Next game: Northern Iowa at Bradley, Saturday, Feb 13, 1:05 pm

[Da Coach]

Bradley's next game is Saturday, Feb. 13, at 1:05 pm at Carver Arena against Northern Iowa. The game is televised by the MVC-TV network (Comcast Sportsnet in Chicago and FoxSportsMidwest from St. Louis)


UNI basketball website-

http://www.unipanthers.com/sports/m-baskbl/niwa-m-baskbl-body.html

Roster-

http://www.unipanthers.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/niwa-m-baskbl-mtt.html

UNI Stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/UNI.HTM

BU stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/BU.HTM

MVC stats-All games-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFLDRS.HTM

Conference only-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/CONFONLY.HTM

[BUBraves04]

I'm sure this will be in the game notes, but they haven't been released yet.

When was the last time a top-20 (ESPN and AP Rankings) team came into Carver? Was it on the weekend? How about a top-20 team from our conference?

and the most important...when was the last time we beat a top-20 team on our homecourt?

Thanks and GO BU!

[BUBraves04]

I remember that Michigan State was ranked in the top-10 when they came into Carver in 2007 and the game was on a Tuesday night.

[SaintLouBrave22]

Prediction....


BU leads by 4 at half...


BU leads by 8 at 10 min mark....


BU blows lead and loses by 5 and UNI celebrates another MVC Championship on our home floor.

[DeltaBrave03]

Prediction....


BU leads by 4 at half...


BU leads by 8 at 10 min mark....


BU blows lead and loses by 5 and UNI celebrates another MVC Championship on our home floor.

What reasons do you have to make a prediction like this...

[SaintLouBrave22]

What reasons do you have to make a prediction like this...

Because sadly I'm hoping I am dead wrong this time...


Ya know...reverse karma

[SFP]

What reasons do you have to make a prediction like this...

Recent history perhaps and I hope he is also dead wrong!

[BUBraves04]

Bradley Hosts Nationally-Ranked MVC Champion
Bradley will be seeking its first-ever Carver Arena victory against a nationally-ranked team when #18/19 UNI visits Saturday afternoon for a game to be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference network...The last time Bradley faced a nationally-ranked UNI squad, the visiting Braves dealt the #25 Panthers a 71-49 loss in the last regular-season men's basketball game in UNI-Dome history, Feb. 22, 2006.


Let's get that first win tomorrow at Carver!

[Da Coach]

Pregame notes for BU-UNI game-

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&ATCLID=204885814&DB_OEM_ID=3400

Bradley Basketball Pregame Notes
Game 25 - UNI Panthers (22-2, 13-1 MVC) at Bradley Braves (12-12, 7-7 MVC)
Saturday, Feb. 13 - 1:05 p.m. CST - Peoria, Ill. - Carver Arena (11,164)
Series History - Bradley leads 25-16

