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Saturday Senior Night Courtesy: BradleyBraves.com
Release: 02/24/2011
PDF Version of Bradley's Pregame Notes Package Live Audio and Video Streams Live Stats
Radio: 1470 AM WMBD -- Dave Snell (play-by-play), Danny Adams (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (pregame host)
Online: www.BradleyBraves.com -- subscription video streams, free audio streams and live stats
Tickets: $4-20 based on location and available at the Renaissance Coliseum and Carver Arena box offices and online at www.BradleyBraves.com.
THE STORYLINE
Bradley will host Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake in the regular-season finale Saturday night at Carver Arena ... The game against the Bulldogs will be the final home game for Bradley senior guards Dodie Dunson and Andrew Warren ... The two players, along with senior team managers John Ball and Ryan Widick, will be honored in a pregame ceremony then will address the crowd after the game ... In addition to the senior ceremonies, the $25,000 Braves Club Raffle drawing will be held at halftime.
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS
In addition to the Senior Night ceremony, the drawing for the annual $25,000 Braves Club Raffle will occur at halftime and a limited number of tickets ($100) will be available from the Braves Club Office (309-677-2667) through Friday and on the court from Braves Club Board members during pregame Saturday ... Family Pack ($16 for two adults and two children) and Ceiling Fan ($4 for the top 10 rows) ticket packages will be available Saturday at the Carver Arena Box Office.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
With eight of the 10 seeds for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament already decided, Bradley and Drake already know they will face each other again in Thursday's first round in the 7/10 game (8:35 p.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis) ... The 2011 first-round matchup marks the third time in four years the Braves will have faced the same opponent in the regular-season finale and in their first MVC Tournament game (Creighton in both 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh time the Braves will have faced its final regular-season opponent in its first MVC Tournament game -- the third time against Drake ... The Braves swept both games against the Bulldogs in 1983 and 1997.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Saturday's game will be the 131st all-time meeting between Bradley and Drake, making the Bulldogs the most common opponent in Braves Basketball history ... Bradley owns a 77-53 lead in the all-time series ... Bradley owns a 46-17 home record against the Bulldogs, including a 23-6 advantage at Carver Arena ... The 23 Carver Arena victories against Drake equal the most against any opponent (Indiana State) since the Braves moved downtown for the 1982-83 season ... Ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les is 9-8 all-time against Drake, 5-3 at home versus the Bulldogs, 3-2 head-to-head against third-year Bulldogs head coach Mark Phelps and 2-0 at home against Phelps.
BACK-TO-BACK MATCHUPS
With the bottom eight seeds for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament already determined, #7 seed Drake will face #10 seed Bradley in Thursday's 8:35 p.m. first-round game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis ... The first-round pairing will mark the third time in the last four years Bradley will face the same opponent from its regular-season finale in its first postseason game ... This also marks the seventh time the Braves will have faced its final regular-season opponent in its first MVC Tournament game -- the third time against Drake.
LINEUP SHUFFLE
Junior forward Will Egolf, freshman center Jordan Prosser and senior guard Andrew Warren -- are the only Braves to play in all 29 games this season ... Warren is the only Brave to start all 29 games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
In last Saturday's 81-75 win at Tennessee-Martin, six of the eight Braves to see action were either freshmen (two) or sophomores (four) ... The youthful Braves combined for 152 of the team's 200 individual minutes and accounted for 61 of the 81 points and 25 of the squad's 31 individual rebounds.
CALENDAR EFFECT
January has by far been the coldest month for ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les ... The Braves are 33-51 (.393) in January under Les, while playing 51 of those 84 games without the likes of Phillip Gilbert (missed nine January games to injury), Jeremy Crouch (eight), Daniel Ruffin (six) Will Egolf (eight), Andrew Warren (eight), Dodie Dunson (10), Dyricus Simms-Edwards (two), Taylor Brown (10) and Sam Maniscalco (10) -- 71 individual games missed ... Aided by its 4-3 record so far this month, February is Les' winningest month (40-30, .571) and is second only to November (.660) by percentage ... Not coincidentally, the Braves have been without the above nine players for just 27 February games due to injury: Warren (11), Egolf (eight), Dunson (10), Brown (7) and Maniscalco (7) -- 43 individual games missed -- though Brown and Maniscalco will not return this season.
