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Evansville Purple Aces (13-10, 6-5 MVC)
at
Bradley Braves (13-10, 5-6 MVC)
Feb. 5, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Peoria, Ill. | Carver Arena (11,168)
TV: None
Radio: 1470 WMBD | Dave Snell (pbp), Chad Kleine (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (pregame)
Twitter: @BPtheBrave | #BRADvUE
Tickets: $8, $14, $20 based on location | Renaissance Coliseum Box Office (309-677-2625), Carver Arena Box Office or online at BradleyBraves.com
TIP-OFF
• Bradley tips off a 2-game home stand Tuesday by hosting Missouri Valley Conference rival Evansville in the second game of the 2012-13 season series.
• The Purple Aces earned a 66-56 victory Jan. 23 at the Ford Center for their third consecutive win in the series to equal their longest winning streak in the history of the series.
• Tuesday's game will be the 42nd meeting in the all-time series, which dates back to a 77-66 Evansville victory in a non-conference game Dec. 22, 1986 in Evansville.
• As The Valley begins its 12th round of double round-robin action, only two games separate fourth-place Evansville (6-5 MVC record) from ninth-place Illinois State (4-7) and Bradley (5-6) finds itself in a four-way tie for fifth with Drake, Missouri State and Northern Iowa.
• Bradley is shooting for its 11th home win of the season tonight, which would be the most since the 2008-09 squad won 11 regular-season home games and finished 14-4 overall at Carver Arena.
LAST TIME OUT
at #17 Creighton 75, Bradley 58 | Feb. 2, 2013 | Omaha, Neb.
• Creighton All-American Doug McDermott scored nine of his game-high 25 points during a 12-0 Bluejays run that broke the game open midway through the second half Saturday afternoon.
• Bradley controlled the first-half tempo and took a 30-27 halftime lead after Creighton shot 7-for-21 from 3-point range and managed only three 2-point field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
• Creighton scored the first eight points of the second half on interior buckets to take the lead for good, but did not separate until McDermott's surge.
• Dyricus Simms-Edwards led Bradley with 18 points, while Walt Lemon, Jr. chipped in 15 and Tyshon Pickett 11.
SERIES HISTORY
42nd Meeting | Bradley leads 23-18
• Tonight's game will be the 42nd meeting in the all-time series between Bradley and Evansville, which dates back to Evansville's days in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference
• The Purple Aces have won the last three meetings in the series to equal their longest series winning streak.
• Second-year Bradley head coach Geno Ford is 0-3 all-time against Evansville and Aces head coach Marty Simmons.
• Now in his sixth year at Evansville, Marty Simmons is 5-6 against Bradley.
AT HOME AGAINST ACES
• Bradley is 16-3 all-time at home against Evansville and the Braves have not yet endured a multi-game home losing streak against the Purple Aces.
• Bradley's .842 home winning percentage against the Purple Aces is the best against any team in The Valley.
RECAPPING THE FIRST MEETING
at Evansville 66, Bradley 56 | Jan. 23, 2013 | Evansville, Ind.
• Walt Lemon, Jr. scored a game-high 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting, but the rest of the team combined to make just 12-of-38 (.316) field goal attempts and Evansville pulled away down the stretch for the 66-56 win.
• The Braves closed to 51-50 when Will Egolf drained a 3-pointer with 8:01 left, but Bradley managed just two more field goals the rest of the game.
• Evansville won the battle of the paint (24-18) and committed only 11 turnovers, reversing two statistical trends that typically favor the Braves.
• Colt Ryan paced the Purple Aces with 19 points as Evansville's only double-digit scorer.
REGULAR-SEASON HOME WINS
• Bradley brings a 10-2 home record into Tuesday's game against Evansville and the Braves are 10-0 at home this season against teams that are not ranked among the top 25 in the current USA Today Coaches Poll.
• With four regular-season home games remaining, Bradley has a chance for the most regular-season home wins since the 1993-94 Braves completed the regular-season with a 14-0 record at Carver Arena.
Most Home Wins Since 1968
Reg. Season Season Postseason Total
14-0 1993-94 2-0 16-0
14-0 1985-86 0-0 14-0
13-3 2006-07 1-0 14-3
13-1 2005-06 0-0 13-1
13-1 2000-01 0-1 13-2
13-1 1998-99 0-1 13-2
13-0 1979-80 3-0 16-0
13-1 1973-74 0-0 13-1
12-3 2004-05 0-0 12-3
12-2 1999-00 0-0 12-2
12-1 1995-96 0-0 12-1
12-1 1987-88 3-0 15-1
12-2 1986-87 0-0 12-2
12-3 1983-84 0-0 12-3
12-3 1982-83 1-0 13-3
12-2 1980-81 0-0 12-2
12-3 1971-72 0-0 12-3
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 league is developing.
• As Bradley prepares to host Evansville Tuesday and Northern Iowa Sunday, the Braves begin the week involved in a 4-way tie for fifth in the league standings, just one game behind fourth-place Evansville and one game ahead of ninth-place Illinois State.
• Bradley's next three games will be played against teams stuck in the logjam.
TURNAROUND AMONG NATION'S BEST
• After going six years without improving its win total from one year to the next, Bradley's current 6-win improvement over last year equals the sixth-best in the nation through games of Feb. 3:
Team 2011-12 2012-13 +W's
Bryant 2-28 15-6 +13
Canisius 5-25 15-8 +10
Towson 1-31 11-12 +10
Santa Clara 8-22 17-7 +9
Arizona State 10-21 17-5 +7
BRADLEY 7-25 13-10 +6
Illinois-Chicago 8-22 14-9 +6
Loyola (Ill.) 7-23 13-9 +6
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, the 6-foot-3 point guard is averaging 14.8 ppg, 3.4 apg and 2.3 spg and is shooting 50.7 percent (109-215) from inside the 3-point arc.
• In the 11 Valley games, Lemon's numbers are even better: 17.4 ppg, 3.6 apg, 2.5 apg while shooting 36.1 percent from 3-point range and 51.4 percent from inside the arc.
BIG MEDIA NUMBERS
• Dave Snell is in his 34th season as the radio Voice of the Braves and has participated in 1,038 Bradley Basketball game broadcasts, all in succession, on 1470 WMBD since taking over play-by-play duties for the 1979-80 season.
• Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 701 consecutive Bradley games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season.
• In addition, public address announcer Paul Herzog has announced 537 Bradley Basketball home games.
LOOKING AHEAD
• Bradley will continue its 2-game home stand by hosting UNI Sunday in a 2 p.m. game that will be produced for ESPN3.com.
• Following the game against the Panthers, Bradley will play four of its final six regular-season games on the road, beginning Feb. 13 at Illinois State in the second half of the annual Interstate 74 Rivalry series.
• “Go Pink, Go Bradley” will be the theme when the Braves host Indiana State Feb. 16 at Carver Arena.
• In addition to the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Bradley will wear pink uniforms in tribute to breast cancer survivors and head coach Geno Ford is encouraging fans to join his Coach's Challenge with a donation to the Susan G. Komen Midwest Affiliate for every steal the Braves accumulate against the Sycamores.
