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State Farm MVC Tournament Notes Courtesy: BradleyBraves.com
Release: 03/01/2011
PDF Version of Bradley's Tournament Notes Package Listen Live Arch Madness Headquarters
2010-11 Bradley Basketball Game Notes
State Farm MVC Tournament First Round vs. Drake
Thursday, March 3 - 8:35 p.m. CST - St. Louis, Mo. - Scottrade Center (21,472)
Series History - Bradley leads 78-53Television: MVC-TV HD -- Mitch Holthus (play-by-play), Mac McCausland (analyst), Tom Ackerman (sideline) and Scott Warmann (host) - Comcast SportsNet Chicago, FS Indiana, FS Kansas City (outside St. Louis Blues viewing areas), DirecTV 657, Dish Network 450, AT&T U-Verse 694 and various community access cable channels throughout the FS Midwest distribution areas
Radio: 1470 AM WMBD -- Dave Snell (play-by-play), Danny Adams (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (studio pregame host)
Online: www.BradleyBraves.com -- free audio streams; www.mvc.org/archmadness -- tournament home page
Tickets: $23, $32 based on location. Free for Bradley students, courtesy of the Braves Club.
THE STORYLINE
Bradley will begin its 32nd State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday when the 10th-seeded Braves take on seventh-seeded Drake in a rematch of Saturday's regular-season finale ... Bradley owns a 28-29 all-time record in the MVC Tournament, winning championships as the host school in Peoria in 1980 and 1988 ... Bradley will have momentum on its side as the Braves won five of their final eight regular-season games, capped by its most lopsided win in better than three seasons ... Saturday's 90-64 rout versus Drake marked Bradley's largest margin of victory since an 87-59 win against Creighton Feb. 16, 2008.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Thursday's matchup versus Drake 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 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh repeat matchup in Bradley's 32-year MVC Tournament history -- the third time against Drake ... Bradley swept both games against the Bulldogs in 1983 and 1997 and the Braves are coming off a 90-64 win against Drake in the 2011 regular-season finale (a complete listing of the back-to-back pairings can be found on page 5).
107TH HOOPS SEASON
Bradley is playing its 107th men's basketball season and the Braves rank 26th in NCAA Division I men's basketball history with 1,564 all-time victories ... Bradley has played in the postseason in four of the last five years and racked up 102 victories the previous five seasons, an average of 20.4 wins per year heading into this season.
DEAN OF THE VALLEY
In his ninth-year at the helm of the Bradley program, Jim Les is the dean of Missouri Valley Conference head coaches ... Les now sports a 153-139 overall record and his teams finished in the upper half of the Valley race each of the previous five seasons ... Les is 5-8 all-time in the State Farm MVC Tournament and his teams have won at least one game in St. Louis in four of the last five years.
RETURNING NUMBERS
Boasting a lineup of 10 returning players, including four starters, Bradley was prepared to welcome back 82.0 percent of its scoring and 70.8 percent of its rebounding from the 2009-10 squad ... The Braves also were prepared to return six of their top seven scorers, including their top three scorers for the first time since the 2005-06 season, which ended with a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 ... While Bradley placed three players on the 2010-11 preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference squad, senior guard Andrew Warren is the only member of the honored trio still on the active roster.
"90 DAYS"
Hours prior to the 2010-11 season-opener, Bradley announced junior forward Taylor Brown would be forced to sit out the season for precautionary medical reasons related to on-going cardiac testing ... The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season, when he was voted The Valley's Most Improved Player, and he was an honorable mention 2010 preseason All-MVC selection ... A requirement of his cardiac testing, Brown was prevented from participating in any physical activity for three months ... A communications (photography) major, Brown is collaborating with Bradley professor Shannon Benine on a documentary entitled "90 Days," which will chronicle his three-month rest period ... The three-month rest period has elapsed, but Brown's follow-up tests will not be conducted until after the season ends.