Television: MVC-TV - Fox Sports Midwest, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Fox Sports Indiana, Fox Sports Kansas City and Metro Sports. Scott Warman (play-by-play) and Charlie Spoonhour (analyst).
Satellite Coordinates: Galaxy 17K, Transponder 21 - Digital Slot A; Digital KU Band; 9 Megahertz bandwidth; FEC 3/4; Symbol Rate 6.1113; Downlink Frequency 12106.500 Horizontal.
Radio: 1470 AM WMBD -- Dave Snell (play-by-play), Chuck Buescher (analyst), Joe Stowell (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (pregame host)
Online: www.BradleyBraves.com for free audio streams and live stats.
Bradley Hosts Nationally-Ranked MVC Champion
Bradley will be seeking its first-ever Carver Arena victory against a nationally-ranked team when #18/19 UNI visits Saturday afternoon for a game to be televised on the Missouri Valley Conference network...The last time Bradley faced a nationally-ranked UNI squad, the visiting Braves dealt the #25 Panthers a 71-49 loss in the last regular-season men's basketball game in UNI-Dome history, Feb. 22, 2006...The Panthers have responded by winning seven of the last nine series meetings since that UNI-Dome finale...Having already clinched a share of the 2010 MVC regular-season title, UNI can earn its first outright Valley championship with a win Saturday.
Down To the Wire
Although UNI has won seven of the last nine games against Bradley since the Braves' 71-49 victory Feb. 22, 2006 at the UNI-Dome, seven of those last nine games have been decided by single digits...In fact, the last four regular-season meetings between the two teams have been decided by no more than five points and by a total of just 12 points.
1/12/08 at UNI W 75-73
1/21/09 at UNI L 61-66
2/3/09 at Bradley L 58-61
1/12/10 at UNI L 50-52
Against The Panthers
Saturday's game will be the 42nd meeting in the all-time series between Bradley and UNI, dating back to a 117-71 Braves victory Jan. 27, 1971 at Robertson Fieldhouse in the only non-conference game between the two Valley rivals...While Bradley won 18 of the first 22 meetings, UNI has claimed 12 of the last 19 games dating to the start of the 2001-02 season...The Braves own a 15-4 overall home record against UNI, including a 14-4 advantage at Carver Arena, but the Panthers have won three straight on Bradley's home floor.
Home Defense
In the 106-year history of Bradley Basketball, the Braves have lost as many as four consecutive home games to the same opponent only four times, to three different schools...UNI enters Saturday's game riding a three-game Carver Arena winning streak...DePaul owns the longest winning streak by a visitor in Peoria, taking six straight games at Bradley from 1955 through 1991 (four at Robertson Field House and two at Carver Arena)...Creighton (1989-92 and 2002-05) is the only visitor to win four straight games at Carver Arena...Murray State also won four straight games at Robertson Fieldhouse from 1969-81.
The 1st Game
At UNI 52, Bradley 50 - Jan. 12, 2010
Bradley equalled its best defensive effort in a league road game in four years, but it was not enough to prevent UNI from escaping the McLeod Center with a 52-50 victory Jan. 12...The 52 points allowed equalled the fewest total the Braves had allowed in a Valley road game since their 71-49 win at #25 UNI Feb. 22, 2006...Trailing 45-35 with 10:26 left, Bradley took possession down just 52-50 with 17 seconds remaining...The Panthers had committed only three second-half team fouls to that point and utilized their three "fouls to give" to prevent a tying shot until Bradley ran an unsuccessful inbounds lob play with 0.6 seconds remaining.
With A Win...
Bradley will earn its first-ever win against a nationally-ranked team at Carver Arena...Bradley will end a four-game overall slide and a three-game home skid against UNI... The Braves will earn their sixth win in the last nine outings...The Braves will move into a tie for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with the Creighton-Illinois State loser, as well as Missouri State if the Bears win at Wichita State Sunday...Bradley will earn its third "payback" win in four tries this year after dropping its first game against a Valley rival.
With A Loss...
UNI will claim its first-ever, outright Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title...The Braves will suffer a fourth consecutive home loss to UNI, matching their longest-ever home losing streak to a Valley rival...The Braves will suffer their sixth home loss of the season...Bradley will either be tied for fifth or sixth (pending the Missouri State-Wichita State outcome Sunday night) in the MVC standings.
Carver Arena
Saturday's game will be Bradley's 406th at Carver Arena...Bradley is 305-100 (.753) at Carver Arena since moving its home games to the Peoria Civic Center to start the 1982-83 season...Included in that record, Bradley is 171-67 (.71 in Missouri Valley Conference games at Carver Arena.
Carver Bounce Backs
In Jim Les' eight years as Bradley's head coach, the Braves have played consecutive Valley home games 18 times, including the home stand that concludes Saturday versus UNI...Les' teams have dropped both ends of a two-game Valley home stand just once -- to Wichita State and Southern Illinois while playing without Phillip Gilbert during the middle of the 2003-04 season...Saturday's game completes the 13th Valley home stand since that 2004 sweep...Bradley is coming off a 62-61 loss Tuesday night to Illinois State...Each of the last three times the Braves have dropped the first game of a Valley home stand, they have bounced back with a win in the second game.
Home Stretch
