Official BU release...
Bradley Draws Drexel For Feb. 20 Game at Carver Arena
PEORIA, Ill. - The Bradley men's basketball team will host Drexel, a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and located in Philadelphia, in a matchup
through participation in the annual BracketBusters event. Slated to be played Feb. 20 at the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena, the Bradley-Drexel
matchup will not be televised by the ESPN family of networks and the start time has not yet been determined.
The only previous meeting between Bradley and Drexel was March 12, 1997, a first-round NIT game at Carver Arena that the Braves won, 66-53. The
date for the return matchup between Bradley and Drexel in Philadelphia has not yet been determined and the teams will have through the 2011-12
season to schedule the second half of the series.
Bradley enters Tuesday night's home game versus Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake with a 10-11 overall record and the Braves are locked in a
three-way tie for sixth in the league standings with a 5-6 Valley record, just one game out of a three-way tie for third. Ranked 107 in the Ratings
Percentage Index, the Braves own The Valley's best strength of schedule (45) and non-conference strength of schedule (67) ratings and the matchup
versus Drexel likely will add to that profile. The Dragons begin the week with a 103 RPI rating and ranked 87th nationally in strength of schedule.
Drexel enters Tuesday night's home game versus Towson with a 12-11 overall record and the Dragons have won six of their last eight games to
move into sole possession of fourth place in the CAA standing.
Today's announcement marks the second time Bradley has drawn a CAA member through participation in the BracketBusters series. During the
2006-07 season, the Braves went on the road to beat eventual CAA regular-season and tournament champion VCU, 73-64, in a game televised on
ESPN2. The Rams returned to Peoria the next season and evened the score, 79-64.
Including the return games, Bradley owns a 7-5 all-time record in games created through its participation in the BracketBusters series, including a 5-1
record in the initial February matchups.
Missouri Valley Conference members Northern Iowa, Wichita State and Missouri State have been selected for the televised portion of the
BracketBusters event and their pairings will be announced during an ESPNU show at 5:30 p.m. (CST). The other six non-televised pairings involving
Valley schools include: Loyola-Chicago at Creighton, Drake at Cal State-Northridge, UIC at Evansville, Morehead State at Illinois State, Indiana State
at Green Bay and Western Michigan at Southern Illinois.