MANISCALCO'S HARDSHIP
Prior to the Nov. 30 game at Western Carolina, Bradley announced senior guard Sam Maniscalco would seek a medical hardship waiver as he continues treatment for the chronic pain in his left ankle ... Maniscalco was a second-team All-MVC choice last season, when he averaged 13.1 ppg and 3.4 apg, and he was a preseason All-MVC first-team choice this fall ... A three-time team captain who has built a reputation for coming through in the clutch for the Braves, Maniscalco ranks 28th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,210 points and he was The Valley's active career assists leader (355) at the time of the decision ... He added to his clutch play reputation when he scored the late-game points that either tied the game or gave the Braves the lead for good in three consecutive games, including three free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the 64-63 win against Southern California Nov. 20 ... Maniscalco's clutch performances earned him MVC Player-of-the-Week honors Nov. 22.
IMPACT LOSSES
The announcement that junior forward Taylor Brown would sit out this season for precautionary health reasons meant the Braves suddenly found themselves without a double-digit scorer for the third straight year ... The Nov. 30 announcement that Sam Maniscalco also would sit out the remainder of the season knocked the team's active leader in most every significant statistical category out of action, the latest in a long list of major medical setbacks for the Braves in recent years: Phillip Gilbert (2003-04, 10 games); Jeremy Crouch (2006-07, 8 games); Daniel Ruffin (2006-07, 3 games and 2007-08, 7 games); Andrew Warren (2007-08, 5 games and 2008-09, season); Will Egolf (2008-09, 30 games); and Dodie Dunson (2009-10, 29 games).
ACADEMIC HIGH MARK
Since Bradley Athletics began tracking team grade point averages in 1986, the Braves set the program mark for semester GPA by combining for a 3.12 team total during the 2010 Spring semester ... Current Braves Dodie Dunson, Sam Maniscalco and Charonn Woods all earned a spot on the 2010 NABC Honors Court and nine team members earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll for posting a minimum 3.0 semester GPA last spring ... The Braves turned in another stellar semester this fall, eclipsing the 3.0 mark for the second straight term and placing nine team members on the AD Honor Roll.
THE GRADUATE STREAK
For a sixth consecutive year, the Braves roster in 2010-11 features a player who already has earned his Bradley degree ... Senior guard Andrew Warren, who sat out the 2008-09 season with a stress fracture in his right foot, graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in communications (electronic media) and is working toward a second degree in his fifth year.
BCS BEATERS
In his ninth year at Bradley, Jim Les now boasts a 14-9 record against teams from the six "BCS" leagues (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC).
VALLEY HALL OF FAMER
The late Joe Allen will become Bradley's seventh Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame member when the league inducts its 2011 class Friday morning ... Allen starred at Bradley from 1965-68 and earned Helms Foundation All-America honors in 1967 and 1968 ... A 6-foot-6 center, Allen achieved his success on the court despite playing his entire Bradley career with a rigid brace on his left leg that extended from mid-thigh to mid-calf, the result of a post-surgery infection following knee surgery during Christmas break in 1964 ... Allen averaged 22.2 ppg and 10.9 rpg during his 3-year varsity career, scoring 1,763 career points and setting the school record with a .602 career field goal percentage, and he led the nation in field goal percentage (.655) in 1967-68.
BIG MEDIA NUMBERS
In his 32nd year as the radio Voice of the Braves, Dave Snell has participated in 982 Bradley Basketball game broadcasts, all in succession, on 1470 WMBD since taking over play-by-play duties for the 1979-80 season ... Snell was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Jan. 23, 2010 ... Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 645 consecutive Bradley games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season ... Reynolds recently was named the Illinois Sportswriter of the Year for the second year in a row by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and he received an honorary letter from the Bradley Alumni B-Club during last Tuesday's game against UNI ... In addition, public address announcer Paul Herzog has announced 510 Bradley Basketball home games ... Herzog was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Feb. 12, 2011.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Thursday's game will be the 132nd all-time meeting between Bradley and Drake, making the series against the Bulldogs the most common opponent in Braves Basketball history ... Bradley owns a 78-53 lead in the all-time series and the Braves have won eight of the last 11 meetings ... Bradley is 4-3 against the Bulldogs in seven previous MVC Tournament meetings between the two programs, including a 3-0 advantage at Arch Madness ... Ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les is 10-8 all-time against the Bulldogs and 4-2 in head-to-head matchups versus third-year Drake head coach Mark Phelps ... Thursday's game will be Les' first postseason game against Drake.
