Loyola Chicago (9-18, 4-11 MVC)
at
Bradley (11-17, 6-9 MVC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Peoria, Ill. | Carver Arena (11,094)
Tickets: Starting at $8 | www.BradleyBraves.com or (309) 677-2625
Game Coverage
TV: MVC-TV | John Rooney (play-by-play) and Rich Zvosec (analyst)
Radio: 1470 WMBD | Dave Snell (play-by-play), Chad Kleine (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (Braves Plus pregame)
Video Streaming: ESPN3 (outside Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri)
Audio Streaming: Bradley All-Access
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @BradleySIDLive | #BRADvLUC
Bradley Pregame Notes | Bradley Game Notes Addendum | Loyola Pregame Notes
Coaches
Bradley: Geno Ford | 36-59 in 3rd year at Bradley; 155-128 in 9th year overall
Loyola: Porter Moser | 31-57 in 3rd year at Loyola and 136-158 in 10th year overall
Series History
49th all-time meeting | Bradley leads 31-17 overall and 20-5 in Peoria
Trends: Bradley has won six of the last nine, but Loyola has won two straight at Bradley
Tip-Off
Both Bradley and Loyola will be looking to halt 3-game losing streaks Saturday when the two teams meet at Carver Arena ... Bradley will unveil its new gargoyle mascot in a pregame ceremony that will involve pyrotechnics ... In addition, Wyman Carey, Kelly Dillon, Tim Regan and the 1998 Soccer Team will be inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame during a halftime ceremony ... Saturday's game will be the 49th meeting in the all-time series between the in-state rivals, but it will be Loyola's first-ever visit to Carver Arena as a Missouri Valley Conference member ... With three games remaining in the regular-season schedule, Saturday's result will be pivotal in Bradley's attempt to land in the top six of the final league standings and avoid the Thursday night first-round games at next month's MVC Men's Basketball Championship in St. Louis.
Series History
Tonight's game is 49th meeting in the all-time men's basketball series between Bradley and Loyola, which dates back to Bradley's 32-9 win Jan. 16, 1928 ... Bradley owns a 31-17 series record, including a 20-5 record in home games against the Ramblers ... Despite Bradley's overall home success in the series, Loyola has won each of the last two meetings at Carver Arena: a 68-65 score decided on a half-court buzzer beater Dec. 16, 2009 and a 56-44 triumph in the 2012 BracketBusters series ... Bradley took the first-ever Missouri Valley Conference meeting between the two teams two weeks ago, earning a 64-54 win Feb. 6 in Chicago ... Third-year Bradley head coach Geno Ford is 1-1 all-time against Loyola, while third-year Ramblers head coach Porter Moser is 3-8 all-time against Bradley ... Moser was 2-7 against Bradley while serving as Illinois State head coach from 2003-07.
Applying the Crystal Ball
While Wichita State and Indiana State already have secured the top two seeds for next month's MVC Men's Basketball Championship, a logjam remains in the middle of the league standings ... Bradley enters Saturday's game alone in seventh place, but just two games out of third, with three games remaining in the league standings ... Below is a look at what teams three through seven have remaining on their schedules:
3) Illinois State: at UNI, vs. INS, at SIU
T4) Missouri State: vs. INS, vs. LUC, at WSU
T4) Northern Iowa: vs. ILS, vs. SIU, at INS
T4) Southern Illinois: at UE, at UNI, vs. ILS
7) Bradley: vs. LUC, vs. WSU, at DU
There remain too many scenarios to determine how the final standings and tournament seedings ultimately will shake out and Bradley still can finish as high as third, but assuming the home teams all win out, Bradley would tie for sixth in the standings ... In that single scenario, Bradley would lose a tie-breaker with Southern Illinois based on non-conference strength of schedule, making the Braves the No. 7 seed in the MVC Tournament.