Having already split with Drake (Feb. 2) and Illinois State (Feb. 6), the 2009-10 season marks the first time the Braves have played as many as five February home games in the same season since 1993-94...In his eighth year as Bradley's head coach, Jim Les owns a 22-7 (.759) February home record, including perfect 4-0 marks in 2003-04 and 2005-06...The Braves have not finished below .500 at home in the month of February since 2001-02, when the Braves dropped 2-of-3 at Carver Arena.
Power of the Post
Bradley is 11-4 (.733) this season when the quartet of sophomore forward Taylor Brown, sophomore center Will Egolf and reserve centers Sam Singh and Anthony Thompson combine for at least 20 points and 10 rebounds...The Braves are 1-8 (.111) when the post quartet falls below the 20-10 standard.
Triple Threat
The Bradley trio of junior guard Andrew Warren (14.3 ppg), sophomore forward Taylor Brown (13. and junior guard Sam Maniscalco (12.5) combine to score 40.6 ppg...Individually, Warren ranks third, Brown sixth and Maniscalco 12th in overall scoring this year...The next best scoring trio are Illinois State's senior combo of Osiris Eldridge (15.8 ppg), Dinma Odiakosa (12.4) and Lloyd Phillips (10. at 39.0...The Bradley trio also tops The Valley by combining for 43.7 ppg in conference play: Maniscalco (2nd, 15.2 ppg), Warren (5th, 14. and Brown (7th, 13.7)...In the 21 games Brown has played this year, the Braves are 8-4 (.667) when the trio combines for at least 40 points, but 3-6 (.333) when they fail to reach 40.
Brown's Improvement
Bradley sophomore forward Taylor Brown ranks among the nation's leaders in improved scoring from 2008-09 to this season...After averaging 3.4 ppg as a freshman last year, Brown currently is The Valley's sixth-leading scorer at 13.8 ppg...His scoring increase of 10.4 ppg is the best in The Valley and ranks among the nation's top 10 improvements from a year ago.
Increased Scoring Chart
Player, School 08-09 09-10 +
*Tim Ambromaitis, Notre Dame 1.7 16.5 14.8
*Amu Saaka, Furman 2.6 15.9 13.3
Menji Mundadi, Alabama State 3.5 16.1 12.6
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh 4.3 16.5 12.2
Jordan Sugars, Navy 3.2 15.3 12.1
Justin Greene, Kent State 2.2 13.4 11.2
Tramayne Moorer, Alabama St. 0.0 10.9 10.9
Jeremy Green, Stanford 6.4 17.3 10.9
Tommy Hubbard, East Tenn. St. 4.0 14.6 10.6
Taylor Brown, Bradley 3.4 13.8 10.4
John Shurna, Northwestern 7.3 17.7 10.4
Zavion Neely, UIC 1.8 12.2 10.4
* redshirted last year, stats from 2007-08
Maniscalco's Accuracy
Bradley junior guard Sam Maniscalco is shooting 52.9 percent from the field in the first 14 Valley games...The 6-foot Maniscalco currently is sixth in the league in field goal percentage in league play...Maniscalco is the only player standing less than 6-foot-6 inches to rank among the league's top seven most accurate shooters in league play.
How Hot Is Maniscalco?
So just how hot has Sam Maniscalco been from inside the 3-point line this season?...The 6-foot guard is shooting 59.6 percent (59-99) from inside the arc on the season, including a scorching 67.1 percent (49-73) in MVC play...Maniscalco's season 2-point field goal percentage currently ranks as the eighth-best in the history of Bradley Basketball for any player with at least 50 2-pointers made...He has a chance to become just the sixth, and easily the shortest, individual in program history with at least 50 2FGM to shoot at least 60 percent from 2-point range for an entire season.
Bradley Season 2-Point FG Pct. (50 FGM)
Luke Jackson, 1987-88 .675 127-188
Roosevelt Davison, 1983-84 .661 111-168
*Joe Allen, 1967-68 .655 258-394
Zach Andrews, 2006-07 .640 155-242
Roosevelt Davison, 1982-83 .638 104-163
Joe Allen, 1966-67 .622 232-373
Jerome Robinson, 1998-99 .600 51-85
Sam Maniscalco, 2009-10 .596 59-99
* NCAA statistical national champion
Shooting 67.1 percent from inside the arc, Maniscalco also easily paces The Valley in 2-point field goal percentage through 14 rounds of conference play by a margin of 40 points better than the second-most accurate shooter, Missouri State's Will Creekmoore (63.1 percent).
2009-10 MVC 2-FG Pct. (MVC only)
Minimum 2.5 2FGM/Game
1. Sam Maniscalco, BU .671 49-73
2. Will Creekmore, MSU .631 53-84
3. Gene Teague, SIU .625 35-56
4. Jermaine Mallett, MSU .583 42-72
5. Dinma Odiakosa, ILS .579 62-107
6. Jordan Eglseder, UNI .571 68-119
7. Will Egolf, BU .570 49-86
8. Harry Marshall, INS .565 52-92
9. Jackie Carmichael, ILS .544 43-79
10. Justin Carter, CU .529 37-70
Next Up: Coach Les
Bradley junior guard Andrew Warren enters Saturday's game 55th on Bradley's all-time scoring list with 918 career points...Warren needs just five points to surpass current Bradley head coach Jim Les, who scored 922 points for the Braves from 1984-86...At his current average of 14.3 ppg, Warren is on pace to become the 44th member of Bradley's 1,000-Point Club during his first game of the State Farm MVC Tournament.
Big Media Numbers
Now in his 31st year as the radio Voice of the Braves, Dave Snell has participated in 945 Bradley Basketball game broadcasts, all in succession, on WMBD AM 1470 since taking over play-by-play duties for the 1979-80 season...Snell was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Jan. 23...Snell's longtime radio sidekick, Joe Stowell, has been witness to 1,540 Bradley Basketball games in his various roles as player (103, 1947-50); assistant coach (250, 1956-65); head coach (344, 1965-7; assistant athletic director (107, 1978-85); and radio analyst (736, 1985-present)...Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 608 consecutive Bradley Basketball games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season.

