Wednesday, March 26th, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) -- Charlottesville, Virginia. Television: Fox College Sports. CBI Record: Bradley 2-0, Virginia 2-0. Series Record: Bradley leads, 1-0.

GAME NOTES: The Bradley Braves will make the trip to Charlottesville this evening to take on the Virginia Cavaliers in the semifinal round of the College Basketball Invitational. The winner of this game will move into the championship round next week, a best of three series against either Tulsa or Houston. The Braves are 19-15 on the season and finished 9-9 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Bradley moved into this evening's semifinal matchup with a pair of hard-fought wins over Cincinnati (70-67) and most recently, Ohio University (79-73). The Cavaliers are two games over .500 on the year (17-15), but really struggled in the ACC, finishing with a dismal 5-11 mark. Still, the team has caught fire in the postseason, knocking off Richmond (66-64) and Old Dominion (80-76) to advance. This is Virginia's 29th postseason appearance in school history and third in the first three year's under head coach Dave Leitao (2006 NIT, 2007 NCAA, 2008 CBI). These two teams have met just one prior time, with Bradley posting a 77-58 decision more than 60 years ago (1946-47 season).

The Braves are not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination, but the team was still the second-highest scoring unit in the MVC this year at 73.4 ppg. The three-pointer is certainly the weapon of choice for Bradley, which ranks among the nation's top teams in that area with 9.1 treys per outing. It is a pair of senior guards that leads the way for this team. Jeremy Crouch led the MVC in three-pointers this season (106) and leads the team with 15.6 ppg as a result. Point guard Daniel Ruffin has the ability to both score (14.4 ppg) and distribute (5.8 apg). In the win over Ohio, the Braves were able to convert 48.1 percent from the floor, including a scorching 55.2 percent in the second half, rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit and taking the win. Sophomore guard Andrew Warren led five Braves in double figures with 22 points. Crouch followed with 15, with Ruffin (13 pts), freshman Sam Maniscalco (10 pts) and junior Theron Wilson (10 pts) all making contributions as well.

In the four-point win over Old Dominion, Virginia fought back from an eight- point halftime deficit to earn the narrow victory. All-ACC performer Sean Singletary scored eight of his 22 total points in the last 30 seconds, to lead the Cavs to victory. Singletary recorded his fifth double-double of the season, matching a career-high with 10 assists. Four other Cavaliers joined Singletary in double figures, with Mamadi Diane tallying 14 points, followed by Jamil Tucker (11 pts), Laurynas Mikalauskas (10 pts) and Jeff Jones (10 pts). Virginia was able to overcome a 50.9 percent shooting effort from the Monarchs, by shooting 50 percent themselves, including hitting nine three- pointers. A dangerous offensive team, Virginia is averaging a healthy 76.6 ppg this year. Singletary is the straw that stirs the drink, averaging a team-high 19.9 ppg, while also pacing the Cavaliers with 194 assists. Diane is the only other double-digit scorer coming into the game, with 11.8 ppg. Adrian Joseph isn't far from the mark (9.8 ppg) and is the team's top rebounder (5.8 rpg).

The Cavaliers are a tough team in their own building against non-league foes and should be able to get past a Bradley team that has not had much success on the road this year (6-7). Expect Singletary to be the difference in this game.

Predicted Outcome

Virginia 74, Bradley 71