SEASON SERIES NOTES
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren averaged 26.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 spg in the two games versus Drake this season ... Making Warren's scoring efforts against the Bulldogs more impressive, the league's co-leader in free throws made during the regular-season did not attempt a free throw in 74 minutes against Drake ... Warren has scored at least 20 points versus Drake in four of his last five meetings versus the Bulldogs ... Bradley used the same starting five in the two regular-season games versus Drake and the quintet combined to shoot 55.2 percent (53-96) from the field in the two games ... The Bradley backcourt trio of Warren, Dodie Dunson and Dyricus Simms-Edwards combined to average 52.5 ppg on 53.2 percent (41-77) shooting from the floor in the two games versus Drake.
BACK-TO-BACK MATCHUPS
Thursday's matchup versus Drake 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 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh repeat matchup in Bradley's 32-year MVC Tournament history -- the third time against Drake.
LACK OF EXPERIENCE
With preseason all-conference honorees Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco on the sidelines, Bradley's lineup boasts very little experience in the State Farm MVC Tournament ... Seven team members have combined to make 14 individual game appearances in the MVC Tournament and senior guard Andrew Warren (two) is the only active Brave to participate in more than one tournament ... The seven players have combined for 228 MVC Tourney minutes in 14 individual games (an averge of 32.6 career Arch Madness minutes), 18 total field goals, two 3-pointers, 28 rebounds and 57 points ... On a positive note, the four active players who have attempted a free throw in the MVC Tournament are a combined 19-for-20 (.950) from the stripe ... By comparison, Brown and Maniscalco alone have combined for nine individual games and 247 minutes, 26 field goals, seven 3-pointers, 45-of-46 (.97
shooting from the free throw line, 25 rebounds and 104 points.
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 30 games.
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 5-3 record in its last eight games, February is Les' winningest month (41-30, .577) and is second only to November (.660) by percentage ... Not coincidentally, the Braves have been without the above nine players for just 28 February games due to injury: Warren (11), Egolf (eight), Dunson (10), Brown ( and Maniscalco ( -- 45 individual games missed.
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 six of the last seven games, however, averaging 34.3 points on a combined 48.5 percent (96-19 shooting from the floor.
FEBRUARY OFFENSE
In the season's first 22 games, the Braves averaged just 63.2 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent overall from the field ... The cold shooting contributed to Bradley's 6-16 record through the end of January ... While posting a 5-3 record in February, the Braves averaged 70.8 ppg on 47.7 percent shooting from the floor.
PAINT POINTS
Bradley has outscored the opposition, 814-668, in the paint this season ... The paint domination was particularly evident in February, when the Braves owned a 286-150 scoring advantage in the lane, an average margin of 17.0 points in the eight games last month.
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 12 games, outscoring the Braves by an 93-49 margin from behind the arc in those 12 outings ... Bradley has averaged just 4.1 3-point field goals per game in the last eight games, while allowing 8.0 triples.
AND FEWER TURNOVERS
Bradley is 3-12 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 ... In the eight February games, Bradley averaged just 9.6 turnovers per game ... In the last eight games, Bradley boasts a 1.3 assists-to-turnover ratio ... Strangely, in seven of Bradley's last eight games, the team that committed more turnovers has won.
