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ARLINGTON, Texas -- After a week of good, ol' fashioned final exam anxiety, the UTA men's basketball team will be looking forward to a more familiar type of stress this week when it returns to competition Friday night at Bradley.

Tipoff in the Braves' 11,442-seat Carver Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. (CST) with the contest featuring a live video stream on ESPN3. Links to additional game coverage, including live audio and statistics, are available on UTAMavs.com. A live radio broadcast from UTA's Josh Sours will be available throughout the DFW Metroplex on KEXB 620 AM and via the popular TuneIn app on smartphones and tablets.

UTA fans are also invited to watch the game at popular local establishment, Grease Monkey. The ESPN3 stream will be displayed on the restaurant's numerous big screen televisions and food/drink specials will be available.

UTA enters Friday's game with an 8-3 overall record and a 7-game win streak following last week's attention-grabbing 65-51 victory at then-12th ranked Saint Mary's College (CA). The Mavs are rated as the 20th best team in the country, according to the NCAA's ratings percentage index - one of the primary factors used to determine at-large entrants into the NCAA Tournament.

The Saint Mary's win, combined with an 11-point victory at Texas a week earlier, helped the Mavericks rise several spots to third in the national mid-major top 25 published weekly by CollegeInsiders.com.

After taking an impressive 89-82 win over Texas Southern to open the season, UTA dropped 3-straight road games at noteworthy programs Minnesota, Florida Gulf Coast and Arkansas before going on its current win streak. All four of the Mavs' opponents during that stretch are ranked among the top 100, according to the NCAA.

"Even though we are a veteran team, it is crazy to think back to how we've matured over the course of the last month of games," said junior guard Kaelon Wilson. "We are still learning, bonding more and more. We are learning how to play well with different personnel in the game. As we keep getting better with that, keep increasing our defense, the sky is really the limit."

Junior Kevin Hervey regained the team's scoring lead and remains the Mavs' top rebounder. The Arlington native averages 13.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and is shooting a team-high .841 from the free throw line.

Guard Erick Neal earned national Mid-Major Player of the Week honors after a pair of impressive performances against UT Dallas and Saint Mary's. The preseason all-Sun Belt point guard registered a career-high 13 assists with zero turnovers against the Comets, then anchored a defensive effort that limited the efficient Gaels to just 31 percent shooting and 16 turnovers. Neal leads the Sun Belt in assists with 6.9 per game.

Senior Jalen Jones has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 13 games and has shot better than 50 percent from behind the 3-point arc in every game this season. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.0 per game. Senior Drew Charles is average 8.1 points per game and leads the team in 3-point shooting by making 51 percent of his attempts.

Senior forward Jorge Bilbao is the most experienced player on the team with 102 appearances. The Bilbao, Spain native averages 7.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. His defensive effort helped limit SMC's center Jock Landale to just 3-of-10 shooting and five turnovers last week.

Bradley enters Friday's game with a 5-5 overall record and is coming off an 83-48 home victory last weekend against Chicago State. The Braves are the fourth-youngest side in the country under head coach Brian Wardle with underclassmen accounting for 77 percent of the team's scoring.

Following Friday's game in Peoria, UTA wraps-up its non-conference schedule on Thursday, Dec. 22 when it visits Loyola Marymount. The Lions will be the second West Coast Conference team on UTA's schedule this season and faces Incarnate Word and Colorado State prior to hosting the Mavericks.

The Mavs return to College Park Center on Saturday, Dec. 31 to open Sun Belt Conference competition against league newcomer Coastal Carolina. Single game, group and special multi-game package tickets are available by visiting UTATickets.com or calling the UTA Box Office during weekday business hours at (817) 272-9595.

The 2017 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are scheduled for a week of March Madness in the Big Easy. New Orleans will once again be home to the two championships that will take place at Lakefront Arena from March 7-12 and ticket books can now be purchased from your school's ticket office. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Conference's championship central websites - Men's Championship - Women's Championship - and be sure to follow the #FunBelt on social media - @SunBelt.