In-season tourney, in-state opponent: Bradley basketball nonconference schedule takes shape

PEORIA — The Bradley Braves are moving closer to finalizing their schedule for the 2024-25 basketball season.

"We need about two more games to finish, but so do a lot of teams out there," Bradley coach Brian Wardle said. "It's a complicated process."

The Missouri Valley Conference is requiring teams to schedule a minimum of four Quad 1 and Quad 2 nonconference games. That is part of the Valley's drive to position itself for a second bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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Bradley adds in-state team and more to nonconference

Northern Illinois will be among Bradley's nonconference opponents, coming in for a Nov. 16 game at Carver Arena. BU last saw Northern Illinois in a 66-63 victory at Peoria in 2010.

The Huskies were 11-20 overall last season and 5-20 in the MAC. They faced teams like Northern Iowa, Indiana State, Northwestern, Marquette and they beat Georgia State and DePaul.

The Braves are also reportedly finalizing a two-game series with San Francisco. The first game in that series will be in Carver Arena during the upcoming 2024-25 season. The rematch in 2025-26 will be in San Francisco.

San Francisco went 23-11 last season, and 11-3 in the West Coast Conference. They beat Minnesota and DePaul in nonconference action and faced nationally ranked Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in conference play.

They lost in the NIT to Cincinnati, 73-72 in OT. On their 2024-25 roster is a pair of towers in 7-foot grad year center Carlton Linguard Jr. and 7-foot-2 senior center Saba Gigiberia.

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Bradley has also signed on to the field for the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational, according to bracketeer.org's Rocco Miller . It runs Nov. 21, 22 and 24.

Bradley will be in a lineup with Middle Tennessee, Ohio, Portland, Princeton and South Florida. The final two teams — believed to be Wright State and Louisiana-Monroe — are finalizing their commitment to the tourney.

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Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: In-season tourney, in-state opponent: Bradley basketball nonconference schedule takes shape