SCORING BURDEN
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren leads The Valley in scoring at 19.0 points per game ... Warren's 570 points through 28 games represent 29.1 percent of Bradley's overall offensive output (1,957 points), easily the largest individual scoring ratio in the MVC -- Evansville's Colt Ryan (15.8 ppg) is second by scoring 23.8 percent of his team's total points ... Warren's individual scoring ratio ranks as the largest by a Brave since Curtis Stuckey (25.1 ppg) scored 34.5 percent of Bradley's points during the 1990-91 season and currently ranks as the ninth-greatest ratio at Bradley since World War II.
WARREN MILESTONE WATCH
Needs 20 points to move past Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (1,60 for 10th place on Bradley's all-time scoring list ... Needs four 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 nine 3-pointers to become the sixth player in school history to make as many as 80 3-point field goals in a season.
FREE THROWS & THREES
In addition to leading the league with 71 3-pointers made this season, Andrew Warren enters the State Farm MVC Tournament sharing the league lead with 129 free throws made (Kwadzo Ahelegbe) ... Only two players - Hersey Hawkins (198 and Marcus Wilson (1999) in the 24-year history of the college 3-point line have led The Valley in both free throws made and 3-pointers made in the same season.
SCORING OUTBURST
Warren began the season fourth on the list of The Valley's active career scoring leaders ... With 570 points so far this year, though, the Bradley guard has taken over the top spot and now leads all current MVC players with 1,589 career points.
WHAT A GAME!
When Warren ended his home career by scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists and making off with four steals Feb. 26 versus Drake, he became the first player in the country this year to produce at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the same game ... Warren joins Braves legend Hersey Hawkins as the only players to hit all four marks in the same game in Bradley Basketball history (steals records date to 1975) ... Hawkins had 38 points, 10 boards, seven assists and five steals in a 113-108 overtime loss at Memphis Dec. 17. 1987; and 32 points, 10 boards, five assists and four steals in a 72-65 loss at Indiana State Jan. 15, 1987.
THE FREE THROW STREAK
Warren made 40 consecutive free throw attempts from Nov. 30-Jan. 4, the longest streak in the country this season.
MORE THAN A SCORER
Not only is Andrew Warren leading The Valley in scoring, but the 6-foot-6 guard also is second with 1.7 steals per game, just one theft behind Indiana State's Jake Odum ... Warren has a chance to become the first player to lead The Valley in both scoring and steals since Drake's Curt Smith in 1992-93 ... Since The Valley began keeping steals records in 1981, Smith joins the Bradley duo of Anthony Manuel (1989) and Hersey Hawkins (1987 and 198 as the only players to lead the league in both scoring and steals ... In addition, Warren is Bradley'sleading rebounder at 5.5 rpg and has four double-doubles ... He has twice led the Braves in points, rebounds, assists and steals, most recently Jan. 26 versus Illinois State ... In the Dec. 4 game versus Utah, Warren led the Braves across the board -- points (27), rebounds (10), assists (2), blocked shots (2) and steals (4).
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 19 games since returning to the regular rotation, Simms-Edwards is Bradley's second-leading scorer at 12.7 ppg and is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 78.6 percent from the free throw line ... Simms-Edwards has scored at least 15 points in seven of the last eight games, including exactly 15 in each of the last four games.
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 Feb. 19 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 the 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 5.5 rpg and trails only Creighton's Doug McDermott (7.6 rpg) as the leading freshman rebounders in The Valley this season ... Just one board behind Andrew Warren as Bradley's to rebounder, 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 freshmen eligibility, the only other Bradley frosh to lead the team in rebounding was Harold McMath in 1976-77 ... In addition to his board work, Prosser is shooting 56.1 percent from the field, including 59.3 percent in league play.
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 18 games of the 2011 calendar year (453 minutes) and is averaging one turnover every 50.3 minutes since the calendar turned ... He has played 11 of the first 18 games in 2011 without a turnover and he has not committed more than two turnovers in a game this season.
