Next game- Senior night- BU vs. Wichita State, Wed. Feb. 2/24 at 7:05 pm

[Da Coach]

Bradley's next game is the last scheduled home game of the season. It is senior night, and Chris Roberts, Sam Singh, and Ryan Phillips (edit) will be honored.
Come on students and fans- let's get out and honor our seniors!
BU (14-13, 8- will host Wichita State (22-7, 11-5) at 7:05 pm Wednesday night, 2/24/10.
Bradley beat Drexel in their last game, 76-60. Wichita State lost at Utah State Saturday night 68-58

The game will not be televised in Peoria. It will be available on BUBraves.tv, and on WMBD 1470 radio.

Wichita State stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/wsu.htm

BU stats-

http://www.mvc.org/mbb/stats/bu.htm

MVC stats-

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

Conference only stats-

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

WSU basketball site-

http://www.goshockers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=7500&SPID=2851&SPSID=61179

[BUfan14]

Ryan Phillips will be honored too won't he?

[SFP]

If we can attack the boards like we own them like CR did tonight we should win.

[Future Walk-On]

I love our seniors.

I can't stand seeing people rushing to leave on senior night.....EVERYONE please stay and show your gratitude. All the memories.

[patrick_o'brian]

Is this Sam Singh's 2nd or 3rd Senior Night?

[Da Coach]

Ryan Phillips will be honored too won't he?

Yes, thanks for catching that- I corrected the announcement above.

[DUBrave5]

Is this Sam Singh's 2nd or 3rd Senior Night?

Umm second, wait no third, wait, yeah I think third, starting to lose track

[AZ BU Fan]

Zone

[BUFAN]

Is this Sam Singh's 2nd or 3rd Senior Night?

This is only his second.

[DUBrave5]

This is only his second.

I thought he was out there each of the last three years? I kno last year during the senior night was when he announced that he would be returning

[Da Coach]

Sam did not participate Senior Night 2008 (2/25/08 ) as he had planned to return to the team the next year.
Bradley honored seniors Daniel Ruffin, Jeremy Crouch, and Matt Salley.

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=19329&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=1397676

In 2009, it was announced that Sam would be one of 4 seniors participating (Theron Wilson, David Collins, Brian Lavin were the other 3), and tee shirts were printed with all 4 names on them, but the night of the game it was announced the NCAA had approved him to return for a 6th year.

http://www.bradleyhoops.com/homepage/x617072976/Braves-fifth-year-senior-will-be-a-sixth-year-senior

So this really is Sam's first official Senior Night.

I believe it was Danny Adams who actually participated in 2 consecutive senior night ceremonies.

[DUBrave5]

Lately Wichita hasn't been playing like they did earlier in the season, so this is a great opportunity to beat them and avoid Thursday. They couldn't handle the Utah St. zone so we should see BU run that zone again. Win the ones you should win and then get lucky on a few coin flips right? Earlier this year I would've called this one a coin flip, now I see it as a game we should win. Go get 'em Braves.

[Da Coach]

I agree. I think we'll see a variety of defenses, including a couple different zones. Marshall is a good coach, and just depending on one defensive scheme won't be enough, and Jim Les knows that. Also, it will depend on how Wichita State's outside shooting goes. they are normally a decent shooting team (3rd in 3-point shooting in the MVC in conference games). They have 3 guys (Hannah, Murry, and Hatch) who shoot a lot of threes, and Durley made some big ones against Bradley in Wichita. See the updated stats in the top post.

[LittleBrave]

I hope 2nd chance points don't hurt us like they have in many games.
The WSU bigs had their way against us in the 1st meeting...that was without TB. We really need TB to play Wednesday - hopefully he's getting his act together and realized this team needs him in a big way down the stretch.

We are in a familiar position - this is a critical game, and we've come up short the last 3 times this season when we could have moved up in the standings: 1)vs. Creighton, 2) vs. I.S.U. (red), 3) @ Indy St.
Gotta' find a way to win this one. The environment for the Shockers might be calmer than what they faced the other night at Utah St.
Hopefully our fans will get charged up!

[Da Coach]

Here are Bobby Parker's pregame notes for the BU-WSU game-

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=19332&SPID=1498&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=204893258

Bradley Basketball Pregame Notes
Game 28 - Wichita State Shockers (22-7, 11-5 MVC) at Bradley Braves (14-13, 8-8 MVC)
Wednesday, Feb. 24 - 7:07 p.m. CST - Peoria, Ill. - Carver Arena (11,164)
Series History - Bradley leads 70-55

