Braves Take on Missouri State in Final Regular-Season Road Game

Men's Basketball 2/20/2018 11:17:00 AM

Bradley (18-11, 8-8 MVC) at Missouri State (17-12, 7-9 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Feb. 21 • 7 p.m. • Springfield, Mo. • JQH Arena
Television	FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana/Kansas City \| NBC Sports Chicago+
Webcast	Illinois/Indiana/Iowa/Missouri: FOX Sports Go \| Other States: ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

In its final road game of the regular season, the Bradley men's basketball team faces Missouri State on Wednesday night. The schools are set to meet in Springfield, Missouri, for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with an 8-8 league record and is 18-11 overall. BU is 7-1 in home league games this year but just 1-7 on the road.
• The Braves lost their last game, a 77-64 setback at Valparaiso, on Saturday night.
• Sophomore Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 13.4 points and 4.5 assists per game.
• Senior Donte Thomas is second on the team with 11.2 points per game, while also leading the Braves with 7.1 boards. Nate Kennell ranks third with 9.0 points per game.
• BU is averaging 67.6 points, shooting 42.9 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team is on defense where BU features the nation's 17th-ranked unit, allowing only 64.4 points per game, 40.3 percent of field goals and 32.4 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Bears have played 58 times since Missouri State joined the MVC in 1990.
• Missouri State owns a 37-21 advantage versus the Braves.
• The Bears have especially controlled the series at home with a 22-4 edge, including wins in each of the last eight seasons and 14 of the last 15.
• Bradley, however, has won the last two games in the series, including a 72-52 victory earlier in the season over the Bears – BU's largest MVC win since a 90-64 victory against Drake in 2011.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Missouri State is one game behind the Braves in sixth place in the MVC standings with a 7-9 league record.
• Overall, the Bears are 17-12 on the year after losing their last two games and seven of last nine.
• Alize Johnson leads the Bears with 15.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
• Jarrid Rhodes is second on the team with 9.8 points per game.
• Missouri State averages 70.1 points per game, while allowing only 65.4 on the defensive end.

MVC TOURNAMENT SEEDING
• With just two regular-season games remaining, Bradley is playing for MVC Tournament seeding.
• The Braves, currently in fifth, can finish anywhere from fourth to seventh in the final standings.
• With a win on Wednesday, BU will secure at least the five seed, which would match the Braves highest seed since also finishing fifth in 2010.

SEASON GAINS
• The Braves are making moves to return to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference.
• With two games remaining, Bradley's 18 wins are already its highest regular-season total since it went 20-11 during the 2006-07 season (finished 22-13 after postseason).
• In fact, Bradley's 18 victories equal its total from the last two seasons combined (5 wins in 2015-16 and 13 wins in 2016-17).

AN EARLY LEADER IN BROWN
• Sophomore guard Darrell Brown has proven to be a leader from the start and things haven't changed as a sophomore.
• Brown leads the Braves with 13.4 points per game after scoring a team-best 12.6 last year.
• The sophomore is on course to become just the fourth Brave in school history to lead the team in scoring as a freshman and sophomore – joining Paul Unruh (47-48), Mitchell Anderson (79-80) and Deon Jackson (93-94).

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
• The lone senior on the roster, Donte Thomas is determined to finish his career on a strong note.
• Thomas has raised his game during conference play with 13.4 points in 16 MVC contests, while shooting 55.5 percent.
• The 13.4 points per game for Thomas mark a 4.9-point improvement from non-conference.
• In MVC games only, Thomas is 13th in points, second in rebounds, fifth in field goal percentage, seventh in free throw percentage and fifth in blocks.
• Thomas now ranks second on the team with 11.0 points, while leading Bradley with 7.1 rebounds.

THOMAS EYES TOP 10
• Not only is Donte Thomas enjoying his best season on campus but the senior is making his mark on the Bradley record book.
• With 684 career boards, Thomas is just two shy of reaching the top 10 in school history.
• Thomas' 684 boards are the most by a Brave since Luke Jackson graduated with 933 in 1990.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#25 Nate Kennell: G; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#1 Donte Thomas: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#25 Nate Kennell
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Donte Thomas
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

Braves Take on Missouri State in Final Regular-Season Road Game

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#25 Nate Kennell

#1 Donte Thomas

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#25 Nate Kennell

#1 Donte Thomas