State Farm MVC Tournament Notes Courtesy: BradleyBraves.com
Release: 03/01/2011
PDF Version of Bradley's Tournament Notes Package Listen Live Arch Madness Headquarters2010-11 Bradley Basketball Game Notes
State Farm MVC Tournament First Round vs. Drake
Thursday, March 3 - 8:35 p.m. CST - St. Louis, Mo. - Scottrade Center (21,472)
Series History - Bradley leads 78-53
Radio: 1470 AM WMBD -- Dave Snell (play-by-play), Danny Adams (analyst) and Dan DiOrio (studio pregame host)
Online: www.BradleyBraves.com -- free audio streams; www.mvc.org/archmadness -- tournament home page
Tickets: $23, $32 based on location. Free for Bradley students, courtesy of the Braves Club.
THE STORYLINE
Bradley will begin its 32nd State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Thursday when the 10th-seeded Braves take on seventh-seeded Drake in a rematch of Saturday's regular-season finale ... Bradley owns a 28-29 all-time record in the MVC Tournament, winning championships as the host school in Peoria in 1980 and 1988 ... Bradley will have momentum on its side as the Braves won five of their final eight regular-season games, capped by its most lopsided win in better than three seasons ... Saturday's 90-64 rout versus Drake marked Bradley's largest margin of victory since an 87-59 win against Creighton Feb. 16, 2008.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Thursday's matchup versus Drake 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 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh repeat matchup in Bradley's 32-year MVC Tournament history -- the third time against Drake ... Bradley swept both games against the Bulldogs in 1983 and 1997 and the Braves are coming off a 90-64 win against Drake in the 2011 regular-season finale (a complete listing of the back-to-back pairings can be found on page 5).
107TH HOOPS SEASON
Bradley is playing its 107th men's basketball season and the Braves rank 26th in NCAA Division I men's basketball history with 1,564 all-time victories ... Bradley has played in the postseason in four of the last five years and racked up 102 victories the previous five seasons, an average of 20.4 wins per year heading into this season.
DEAN OF THE VALLEY
In his ninth-year at the helm of the Bradley program, Jim Les is the dean of Missouri Valley Conference head coaches ... Les now sports a 153-139 overall record and his teams finished in the upper half of the Valley race each of the previous five seasons ... Les is 5-8 all-time in the State Farm MVC Tournament and his teams have won at least one game in St. Louis in four of the last five years.
RETURNING NUMBERS
Boasting a lineup of 10 returning players, including four starters, Bradley was prepared to welcome back 82.0 percent of its scoring and 70.8 percent of its rebounding from the 2009-10 squad ... The Braves also were prepared to return six of their top seven scorers, including their top three scorers for the first time since the 2005-06 season, which ended with a run to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 ... While Bradley placed three players on the 2010-11 preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference squad, senior guard Andrew Warren is the only member of the honored trio still on the active roster.
"90 DAYS"
Hours prior to the 2010-11 season-opener, Bradley announced junior forward Taylor Brown would be forced to sit out the season for precautionary medical reasons related to on-going cardiac testing ... The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 13.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last season, when he was voted The Valley's Most Improved Player, and he was an honorable mention 2010 preseason All-MVC selection ... A requirement of his cardiac testing, Brown was prevented from participating in any physical activity for three months ... A communications (photography) major, Brown is collaborating with Bradley professor Shannon Benine on a documentary entitled "90 Days," which will chronicle his three-month rest period ... The three-month rest period has elapsed, but Brown's follow-up tests will not be conducted until after the season ends.
