• Bradley is making its 35th all-time postseason appearance, the most of any team in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Braves are making their second all-time appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament after reaching the championship game of the inaugural CIT in 2009.
• Bradley has won at least one game in each of its last four postseason tournaments and in 21 of its first 34 postseason tournaments.
National Turnaround
• After going six years without improving its win total from one year to the next, Bradley's current 9-win improvement over last year is tied for ninth-best in the nation heading into the postseason:
Team 2011-12 2012-13 +W's
Bryant 2-28 19-11 +17
Towson 1-31 18-13 +17
Canisius 5-25 18-13 +13
Santa Clara 8-22 21-11 +13
Arizona State 10-21 21-12 +11
Pacific 11-19 22-12 +11
Florida Int'l 8-21 18-14 +10
Mount St. Mary's 8-21 18-14 +10
Bradley 7-25 16-16 +9
Florida Gulf Coast 15-17 24-10 +9
Gardner-Webb 12-20 21-1 +9
Illinois-Chicago 8-22 17-15 +9
Oklahoma State 15-18 24-8 +9
UC Davis 5-26 14-17 +9
Utah 6-25 15-18 +9
Double-Digit Improvement
• If Bradley is able to win its first-round game versus Green Bay in the CIT, Bradley will enjoy a double-digit win improvement compared to last season (7-25).
• The Braves have not jumped by 10 wins from one year to the next since 1992-93 (11-16) to 1993-94 (23-8).
• Since athletics resumed at Bradley following World War II, the men's basketball program has experienced a 10-win improvement in four seasons:
1st Year W-L 2nd Year W-L +/-
1984-85 17-13 1985-86 32-3 +15
1978-79 9-17 1979-80 23-10 +14
1945-46 11-12 1946-47 25-7 +14
1992-93 11-16 1993-94 23-8 +12
Improved Field
• Of the 15 teams that have experience the greatest turnarounds this season, four are playing in the 2013 CIT.
• Canisius leads the pack with a +13 improvement this season, jumping from 5-25 last season to 18-13 this year.
• Bradley's +9 jump is tied for second in the CIT field with Gardner-Webb and Illinois-Chicago.
Four Out of Five for Ford
• In his fifth year as a NCAA Division I head coach, Geno Ford now has directed his team to the postseason four times.
• Ford directed Kent State to the CIT in 2009, followed by NIT appearances in 2010 and 2011.
• Ford owns a 3-3 postseason record.
• Ironically, Ford's 2009 Kent State team lost at Oakland in the first round, setting up one of the more memorable moments in Bradley history as the Braves knocked out Oakland in the second round on Chris Roberts' 75-foot buzzer beater, the longest post-season buzzer beater in NCAA Division I history.
Series History
2nd Meeting | Bradley leads 1-0
• In the only previous meeting Bradley earned a 66-60 victory Jan. 24, 1973 in Peoria at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse.
• Three-year-old Renaissance Coliseum is built on the same foot print as the old field house.
• Green Bay becomes the second program this season to have visited both of Bradley's two most-recent on-campus venues: the Braves earned a 78-61 win Nov. 12 against Texas-Pan American, which also played the Braves at Robertson Fieldhouse Dec. 7, 1968.
Unfriendly Date
• Bradley has enjoyed plenty of memorable runs in late March, but March 20 specifically has been a difficult date for the Braves to navigate.
• Bradley is 1-3 all-time when playing on March 20, 0-3 since knocking off #19 Kansas, 59-57, in the first round of the 1950 NCAA Tournament in Kansas City two days after its runner-up finish in the NIT in New York City.
1950 vs. Kansas NCAA 1st Round W 59-57
1954 vs. La Salle NCAA Championship L 76-92
1962 vs. Duquesne NIT 1st Round L 85-88
1994 Canisius NIT 2nd Round L 53-55
• Bradley is 15-8 all-time when playing beyond March 20.
What To Watch For
• Bradley can earn its 17th win of the season Wednesday, which would secure at least a final .500 record for the first time since 2009-10 (16-15) and would represent its most wins in a season since 2008-09 (21-15).
• Bradley is playing its first postseason game on campus since the 1982 NIT.
• The Braves are 2-0 all-time at Renaissance Coliseum, the 4,200-seat on-campus venue that has been home to the Bradley volleyball and women's basketball teams since opening in August 2010.
• Bradley is 16-5 all-time in postseason tournament home games, including a 5-1 record in postseason home games played on campus.
• Junior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. needs seven points to join Hersey Hawkins (1987-88) as the only players in Valley history to record 500 points, 100 rebounds, 100 assists and 70 steals in a season.
• By scoring 20 points, Lemon can jump three places to 35th on Bradley's all-time scoring list.
• By scoring 15 points, senior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards also can jump three places to 26th on Bradley's all-time scoring list.
