PEORIA, Ill. – First-time opponents, high-profile matchups and a trip to Southern California highlight the non-conference schedule, revealed by Bradley Men's Basketball Head Coach Brian Wardle on Thursday.

"We've put together a non-conference schedule that we feel will test us in a variety of ways, whether its style of play or location.  I love that we are competing against seven teams that won 20+ games last season," said Coach Wardle. "UAB, Utah State, and Vermont all played high-level postseason basketball a year ago and we feel many of our other opponents will compete to finish in the top tier of their conference. Also, we will get a great feel for our team from our MTE in the SoCal Challenge. California will be a much-improved team from a year ago, Tulane won 20 games and returns its leading scorer,  and UTEP continues to improve and will present many challenges."

Bradley at UAB | Nov. 6th, 2023
- UAB is coming off a 29-win season that saw the Blazers defeat SEC opponents Georgia and South Carolina.
- UAB had a deep playoff run in the NIT, where they fell to North Texas in the NIT Championship. 
- The Braves and Blazers have not faced each other since 2001 and are squaring off for the fifth time, with each team winning two games in the series. 

Bradley vs Utah State | Nov. 11th, 2023
- Utah State finished 26-6 and placed third in the Mountain West Conference last season.
- The Aggies earned a spot as a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Missouri in the first round.
- Bradley is 2-2 all-time against Utah State, with the Braves owning a 2-0 mark at home in the series. 

Bradley vs Tarleton State | Nov. 14th, 2023 (So-Cal Challenge Game 1 - Peoria, IL)
- SoCal Challenge on-campus contest, Tarleton State will be playing in its fourth season in Division I College Basketball.
- The Texans are coming off a 17-win season where they earned a berth in the CBI, losing in the First Round to Radford.
- The Texans have experience against MVC schools, facing and defeating Belmont before falling to Drake in the Paradise Jam Championship game last November.

Bradley at California/UTEP/Tulane | Nov. 22nd, 2023 (So-Cal Challenge - San Juan Capistrano, CA) 
- Cal hired Mark Madsen, former Stanford standout and 10-year NBA veteran and champion, as head coach this past offseason from Utah Valley after he led the team to the NIT Semifinals.
- Bradley is 2-2 lifetime against Cal, but the Braves and Golden Bears haven't met on the hardwood since the 1941-42 season.
- Against Tulane, Bradley is 3-1 all-time against the Green Wave, most recently defeating Tulane in Peoria during the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
- Against UTEP, Bradley is 3-2 all-time, including a victory against the Miners in the 2021-22 Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Championship in December 2021.

Bradley vs Vermont | Nov. 25th, 2023
- Vermont went 23-11 and won the America East Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships last season.
- Vermont also has the sixth-highest win percentage (.725) amongst Mid-Major programs in the last 10 years and has qualified for the NCAA Tournament nine times over the past 20 years.
- The Catamounts have qualified for the NCAA each of the last two seasons and could've made three of the last four year but the 2020 American East Title game was canceled vs #3 Radford.

Bradley at Akron | Dec. 5th, 2023
- Last season, in the first-ever matchup between the two schools, BU defeated the Zips at Carver Arena, courtesy of 14 team three-pointers, the 4th most in a single game in program history.
- The Zips finished with 20 wins and placed third in the MAC, Akron also returns three starters from the 2022-23 campaign, including First Team All-MAC forward Enrique Freeman.
- The Zips have placed in the top three of MAC in each of the last three seasons.

Bradley vs Cleveland State | Dec. 15th, 2023
- Bradley and Cleveland State have never faced each other, but Coach Wardle is 5-2 against the Vikings, with all games coming during his tenure as the Green Bay head coach.
- The Vikings finished with a 21-win season and placed second in the Horizon League.
- Cleveland State is two seasons removed from an NCAA Tournament berth, earning a 15-seed in the 2021 Tournament after winning the Horizon League. 

Bradley at Duquesne | Dec. 18th, 2023 (Akron, OH - LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School)
- The game will be played at LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, James' alma mater.
- The Dukes are coached by Keith Dambrot, who coached the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team from 1998-2001, coaching James during his final two seasons and leading St. Vincent-St. Mary to state championships in both seasons, going 53-1.
- Last season, Dambrot led the Duquesne Dukes turnaround, going from six wins in 2021-22 to a 20-win season in 2022-23 and a CBI berth.
- Duquesne returns two players that averaged 12.0+ PPG during last season. (SR, G, Dae Dae Grant 15.5 PPG - SR, G, Jimmy Clark III 12.2 PPG)

Bradley vs SIUE | Dec. 21st, 2023
- Will serve as the third meeting in three years between the Cougars and Braves
- Bradley has won each of the prior two meetings (2021: W 80-55 in Peoria |  2022: W 56-54 at SIUE)

Bradley vs Truman State | Dec. 28th, 2023
- Bradley closes the non-conference slate with a matchup against Division II opponent Truman State on December 28th.
- This will be another first-time opponent as Bradley has never faced the Bulldogs in regular season play. Truman State finished the 2022-23 season with 12 wins.