MANISCALCO'S HARDSHIP
Prior to the Nov. 30 game at Western Carolina, Bradley announced senior guard Sam Maniscalco would seek a medical hardship waiver as he continues treatment for the chronic pain in his left ankle ... Maniscalco was a second-team All-MVC choice last season, when he averaged 13.1 ppg and 3.4 apg, and he was a preseason All-MVC first-team choice this fall ... A three-time team captain who has built a reputation for coming through in the clutch for the Braves, Maniscalco ranks 28th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,210 points and he was The Valley's active career assists leader (355) at the time of the decision ... He added to his clutch play reputation when he scored the late-game points that either tied the game or gave the Braves the lead for good in three consecutive games, including three free throws with 0.3 seconds left in the 64-63 win against Southern California Nov. 20 ... Maniscalco's clutch performances earned him MVC Player-of-the-Week honors Nov. 22.
IMPACT LOSSES
The announcement that junior forward Taylor Brown would sit out this season for precautionary health reasons meant the Braves suddenly found themselves without a double-digit scorer for the third straight year ... The Nov. 30 announcement that Sam Maniscalco also would sit out the remainder of the season knocked the team's active leader in most every significant statistical category out of action, the latest in a long list of major medical setbacks for the Braves in recent years: Phillip Gilbert (2003-04, 10 games); Jeremy Crouch (2006-07, 8 games); Daniel Ruffin (2006-07, 3 games and 2007-08, 7 games); Andrew Warren (2007-08, 5 games and 2008-09, season); Will Egolf (2008-09, 30 games); and Dodie Dunson (2009-10, 29 games).
ACADEMIC HIGH MARK
Since Bradley Athletics began tracking team grade point averages in 1986, the Braves set the program mark for semester GPA by combining for a 3.12 team total during the 2010 Spring semester ... Current Braves Dodie Dunson, Sam Maniscalco and Charonn Woods all earned a spot on the 2010 NABC Honors Court and nine team members earned a spot on the Bradley Athletic Director's Honor Roll for posting a minimum 3.0 semester GPA last spring ... The Braves turned in another stellar semester this fall, eclipsing the 3.0 mark for the second straight term and placing nine team members on the AD Honor Roll.
THE GRADUATE STREAK
For a sixth consecutive year, the Braves roster in 2010-11 features a player who already has earned his Bradley degree ... Senior guard Andrew Warren, who sat out the 2008-09 season with a stress fracture in his right foot, graduated in May with a bachelor's degree in communications (electronic media) and is working toward a second degree in his fifth year.
BCS BEATERS
In his ninth year at Bradley, Jim Les now boasts a 14-9 record against teams from the six "BCS" leagues (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC).
VALLEY HALL OF FAMER
The late Joe Allen will become Bradley's seventh Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame member when the league inducts its 2011 class Friday morning ... Allen starred at Bradley from 1965-68 and earned Helms Foundation All-America honors in 1967 and 1968 ... A 6-foot-6 center, Allen achieved his success on the court despite playing his entire Bradley career with a rigid brace on his left leg that extended from mid-thigh to mid-calf, the result of a post-surgery infection following knee surgery during Christmas break in 1964 ... Allen averaged 22.2 ppg and 10.9 rpg during his 3-year varsity career, scoring 1,763 career points and setting the school record with a .602 career field goal percentage, and he led the nation in field goal percentage (.655) in 1967-68.
BIG MEDIA NUMBERS
In his 32nd year as the radio Voice of the Braves, Dave Snell has participated in 982 Bradley Basketball game broadcasts, all in succession, on 1470 WMBD since taking over play-by-play duties for the 1979-80 season ... Snell was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Jan. 23, 2010 ... Peoria Journal Star beat writer Dave Reynolds has covered 645 consecutive Bradley games since taking over the beat for the start of the 1990-91 season ... Reynolds recently was named the Illinois Sportswriter of the Year for the second year in a row by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters and he received an honorary letter from the Bradley Alumni B-Club during last Tuesday's game against UNI ... In addition, public address announcer Paul Herzog has announced 510 Bradley Basketball home games ... Herzog was inducted into the Bradley Athletics Hall of Fame Feb. 12, 2011.
AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
Thursday's game will be the 132nd all-time meeting between Bradley and Drake, making the series against the Bulldogs the most common opponent in Braves Basketball history ... Bradley owns a 78-53 lead in the all-time series and the Braves have won eight of the last 11 meetings ... Bradley is 4-3 against the Bulldogs in seven previous MVC Tournament meetings between the two programs, including a 3-0 advantage at Arch Madness ... Ninth-year Bradley head coach Jim Les is 10-8 all-time against the Bulldogs and 4-2 in head-to-head matchups versus third-year Drake head coach Mark Phelps ... Thursday's game will be Les' first postseason game against Drake.
SEASON SERIES NOTES
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren averaged 26.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.5 spg in the two games versus Drake this season ... Making Warren's scoring efforts against the Bulldogs more impressive, the league's co-leader in free throws made during the regular-season did not attempt a free throw in 74 minutes against Drake ... Warren has scored at least 20 points versus Drake in four of his last five meetings versus the Bulldogs ... Bradley used the same starting five in the two regular-season games versus Drake and the quintet combined to shoot 55.2 percent (53-96) from the field in the two games ... The Bradley backcourt trio of Warren, Dodie Dunson and Dyricus Simms-Edwards combined to average 52.5 ppg on 53.2 percent (41-77) shooting from the floor in the two games versus Drake.
BACK-TO-BACK MATCHUPS
Thursday's matchup versus Drake 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 2008 and 2010) ... This also marks the seventh repeat matchup in Bradley's 32-year MVC Tournament history -- the third time against Drake.
LACK OF EXPERIENCE
With preseason all-conference honorees Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco on the sidelines, Bradley's lineup boasts very little experience in the State Farm MVC Tournament ... Seven team members have combined to make 14 individual game appearances in the MVC Tournament and senior guard Andrew Warren (two) is the only active Brave to participate in more than one tournament ... The seven players have combined for 228 MVC Tourney minutes in 14 individual games (an averge of 32.6 career Arch Madness minutes), 18 total field goals, two 3-pointers, 28 rebounds and 57 points ... On a positive note, the four active players who have attempted a free throw in the MVC Tournament are a combined 19-for-20 (.950) from the stripe ... By comparison, Brown and Maniscalco alone have combined for nine individual games and 247 minutes, 26 field goals, seven 3-pointers, 45-of-46 (.97
shooting from the free throw line, 25 rebounds and 104 points.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 30 games.
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 5-3 record in its last eight games, February is Les' winningest month (41-30, .577) and is second only to November (.660) by percentage ... Not coincidentally, the Braves have been without the above nine players for just 28 February games due to injury: Warren (11), Egolf (eight), Dunson (10), Brown (
and Maniscalco ( -- 45 individual games missed.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 six of the last seven games, however, averaging 34.3 points on a combined 48.5 percent (96-19
shooting from the floor.FEBRUARY OFFENSE
In the season's first 22 games, the Braves averaged just 63.2 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent overall from the field ... The cold shooting contributed to Bradley's 6-16 record through the end of January ... While posting a 5-3 record in February, the Braves averaged 70.8 ppg on 47.7 percent shooting from the floor.
PAINT POINTS
Bradley has outscored the opposition, 814-668, in the paint this season ... The paint domination was particularly evident in February, when the Braves owned a 286-150 scoring advantage in the lane, an average margin of 17.0 points in the eight games last month.
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 12 games, outscoring the Braves by an 93-49 margin from behind the arc in those 12 outings ... Bradley has averaged just 4.1 3-point field goals per game in the last eight games, while allowing 8.0 triples.
AND FEWER TURNOVERS
Bradley is 3-12 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 ... In the eight February games, Bradley averaged just 9.6 turnovers per game ... In the last eight games, Bradley boasts a 1.3 assists-to-turnover ratio ... Strangely, in seven of Bradley's last eight games, the team that committed more turnovers has won.