Television: Kansas 22 (Wichita, Kan.) - Bruce Haertl and Craig Steven, Jr.
Satellite Coordinates: Galaxy 28K-17 D 9MHz; KU Band; Downlink Frequency 12053.5000 V
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 subscription video streams, free audio streams and live stats.
Home Finale For 3 Seniors
Bradley will host its regular-season home finale Wednesday night when the second-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, Wichita State, visits for a 7:05 p.m. tip at Carver Arena...Wednesday's game will be the final regular-season home game for three Bradley seniors: Peorian Ryan Phillips, guard Chris Roberts and sixth-year center Sam Singh...The trio will be honored in a pregame ceremony to being at approximately 6:45 and will address the crowd immediately after the game...The Braves will be shooting for their fifth win in their last seven games and their third consecutive home win to end the season
Magic Number: 1
As Bradley prepares for its final two Valley games, its magic number to clinch one of the top six seeds in the State Farm MVC Tournament is 1...Among the many existing scenarios, one Bradley win or a final day loss by Wednesday's Drake-at-Missouri State winner will put the Braves into the March 5 quarterfinals as a top 6 seed...Missouri State will visit Indiana State Saturday, while Drake will host Evansville...Entering the final week involved in a three-way tie for fourth in the Valley standings, Bradley still can finish as high as tied for third or as low as tied for eighth.
With A Win...
Bradley will secure one of the top six seeds and an automatic berth in the quarterfinals for next week's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament...Bradley will at least remained tied for fourth in The Valley standings...The Braves will secure at least a final .500 Valley record for a fifth consecutive season...The Braves will improve to 5-2 in their last seven games...Bradley will end the regular-season with a 10-5 home record, its seventh consecutive season with at least 10 home victories.
With A Loss...
The Braves will drop to 9-6 at home, equalling the most home losses in a season since Jim Les' first year in 2002-03 (7-7) -- Bradley was 13-6 at Carver Arena in 2007-08...Bradley will suffer its second regular-season sweep of the season (Illinois State)...The Braves could drop into a sixth-place tie in The Valley standings.
Carver Arena
Saturday's game will be Bradley's 408th at Carver Arena in 28 years...Bradley is 307-100 (.754) 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 172-67 (.720) in Missouri Valley Conference games at Carver Arena.
Triple Threat
The Bradley trio of junior guard Andrew Warren (14.4 ppg), sophomore forward Taylor Brown (13.7) and junior guard Sam Maniscalco (12.7) combine to score 40.8 ppg...Individually, Warren ranks third, Brown seventh and Maniscalco 11th among Valley players in overall scoring this year...The Valley's next best scoring trio are Illinois State seniors Osiris Eldridge (16.0 ppg), Dinma Odiakosa (12.9) and Lloyd Phillips (10.6) at 39.5 ppg...The Bradley trio also tops The Valley by combining for 43.1 ppg in conference play: Maniscalco (3rd, 14.8 ppg), Warren (4th, 14.7) and Brown (7th, 13.6)...In the 23 games Brown has played this year, the Braves are 8-5 (.615) when the trio combines for at least 40 points, but 4-6 (.400) when they fail to reach 40.
2,000-Point Backcourt
By combining for 28 points Feb. 16 at Indiana State, the Bradley junior guard duo of Sam Maniscalco and Andrew Warren pushed their collective career scoring total to more than 2,000 points...Entering Wednesday's game versus the Shockers, Maniscalco (1,089) and Warren (964) have combined for 2,053 career points...Maniscalco and Warren are the first pair of Bradley juniors to reach 2,000 combined points since the "G-Men" combo of Phillip Gilbert and James Gillingham during the 2002-03 season...Gilbert (1,352 points) and Gillingham (964) ended the 2002-03 season with 2,316 career points and eventually pushed their final overall career total to 3,105 combined points.
Maniscalco In Century Club
Having ended the 2008-09 season by equalling the Missouri Valley Conference record for the most games ever played by a second-year player (74), Bradley junior guard Sam Maniscalco hit the 100-game mark Feb. 16 at Indiana State...Maniscalco became the third three-year Bradley player ever to appear in 100 career games, following Billy Mann (103) and Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (102), both from 1947-50...Maniscalco is on pace to equal Southern Illinois' Randal Falker (104, 2004-07) for The Valley record for the most games played by a three-year player in league history during Bradley's first game of the 2010 State Farm MVC Tournament.
Career Games by 3-Year MVC Players
1. 104 Randal Falker, S. Illinois 2004-07
2. 103 Billy Mann, Bradley 1947-50
3. 102 Matt Shaw, S. Illinois 2004-07
102 Gene Melchiorre, Bradley 1947-50
5. 101 Sam Maniscalco, Bradley 2007-10
6. 100 Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State 2006-09
Power Of The Post
Bradley is 11-5 (.688 ) 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 3-8 (.273) when the post quartet falls below the 20-10 standard.
Maniscalco's Accuracy