[BradleyBrave]

Any word on ticket sales? It's alumni weekend and a ranked team, I anticipate close to a sell-out.

[real fan]

The disturbing thing to me is that there will not be anywhere close to the no. of students at this game which is against a ranked opponent, this is one of if not the biggest home game of the season , we need to win this game just to prove that we are capable of beating the no.1 team in the conference.

[dogsrus]

Any word on ticket sales? It's alumni weekend and a ranked team, I anticipate close to a sell-out.

Had we beat ISU...I'd agree. Sorry but we are back to the 7k-8k range with ticket sales listed at 9700.

[jasonpeoria911]

Hmm, I think we'll be about 10,000 just because they are ranked and maybe more statewide "curious" visitors. Either way, I have a gut feeling it will be a 15-20 point slaughtering by UNI. I just hope another 15-20 threads don't pop up on why Les should be fired LOL. Think we covered all the bases the last couple days LOL.

Jason

Had we beat ISU...I'd agree. Sorry but we are back to the 7k-8k range with ticket sales listed at 9700.

[Rusty 54]

Hmm, I think we'll be about 10,000 just because they are ranked and maybe more statewide "curious" visitors. Either way, I have a gut feeling it will be a 15-20 point slaughtering by UNI. I just hope another 15-20 threads don't pop up on why Les should be fired LOL. Think we covered all the bases the last couple days LOL.

Jason

BU lost by 2 AT UNI, what makes you think that we will get blown out at home? We didn't get blown out at home by isu, or anyone. Am I happy with how we have played at home this season? Of course not. But to suggest we will get destroyed on our home court? We tend to play UNI pretty close. And they do not play a style that really blows a lot of teams out.

[DUBrave5]

Could be an interesting Pick-em for tomorrow's game, guess the number of fans in attendance, or guess the number of students in attendance

I think the student turnout will be fairly low, especially since apparently a lot of students went home this weekend. I don't get that either, my trips home are few and far between and have been that way since I came to Bradley.