SCORING BURDEN
Bradley senior guard Andrew Warren leads The Valley in scoring at 19.0 points per game ... Warren's 570 points through 28 games represent 29.1 percent of Bradley's overall offensive output (1,957 points), easily the largest individual scoring ratio in the MVC -- Evansville's Colt Ryan (15.8 ppg) is second by scoring 23.8 percent of his team's total points ... Warren's individual scoring ratio ranks as the largest by a Brave since Curtis Stuckey (25.1 ppg) scored 34.5 percent of Bradley's points during the 1990-91 season and currently ranks as the ninth-greatest ratio at Bradley since World War II.
WARREN MILESTONE WATCH
Needs 20 points to move past Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre (1,60
for 10th place on Bradley's all-time scoring list ... Needs four 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 nine 3-pointers to become the sixth player in school history to make as many as 80 3-point field goals in a season.FREE THROWS & THREES
In addition to leading the league with 71 3-pointers made this season, Andrew Warren enters the State Farm MVC Tournament sharing the league lead with 129 free throws made (Kwadzo Ahelegbe) ... Only two players - Hersey Hawkins (198
and Marcus Wilson (1999) in the 24-year history of the college 3-point line have led The Valley in both free throws made and 3-pointers made in the same season.SCORING OUTBURST
Warren began the season fourth on the list of The Valley's active career scoring leaders ... With 570 points so far this year, though, the Bradley guard has taken over the top spot and now leads all current MVC players with 1,589 career points.
WHAT A GAME!
When Warren ended his home career by scoring 33 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, dishing out five assists and making off with four steals Feb. 26 versus Drake, he became the first player in the country this year to produce at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the same game ... Warren joins Braves legend Hersey Hawkins as the only players to hit all four marks in the same game in Bradley Basketball history (steals records date to 1975) ... Hawkins had 38 points, 10 boards, seven assists and five steals in a 113-108 overtime loss at Memphis Dec. 17. 1987; and 32 points, 10 boards, five assists and four steals in a 72-65 loss at Indiana State Jan. 15, 1987.
THE FREE THROW STREAK
Warren made 40 consecutive free throw attempts from Nov. 30-Jan. 4, the longest streak in the country this season.
MORE THAN A SCORER
Not only is Andrew Warren leading The Valley in scoring, but the 6-foot-6 guard also is second with 1.7 steals per game, just one theft behind Indiana State's Jake Odum ... Warren has a chance to become the first player to lead The Valley in both scoring and steals since Drake's Curt Smith in 1992-93 ... Since The Valley began keeping steals records in 1981, Smith joins the Bradley duo of Anthony Manuel (1989) and Hersey Hawkins (1987 and 198
as the only players to lead the league in both scoring and steals ... In addition, Warren is Bradley'sleading rebounder at 5.5 rpg and has four double-doubles ... He has twice led the Braves in points, rebounds, assists and steals, most recently Jan. 26 versus Illinois State ... In the Dec. 4 game versus Utah, Warren led the Braves across the board -- points (27), rebounds (10), assists (2), blocked shots (2) and steals (4).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 19 games since returning to the regular rotation, Simms-Edwards is Bradley's second-leading scorer at 12.7 ppg and is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor and 78.6 percent from the free throw line ... Simms-Edwards has scored at least 15 points in seven of the last eight games, including exactly 15 in each of the last four games.
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 Feb. 19 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 the 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 5.5 rpg and trails only Creighton's Doug McDermott (7.6 rpg) as the leading freshman rebounders in The Valley this season ... Just one board behind Andrew Warren as Bradley's to rebounder, 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 freshmen eligibility, the only other Bradley frosh to lead the team in rebounding was Harold McMath in 1976-77 ... In addition to his board work, Prosser is shooting 56.1 percent from the field, including 59.3 percent in league play.
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 18 games of the 2011 calendar year (453 minutes) and is averaging one turnover every 50.3 minutes since the calendar turned ... He has played 11 of the first 18 games in 2011 without a turnover and he has not committed more than two turnovers in a game this season.
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