Junior guard Sam Maniscalco is shooting 52.2 percent from the field in 16 Valley games...The 6-foot Maniscalco currently is seventh 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 62.1 percent (72-116) from inside the arc on the season, including a scorching 67.5 percent (56-83) in MVC play...Maniscalco's season 2-point field goal percentage currently ranks as the seventh-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
Sam Maniscalco, 2009-10 .621 72-116
Jerome Robinson, 1998-99 .600 51-85
* NCAA statistical national champion
Second only to Illinois State center Dinma Odiakosa (.631) in 2-point field goal percentage in all games, Maniscalco easily paces The Valley in 2-point field goal percentage through 16 rounds of conference play by shooting 67.5 percent from inside the arc, a margin of 13 points better than the second-most accurate shooter, Southern Illinois' Gene Teague (66.2 percent).
2009-10 MVC 2-FG Pct. (MVC games only)
Minimum 2.5 2FGM/Game
1. Sam Maniscalco, BU .675 56-83
2. Gene Teague, SIU .662 45-68
3. Will Creekmore, MSU .621 59-95
4. Dinma Odiakosa, ILS .594 79-133
5. Jermaine Mallett, MSU .575 46-80
6. Harry Marshall, INS .565 52-92
6. Jordan Eglseder, UNI .554 72-130
8. Will Egolf, BU .553 57-103
9. Jackie Carmichael, ILS .541 46-85
10. Justin Carter, CU .525 42-80
More Than A Scorer
Junior guard Sam Maniscalco is The Valley's active co-leader (Missouri State's Justin Fuehrmeyer) with 313 career assists...With a team-best 89 assists to date so far this season, Maniscalco has a chance to eclipse 100 assists for a third consecutive season...Maniscalco also made off with his 100th career steal in Saturday's victory against Drexel.
Top Heavy From The Stripe
The high-scoring trio of Andrew Warren, Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco pace Bradley's free throw shooting effort this season...Each member of the trio has attempted at least 94 free throws this year and together account for 61.8 percent (238-of-385) of the team's overall free throws made this season...The trio also has combined to make 83.2 percent of their 286 free throw attempts this year, while the team's other 12 players have combined to shoot just 58.8 percent (147-250) from the line:
Andrew Warren 81-94 .862
Taylor Brown 78-94 .830
Sam Maniscalco 79-98 .806
Other 12 Players 147-250 .588
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 last year, Brown is The Valley's seventh-leading scorer at 13.7 ppg...His scoring increase of 10.3 ppg is the best in The Valley and ranks among the nation's top 10 improvements from a year ago.
Big Media Numbers
Now in his 31st year as the radio Voice of the Braves, Dave Snell has participated in 948 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 1,542 Bradley Basketball games in his various roles as player (103, 1947-50); assistant coach (250, 1956-65); head coach (344, 1965-78 ); assistant athletic director (107, 1978-85); and radio analyst (738, 1985-present)...Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 611 consecutive Bradley Basketball games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season.
Looking Ahead
Bradley will close out the regular season by visiting Creighton for a Saturday afternoon tilt at Qwest Center Omaha...The Braves will be looking for their first-ever win at Qwest Center and their first win in Omaha since Jan. 17, 1998, a road skid that has reached 11 years.
Recapping The First Meeting
Sunday, Jan. 3 - at Wichita State 81, Bradley 69 - Charles Koch Arena
Bradley allowed Wichita State to shoot at least 50 percent from the field in both halves and could not keep pace in the second half as the Shockers pulled away for an 81-69 win Jan. 3 at Charles Koch Arena...Both teams converted exactly 50 percent of their first half field goal attempts -- Bradley was 14-of-28 and Wichita State was 16-of-32 -- and the host Shockers took a 39-38 lead into halftime...Wichita State opened the second half with a 10-0 run, however, and the Braves, who shot just 37.0 percent from the field after the break, never were able to recover.
Getting Defensive
Bradley's 81-69 loss Jan. 3 at Wichita State was the second in a four-game stretch to start the 2010 calendar year in which the Braves surrendered an average of 85.0 points per game...Bradley allowed at least 81 points to Southern Illinois, Wichita State, Indiana State and Missouri State, while coming out of the stretch with a 1-3 record...Since that four-game lapse, however, Bradley has allowed just 62.5 ppg on 37.8 percent shooting from the field and 27/2 percent from 3-point range in the last 12 games (7-5)...Six of the last 12 opponents have failed to score more than 60 points.
The Last Time Out
Saturday, Feb. 20 - at Bradley 76, Drexel 60 - Carver Arena
Bradley improved to 6-1 all-time in its February BracketBusters games by knocking off the visiting Drexel Dragons, 76-60...Playing without suspended forward Taylor Brown, Bradley started a four-guard lineup and the quartet combined for 61 points and 23 rebounds...Bradley started the game by making just 4 of its first 12 field goal attempts, but the Braves made 23 of their final 38 attempts to finish the game at 54.0 percent...Defensively, Bradley limited Drexel to 34.4 percent shooting from the field, including a 6-for-24 effort from the free throw line.