Tale of the Tight Games
Bradley is 2-8 overall this year in games decided by six points or less. ... During last season's 18-17 campaign, Bradley was 9-4 in games decided by six points or less.
65 The Magic Number?
Bradley is averaging 64.1 points per game this year and the team's ability to surpass its average has been an important threshold ... The Braves are 9-3 this season when scoring at least 65 points ... Since a 68-60 win against Indiana State Feb. 8, 2012, Bradley is 26-9 (.743) in the last 35 games the Braves have scored at least 65 points.
Milestone Game
Last Saturday's game at Illinois State was the 2,700th game in Bradley Basketball history ... The Braves enter Saturday's game versus Loyola with a 1601-1100 all-time record ... Bradley's 1,601 wins are the most of any team in the Missouri Valley Conference and rank 28th in NCAA Division I history.
Exclusive Club
Bradley senior guard Walt Lemon, Jr.'s all-around play has put him in an exclusive group of active players from across the country, as well as all-time MVC greats ... Through games of Feb. 19, Lemon is one of six active NCAA Division I players who can boast 1,600 career points, 350 assists and 200 steals ... Lemon joins all-time Valley greats Larry Bird (Indiana State), Darren Brooks (Southern Illinois) and Hersey Hawkins (Bradley) as the only MVC players to ever hit all three marks.
MVC 1,600 Club
Bradley senior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. needs 28 points to crack the top 50 on the Missouri Valley Conference's all-time scoring list ... Lemon enters Tuesday's game tied for 52nd on the league's all-time scoring list with 1,626 points ... At his current pace of 17.8 points per game, Lemon will climb to 39th on The Valley's all-time list through Bradley's first game in next month's MVC Tournament.
Trio of Top Fives
Averaging 17.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game, senior guard Walt Lemon, Jr. is the only player to rank among The Valley's top five in all three categories ... Lemon is third in scoring, fifth in assists and second in steals.
Window Cleaners
Bradley begins the week boasting two of The Valley's top seven rebounders ... Senior forward Tyshon Pickett is third in The Valley by averaging 7.3 boards per game, while junior forward Auston Barnes is seventh with 5.8 rebounds per game ... Both players have been particularly effective on the offensive end: Pickett leads The Valley with 2.6 offensive rebounds per game, while Barnes is second with 67 offensive boards.
Newcomer Contributions
Bradley's lineup includes seven eligible newcomers and all seven have played in at least 20 of Bradley's first 28 games ... Sophomore guard Omari Grier, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, is Bradley's third-leading scorer at 10.6 ppg and junior forward Auston Barnes (Odessa College) adds 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Big Media Numbers
Dave Snell has served as the radio Voice of the Braves the last 34 seasons and has worked on 1,079 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 743 consecutive Bradley games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season ... In his 38th season, public address announcer Paul Herzog has been at the mic for 556 Bradley Basketball home games.
Looking Ahead
Bradley will conclude its regular-season home schedule Tuesday by hosting #3 Wichita State in a 8 p.m. game to be televised on ESPN2 ... The Shockers enter the weekend as the nation's lone unbeaten team and will become the first previous-season Final Four team to play at Carver Arena ... The Shockers are trying to unseat Bradley's 1985-86 team (16-0) as the last unbeaten MVC regular-season champion ... Tuesday's game against the Shockers will be Senior Night and the final regular-season home games for four Bradley seniors: Mason Alwan, Walt Lemon Jr., Tyshon Pickett and Jordan Prosser ... The quartet of seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday.
Free Ticket Upgrade
Fans purchasing two tickets at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office in Renaissance Coliseum in advance of the final two home games may receive a free upgrade at the time of purchase ... The promotion allows purchasers to upgrade from the $8 White seating levels to the $14/15 Red levels or from the Red sections to the $20/22 Bronze seating areas at Carver Arena ... Upgrade vouchers are available online at BradleyBraves.com or at the Bradley Athletics Ticket Office at Renaissance Coliseum.