CHANGING TREND
In Bradley's first 12 league games, the Braves dug themselves deep first-half holes by averaging just 25.1 points on collective 38.4 percent (114-297) shooting from the field in the opening half ... Bradley has led at halftime in five of the last six games, however, by averaging 33.5 points on a combined 47.9 percent (80-167) shooting from the floor.
PAINT POINTS
Bradley has outscored the opposition, 772-644, in the paint this season ... During the first seven games this month, Bradley's paint presence has been a focus and the Braves have outscored the opposition by a 244-126 count in the lane, an average advantage of 14.0 points per game.
FEWER THREES
The sacrifice the Braves have made to control the paint has led to a big discrepancy in 3-point shooting ... The opposition has made more 3-point field goals than Bradley in eight of the last 11 games, outscoring the Braves by an 88-43 margin from behind the arc in those 11 outings ... Bradley is averaging just 3.9 3-point field goals per game in the last seven games, while allowing 8.4 triples.
AND FEWER TURNOVERS
Bradley is 2-12 this season when committing at least as many turnovers as the opposition, but the Braves have been taking better care of the ball of late ... So far this month, the Braves are averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game ... In the last seven games, Bradley boasts a 1.3 assists-to-turnover ratio ... Strangely, in six of Bradley's last seven games, the team that committed more turnovers has won the game.
WARREN MILESTONE WATCH
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren needs 53 points to move past Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (1,60
for 10th place on Bradley's all-time scoring list ... Needs nine 3-point field goals to move past Phillip Gilbert (223) into third place on Bradley's all-time list for 3-point field goals ... Needs to make his next 13 free throw attempts to reclaim the top spot on Bradley's career free throw percentage list ... Needs five 3-point field goals to crack Bradley's single-season top 10 list.
SIMMS-EDWARDS SIZZLING
Sophomore guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards has heated up offensively since returning from a December knee sprain ... In the season's first eight games prior to his injury, Simms-Edwards was averaging 5.4 ppg while shooting 30.6 percent from the field, including 22.2 percent from 3-point range, and 56.3 percent from the free throw line ... In the last 18 games since returning to the regular rotation, Simms-Edwards is Bradley's second-leading scorer at 12.6 ppg and is shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 77.9 percent from the free throw line.
LEMON AID
One of The Valley's top-scoring reserves, freshman guard Walt Lemon Jr. was inserted into the starting lineup for an injured teammate for the second time this season last Saturday at Tennessee-Martin ... In his first starting assignment for the injured Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Lemon Jr. responded with a team-high 14 points Dec. 8 at #1 Duke ... In Saturday's non-conference finale at UT-Martin, Lemon Jr. again came through with a team-best 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor.
FRESHMAN REBOUNDER
Bradley center Jordan Prosser is averaging 5.6 rpg and trails only Creighton's Doug McDermott (7.8 rpg) as the leading freshman rebounders in The Valley this season ... With seven more rebounds than senior guard Andrew Warren, Prosser has a chance to become the first freshman to lead the Braves in rebounds since current NBA star Danny Granger in 2001-02 ... In the era of freshman eligibility, the only other Bradley frosh to lead the team in rebounding was Harold McMath in 1976-77 ... Now Bradley's leading rebounder overall, Prosser ranks ninth in The Valley with 50 offensive boards and he is tied for seventh in The Valley by averaging 1.9 offensive rebounds per game in league action ... In addition to his board work, Prosser is shooting 56.3 percent from the field, including 60.0 percent in league play ... Prosser needs six baskets to qualify for the league field goal percentage leaders in conference play and his current 60.0 percent accuracy would be tied for second-best in The Valley.
EASTMAN'S HANDLE
Sophomore swingman Jake Eastman boasts Bradley's best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4-to-1) ... Eastman has committed only nine turnovers in the first 17 games of the 2011 calendar year (400 minutes) and is averaging one turnover every 44.4 minutes since the calendar turned ... He has played 10 of the first 17 games in 2011 without a turnover and he has not committed more than two turnoves in a game this season.