Steals Watch
• The backcourt combo of Simms-Edwards and Walt Lemon, Jr. need to combine for two steals to set the MVC single-season record for steals by two teammates (155 by Tulsa's Paul Pressey {96}and Mike Anderson {59) in 1980-81).
• Bradley needs five steals to break the school season record (303 in 1981-82 and 1985-86).
• Senior guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards needs two steals to surpass Larry Bird (85) for fifth place on the MVC single-season steals list.
Bradley's Blossoming Star
• Bradley junior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. has emerged as one of the top players in The Valley, earning 2nd team All-MVC and MVC All-Defense team honors this winter.
• For the season, Lemon is averaging 15.4 ppg, 3.6 apg and 2.2 spg and is shooting 49.7 percent (152-396) from inside the 3-point arc.
• The 6-foot-3 point guard also leads the team with 111 defensive rebounds.
Historic Stat Stuffer
• Walt Lemon, Jr. enters the CIT with 493 points, 125 rebounds, 114 assists and 70 steals.
• Lemon needs seven points to join Hersey Hawkins (1987-88 national player of the year) as the only players in school and MVC history to score 500 points, snare 100 boards, dish out 100 assists and make off with 70 steals in a season.
• Evansville senior guard Colt Ryan is the only other Valley player to achieve 500 points, 100 rebounds, 100 assists and 60 steals in a season, hitting the marks last season.
500 Points, 100 Reb., 100 Assists, 60 Steals
Player Year Pts Reb A S
Colt Ryan, UE 2011-12 656 134 105 60
Hersey Hawkins 1987-88 1125 241 111 82
Hersey Hawkins 1985-86 656 200 104 66
Points and Assists Leader
• Bradley junior point guard Walt Lemon, Jr. leads the Braves in scoring (15.4 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg).
• Lemon is trying to become the first Bradley player since Jerome Robinson in 2000-01 (16.9 ppg, 2.6 apg) to lead the Braves in both areas.
• The same player has led the Braves in both scoring and assists just three times since Bradley began tracking assists in the mid-60's.
Leading the Braves in Scoring and Assists
Pts. & A Leader Year Pts PPG A APG
Jerome Robinson 2000-01 508 16.9 78 2.6
Anthony Manuel 1988-89 569 21.1 216 8.0
Sam Simmons 1971-72 555 21.3 87 3.3
Power of the Steal
• Bradley has enjoyed one of the top win-loss turnarounds in the country this season, despite being outscored by 54 points from 3-point range and 57 points from the free throw line, while being outrebounded by 2.4 boards per game.
• Thanks to its ability to turn over the opposition, often with steals, Bradley has attempted 120 more field goal attempts than its opponents.
• The Braves have 108 more steals than the opposition, contributing to a +88 turnover margin.
• Bradley boasts a 522-407 advantage in points off turnovers, a +3.6 points-per-game margin.
• The advantage in points off turnovers has cancelled out Bradley's 3.5-points-per-game disadvantage in 3-pointers and free throws.
Watching The Steals Pace
• As the postseason begins, Bradley is tied for eighth nationally by averaging 9.34 steals per game.
• With 299 steals to date, Bradley needs five more thefts to break the single-season school record and crack the MVC's top five.
MVC Steals in a Season
1. 345 Tulsa 1983-84
2. 337 Drake 1993-94
3. 322 Southern Illinois 2004-05
4. 321 Drake 2003-04
5. 303 Bradley 1985-86
303 Bradley 1981-82
Double Trouble
• The Bradley backcourt combo of Dyricus Simms-Edwards (2.63) and Walt Lemon, Jr. (2.19) ranks second nationally by combining to average 4.81 steals per game.
• The Bradley duo has combined for 154 steals - 84 by Simms-Edwards and 70 by Lemon - a school record and the second-best mark in Valley history for total steals by two teammates.
• The MVC record for steals in a season by a pair of teammates is 155 in 33 games by the Tulsa duo of Paul Pressey (96) and Mike Anderson (59) in 1980-81.
Single-Season Steals by MVC Duos
155 1980-81 TU Paul Pressey (96) Mike Anderson (59)
145 1999-00 INS Nate Green (92) Michael Menser (53)
145 1978-79 INS Larry Bird (85) Carl Nicks (60)
Battle of the Paint
• Though Bradley's top two scorers are guards, the Braves outscore the opposition by 6.6 points per game in the paint.
• The Braves have at least doubled-up the opposition in paint points nine times this season, most-recently with a 44-22 edge Feb. 16 vs. Indiana State.
• Bradley is 15-3 when it outscores the opposition in the paint and 1-13 when the paint scoring is even or the opponents own the paint scoring advantage.
Big Media Numbers
• Dave Snell is in his 34th season as the radio Voice of the Braves and has participated in 1,047 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 710 consecutive Bradley games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season.
• In addition, P.A. announcer Paul Herzog has announced 541 Bradley Basketball home games.
