2016-17 Non-Conference Schedule Revealed

Family-friendly schedule includes seven non-conference home games, all on weekend dates

Bradley University Marketing

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Men's Basketball 6/10/2016 7:00:00 PM

PEORIA, IL - A family-friendly home schedule built entirely around weekend dates, a pre-Thanksgiving trip to southwest Florida for an exempt tournament and a matchup against 2016 CBI champion Nevada in the Mountain West/Missouri Valley Challenge Series highlight the Bradley Basketball team's 2016-17 non-conference schedule, which was revealed by second-year Braves head coach Brian Wardle during a dinner program Friday night to cap off the 40th annual Braves Club Golf Classic, presented by Pearl Automotive.

The family-themed schedule will tip off with the annual Bradley Basketball Spaghetti Supper Thursday, Oct. 13 (6:00 p.m.) at the Itoo Hall, the program's traditional, season-opening meet-and-greet with the men's and women's basketball teams at the popular reception hall on Farmington Road. Before facing outside competition, the both the men's and women's teams will host the annual Red-White Scrimmage Sunday, Oct. 23 (2 p.m.) at Renaissance Coliseum.

Bradley will host NCAA Division III UW-La Crosse in its lone, public exhibition game Sunday, Nov. 6 (2 p.m.) at Carver Arena.

The Braves officially will open their 113th men's basketball season with a 3-game home stand at Carver Arena, beginning Friday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) against Illinois-Springfield. The home stand will continue Sunday, Nov. 13 (4 p.m.) versus Delaware and will conclude Friday, Nov. 18 (7 p.m.) against Southeast Missouri State.

The season-opening game versus the Prairie Stars also will serve as an opening-round game in the 2016 Gulf Coast Showcase, a 4-game exempt tournament that will continue Nov. 21-23 at Germain Arena in Estero, FL. The 8-team bracket in Florida will include George Mason, Hofstra, Houston, Kent State, South Dakota, Vermont and Wofford and the Braves will start the bracket Nov. 21 (1:30 p.m. ET) against Hofstra, the defending Colonial Athletic Association regular-season champion. Houston finished 22-10 and joined Hofstra in the NIT after tying for third in the American Athletic Conference regular-season race, while Vermont was 23-14 and advanced to the third round of the CBI.

Following the Gulf Coast Showcase, the Braves will remain within four hours of Peoria for the next month, including three of the next five games at Carver Arena. Bradley will visit Eastern Illinois Tuesday, Nov. 29 and Ball State Tuesday, Dec. 6 around the annual MWC/MVC Challenge game versus Nevada Saturday, Dec. 3 (7 p.m.) at Carver Arena. The Wolfpack tied for fourth in the Mountain West Conference last season and went on to top Morehead State in the best-of-three championship series of the 2016 College Basketball Invitational, adding a postseason trophy to a 24-14 campaign.

Bradley's final two non-conference home games will be Saturday, Dec. 10 (TBA) versus Chicago State and Friday, Dec. 16 (7 p.m.) against UT-Arlington. Overcoming a midseason injury to leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Hervey, who is expected to return for his junior season, UT-Arlington posted a 24-11 record last season and advanced to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Before Hervey's injury, the Mavs were 13-3 with road wins at Ohio State, Memphis and UTEP.

The Braves will visit Southeastern Conference member Ole Miss Dec. 19 and Big 12 Conference foe TCU Dec. 21 to conclude the 13-game non-conference slate. The 18-game, double round-robin Missouri Valley Conference schedule will be announced late in the summer and the 2017 State Farm MVC Men's Basketball Championship will be played March 2-5 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

The Bradley Athletics Ticket Office currently is accepting 2016-17 men's basketball season ticket renewals and new season-ticket sales will begin Aug. 8. Seven traditional season-ticket packages will be available with a starting price of just $110. After introducing the Family Section last season, Bradley will bring back the popular season-ticket option in 2016-17: four season tickes in the Carver Arena Sections 19, 20 and 21A upper bowl for just $150.

New to the season-ticket offerings in 2016-17 is the '82 Champs Special. Commemorating Bradley's 1982 NIT Championship, the '82 Champs Special offers lower bowl season tickets in Sections 18, 19 and 20 for just $82 ($100 maintenance requirement per seat, consistent with the Bronze sections season-ticket policy).

Bradley also will continue the Recent Alumni Package, offering discounted season-ticket pricing to graduates of any college or university within the past three years, and Bradley also will offer a trio of mini, multi-game packages: The Valley Half (all nine MVC home games); Marquee Three (Illinois State, Wichita State and one game of the buyer's choice); and Pick 5 (five games of the buyer's choice for the price of four).

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