Release: 02/24/2011
PDF Version of Bradley's Pregame Notes Package Live Audio and Video Streams Live Stats 2010-11 Bradley Basketball Game Notes
Game 30 - Drake (13-16, 7-10 MVC) at Bradley (10-19, 3-14 MVC)
Saturday, Feb. 26 - 7:05 p.m. CST - Peoria, Ill. - Carver Arean (11,164)
Series History - Bradley leads 77-53
Television: NoneGame 30 - Drake (13-16, 7-10 MVC) at Bradley (10-19, 3-14 MVC)
Saturday, Feb. 26 - 7:05 p.m. CST - Peoria, Ill. - Carver Arean (11,164)
Series History - Bradley leads 77-53
Radio: 1470 AM WMBD -- Dave Snell (play-by-play), Danny Adams (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (pregame host)
Online: www.BradleyBraves.com -- subscription video streams, free audio streams and live stats
Tickets: $4-20 based on location and available at the Renaissance Coliseum and Carver Arena box offices and online at www.BradleyBraves.com.
THE STORYLINE
Bradley will host Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake in the regular-season finale Saturday night at Carver Arena ... The game against the Bulldogs will be the final home game for Bradley senior guards Dodie Dunson and Andrew Warren ... The two players, along with senior team managers John Ball and Ryan Widick, will be honored in a pregame ceremony then will address the crowd after the game ... In addition to the senior ceremonies, the $25,000 Braves Club Raffle drawing will be held at halftime.
SATURDAY PROMOTIONS
In addition to the Senior Night ceremony, the drawing for the annual $25,000 Braves Club Raffle will occur at halftime and a limited number of tickets ($100) will be available from the Braves Club Office (309-677-2667) through Friday and on the court from Braves Club Board members during pregame Saturday ... Family Pack ($16 for two adults and two children) and Ceiling Fan ($4 for the top 10 rows) ticket packages will be available Saturday at the Carver Arena Box Office.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
With eight of the 10 seeds for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament already decided, Bradley and Drake already know they will face each other again in Thursday's first round in the 7/10 game (8:35 p.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis) ... The 2011 first-round matchup marks the third time in four years the Braves will have faced the same opponent in the regular-season finale and in their first MVC Tournament game (Creighton in both 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh time the Braves will have faced its final regular-season opponent in its first MVC Tournament game -- the third time against Drake ... The Braves swept both games against the Bulldogs in 1983 and 1997.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Saturday's game will be the 131st all-time meeting between Bradley and Drake, making the Bulldogs the most common opponent in Braves Basketball history ... Bradley owns a 77-53 lead in the all-time series ... Bradley owns a 46-17 home record against the Bulldogs, including a 23-6 advantage at Carver Arena ... The 23 Carver Arena victories against Drake equal the most against any opponent (Indiana State) since the Braves moved downtown for the 1982-83 season ... Ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les is 9-8 all-time against Drake, 5-3 at home versus the Bulldogs, 3-2 head-to-head against third-year Bulldogs head coach Mark Phelps and 2-0 at home against Phelps.
BACK-TO-BACK MATCHUPS
With the bottom eight seeds for next week's State Farm MVC Tournament already determined, #7 seed Drake will face #10 seed Bradley in Thursday's 8:35 p.m. first-round game at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis ... The first-round pairing will mark the third time in the last four years Bradley will face the same opponent from its regular-season finale in its first postseason game ... This also marks the seventh time the Braves will have faced its final regular-season opponent in its first MVC Tournament game -- the third time against Drake.
LINEUP SHUFFLE
Junior forward Will Egolf, freshman center Jordan Prosser and senior guard Andrew Warren -- are the only Braves to play in all 29 games this season ... Warren is the only Brave to start all 29 games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
In last Saturday's 81-75 win at Tennessee-Martin, six of the eight Braves to see action were either freshmen (two) or sophomores (four) ... The youthful Braves combined for 152 of the team's 200 individual minutes and accounted for 61 of the 81 points and 25 of the squad's 31 individual rebounds.
CALENDAR EFFECT
January has by far been the coldest month for ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les ... The Braves are 33-51 (.393) in January under Les, while playing 51 of those 84 games without the likes of Phillip Gilbert (missed nine January games to injury), Jeremy Crouch (eight), Daniel Ruffin (six) Will Egolf (eight), Andrew Warren (eight), Dodie Dunson (10), Dyricus Simms-Edwards (two), Taylor Brown (10) and Sam Maniscalco (10) -- 71 individual games missed ... Aided by its 4-3 record so far this month, February is Les' winningest month (40-30, .571) and is second only to November (.660) by percentage ... Not coincidentally, the Braves have been without the above nine players for just 27 February games due to injury: Warren (11), Egolf (eight), Dunson (10), Brown (7) and Maniscalco (7) -- 43 individual games missed -- though Brown and Maniscalco will not return this season.
