15 days after their first meeting Jan. 29 in Peoria.
•   Wednesday's game will be the 116th meeting in the all-time series between the two teams with the closest proximity to one another in the Missouri Valley Conference.
•   Bradley's 83-77 victory Jan. 29 at Carver Arena ended a 7-game losing streak against Illinois State and represents the only blemish for the Redbirds in their last seven games.
•   The Braves will be shooting for their first win at Redbird Arena since Feb. 3, 2007, a 70-62 triumph that gave Bradley its last regular-season sweep against Illinois State.
•   The rivals enter Wednesday's game tied for sixth in the MVC standings.
•   With just four rounds of league play after Wednesday night, the Bradley-Illinois State winner could be tied for fourth in Valley standings by the end of the night, while the loser could be tied for seventh, two games behind the next closest team(s) in the standings.
•   Bradley junior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. is just 23 points shy of joining the 1,000-Point Club.

Last Time Out
UNI 68, at Bradley 65 | Feb. 10, 2013 | Carver Arena
•   Northern Iowa built a 19-point halftime lead by limiting Bradley to 7-for-27 (.259) shooting in the first half, then withstood a furious second-half rally by the Braves to complete the regular-season series sweep.
•   Dyricus Simms-Edwards scored 26 of his career-high 32 points in the second half, including 20 during a stretch of 4:54 that trimmed a 48-34 deficit to 58-56 with 4:46 remaining.
•   Bradley had four shots in the air to tie the game in the final 3:43, but could not close the final gap.
•   The Panthers, who were 0-for-7 on 2-point field goal attempts in the second half, made 6-of-10 from 3-point range and 13-of-14 from the free throw line to hold off the Braves.

Series History
116th Meeting | Bradley leads 62-53
•   Wednesday's game will be the 116th meeting in the Interstate 74 Rivalry series, which dates back to Illinois State's 39-19 home win during the 1904-05 season.
•   Bradley's 83-77 win Jan. 29 at Carver Arena snapped a 7-game series skid, which equalled the longest losing streak the Braves had ever experienced in the series.
•   Illinois State owns a 33-18 home record against Bradley, including an 18-5 record at Redbird Arena.
•   Second-year Bradley head coach Geno Ford is 1-2 against the rival Redbirds, while first-year Illinois State head coach Dan Muller is 0-1 against Bradley.
•   Muller was 5-3 against Bradley during his ISU playing career from 1994-98, including a 4-0 home record against the Braves.

Ironic Twist
•   Of all of this year's participants, Illinois State assistant coach Rob Judson has “enjoyed” the most Bradley victories in the I-74 Rivalry series.
•   Judson was an assistant coach at Bradley from 1991-96 and helped the Braves to four wins against Illinois State.
•   Judson has participated in 21 I-74 Rivalry games overall and owns a personal 12-9 series record, 4-6 at Bradley (1991-96) and 8-3 at Illinois State (2007-12).
•   Overall, the former Braves assistant has faced Bradley 15 times since departing Peoria, going 10-5 overall as an assistant at Illinois (2-0), the head coach at Northern Illinois (0-2) and as an assistant at Illinois State (8-3).

Recapping the First Meeting
at Bradley 83, Illinois State 77 | Jan. 29, 2013 | Peoria, Ill.
•   Bradley guard Walt Lemon Jr. scored a career-high 27 points and the Braves rallied from a 16-point, first-half deficit for an 83-77 win Jan. 29 at Carver Arena.
•   Overcoming a 25-9 deficit with 9:09 left in the first half, Bradley rallied to snap a series-worst 7-game losing streak to the rival Redbirds.
•   Illinois State tied a season-high with 13 3-point field goals, while the Braves made just 2-of-16 long-range tries, but Bradley countered by outscoring ISU, 46-14, in the paint and turning 23 Illinois State turnovers into 27 points.
•   Lemon (5 steals, 5 rebounds), senior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards (4, 6) and senior swingman Jake Eastman (3, 6) combined for 12 steals and 17 rebounds.

ANOTHER VALLEY LOGJAM
•   After five teams finished tied for third with 9-9 league records in the 2011-12 Missouri Valley Conference standings, another logjam in the middle of the 2012-13 league is developing.
•   As the week begins, only two games separates fourth place (Evansville and UNI) from eighth place (Drake and Missouri State).
•   I-74 rivals Bradley and Illinois State are tied for sixth with one another.
•   In the best-case scenario, the Bradley-Illinois State winner will exit Wednesday night's game part of a three-way tie for fourth.
•   In a worst-case scenario, the Bradley-Illinois State loser could be involved in a three-way tie for seventh, two games behind the fourth-place trio.

Bradley's Blossoming STar
•   Bradley junior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. is emerging as a 1st-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference caliber player.
•   For the season, Lemon is averaging 15.0 ppg, 3.6 apg and 2.3 spg and is shooting 50.6 percent (119-235) from inside the 3-point arc.
•   In the 13 Valley games, Lemon's numbers are even better: 17.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 2.5 spg while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range and 51.2 percent from inside the arc.
•   The 6-foot-3 point guard also leads the Braves with 83 defensive rebounds and paces the team in rebounding in conference play.

Dynamic Duo
•   Not only do Bradley guards Walt Lemon, Jr. and Dyricus Simms-Edwards combine for the highest scoring backcourt duo (28.0 ppg) in The Valley, they also lead the league and rank second nationally for steals (5.2 spg) by a pair of teammates.
•   In the chart on the next page, the Valley backcourts (top two guards by minutes played for each team) are comparatively ranked by combined points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots per game, then listed in rank order according to the average of their combined rankings.
•   The Bradley duo averages a 2.4 ranking and is no worse than fourth in any of the five categories.

Looking Ahead
•   Bradley has only two home games remaining in the regular season, including Saturday's 1 p.m. game versus Indiana State at Carver Arena.
•   In addition to the “Go Pink, Go Bradley” promotion described below, four individuals will be inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame at halftime:  soccer All-American Gavin Glinton, volleyball star Samantha Hardwick, running innovator Philip Lockwood and Olympic figure skater Matt Savoie.
•   The Hall of Fame induction class will be the featured guests at the final Braves Club Gameday Luncheon, presented by Herget Bank, of the year Friday at the Renaissance Coliseum Basketball Performance Center.
•   For more information or to purchase luncheon tickets, contact the Braves Club Office at 309-677-2667,