CHANGING TREND
In Bradley's first 12 league games, the Braves dug themselves deep first-half holes by averaging just 25.1 points on collective 38.4 percent (114-297) shooting from the field in the opening half ... Bradley has led at halftime in five of the last six games, however, by averaging 33.5 points on a combined 47.9 percent (80-167) shooting from the floor.
PAINT POINTS
Bradley has outscored the opposition, 772-644, in the paint this season ... During the first seven games this month, Bradley's paint presence has been a focus and the Braves have outscored the opposition by a 244-126 count in the lane, an average advantage of 14.0 points per game.
FEWER THREES
The sacrifice the Braves have made to control the paint has led to a big discrepancy in 3-point shooting ... The opposition has made more 3-point field goals than Bradley in eight of the last 11 games, outscoring the Braves by an 88-43 margin from behind the arc in those 11 outings ... Bradley is averaging just 3.9 3-point field goals per game in the last seven games, while allowing 8.4 triples.
AND FEWER TURNOVERS
Bradley is 2-12 this season when committing at least as many turnovers as the opposition, but the Braves have been taking better care of the ball of late ... So far this month, the Braves are averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game ... In the last seven games, Bradley boasts a 1.3 assists-to-turnover ratio ... Strangely, in six of Bradley's last seven games, the team that committed more turnovers has won the game.
WARREN MILESTONE WATCH
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren needs 53 points to move past Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (1,60
for 10th place on Bradley's all-time scoring list ... Needs nine 3-point field goals to move past Phillip Gilbert (223) into third place on Bradley's all-time list for 3-point field goals ... Needs to make his next 13 free throw attempts to reclaim the top spot on Bradley's career free throw percentage list ... Needs five 3-point field goals to crack Bradley's single-season top 10 list.SIMMS-EDWARDS SIZZLING
Sophomore guard Dyricus Simms-Edwards has heated up offensively since returning from a December knee sprain ... In the season's first eight games prior to his injury, Simms-Edwards was averaging 5.4 ppg while shooting 30.6 percent from the field, including 22.2 percent from 3-point range, and 56.3 percent from the free throw line ... In the last 18 games since returning to the regular rotation, Simms-Edwards is Bradley's second-leading scorer at 12.6 ppg and is shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 77.9 percent from the free throw line.
LEMON AID
One of The Valley's top-scoring reserves, freshman guard Walt Lemon Jr. was inserted into the starting lineup for an injured teammate for the second time this season last Saturday at Tennessee-Martin ... In his first starting assignment for the injured Dyricus Simms-Edwards, Lemon Jr. responded with a team-high 14 points Dec. 8 at #1 Duke ... In Saturday's non-conference finale at UT-Martin, Lemon Jr. again came through with a team-best 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the floor.
FRESHMAN REBOUNDER
Bradley center Jordan Prosser is averaging 5.6 rpg and trails only Creighton's Doug McDermott (7.8 rpg) as the leading freshman rebounders in The Valley this season ... With seven more rebounds than senior guard Andrew Warren, Prosser has a chance to become the first freshman to lead the Braves in rebounds since current NBA star Danny Granger in 2001-02 ... In the era of freshman eligibility, the only other Bradley frosh to lead the team in rebounding was Harold McMath in 1976-77 ... Now Bradley's leading rebounder overall, Prosser ranks ninth in The Valley with 50 offensive boards and he is tied for seventh in The Valley by averaging 1.9 offensive rebounds per game in league action ... In addition to his board work, Prosser is shooting 56.3 percent from the field, including 60.0 percent in league play ... Prosser needs six baskets to qualify for the league field goal percentage leaders in conference play and his current 60.0 percent accuracy would be tied for second-best in The Valley.
EASTMAN'S HANDLE
Sophomore swingman Jake Eastman boasts Bradley's best assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4-to-1) ... Eastman has committed only nine turnovers in the first 17 games of the 2011 calendar year (400 minutes) and is averaging one turnover every 44.4 minutes since the calendar turned ... He has played 10 of the first 17 games in 2011 without a turnover and he has not committed more than two turnoves in a game this season.
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