Braves Take on Indiana State on Saturday

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Men's Basketball 1/13/2017 10:46:00 AM

Bradley (8-10, 3-2 MVC) at Indiana State (6-11, 0-5 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 14 • 12 p.m. CT • Terre Haute, Ind. • Hulman Center
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Indiana State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team looks to continue its early momentum in conference play with a road game at Indiana State. The schools are set to meet on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT with the game shown on ESPN3.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 3-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play after a 72-61 victory against Northern Iowa on Wednesday. Sophomore Luuk van Bree led BU to victory over the Panthers, scoring a career-best 20 points.
• Overall, the Braves are 8-10 this season.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 12.2 points per game (13.6 during conference play) and 46 assists this year.
• Junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 9.6 points per game, while sophomore Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye is third with 7.2 points.
• Freshman Koch Bar has collected a team-leading 5.9 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game.
• As a team, Bradley is making 43.9 percent of its field goals with a 36.1 percent 3-point mark.

MVC GAINS
• With its win on Wednesday, Bradley moved to 3-2 in MVC play, tied for third place in the standings.
• The Braves have already matched its conference win total from a season ago, winning three times in five games this year after just three times in 18 tries last year – Bradley did not win its third MVC game until its 16th contest last season.
• Bradley has won three of its first five MVC games for the first time since starting the year 4-1 during the 2008-09 season.

SERIES HISTORY
• In 85 all-time meetings between the Braves and Sycamores, Bradley holds a 51-34 advantage in the all-time series.
• Last season, each team claimed victory on its home court with Bradley winning, 63-58, at Carver Arena before Indiana State earned a 77-58 victory in Terre Haute.
• The Sycamores have won the last seven meetings between the two schools at home (with the last BU win coming on Jan. 13, 2009) and are 23-17 all-time against the Braves in Hulman Center.
• Overall, the Sycamores have won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the two schools.

ABOUT THE SYCAMORES
• Indiana State enters the weekend with a 6-11 record and is still in search of its first MVC win of the year with an 0-5 conference mark.
• Two of the team's five losses in league play have come in overtime, while three of ISU's last six games overall have needed more than 40 minutes.
• Brenton Scott leads the Sycamores with 18.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Everett Clemons is second with 9.6 points and 5.5 rebounds to go with a team-best 87 assists.

ON THIS DATE
Record on Jan. 14: 16-10
Jan. 14 Highlight: The Braves set a school record with 12 blocked shots the last time they played on Jan. 14, earning a 90-62 victory over Evansville in 2006 at Carver Arena. Patrick O'Bryant led the Braves with 15 points and six blocks to lead BU to the 28-point victory.

MOST IMPROVED A SECOND TIME
• After a slow start to the year, junior Donte Thomas has regained his form from last season that landed him on the MVC Most Improved Team.
• Thomas averaged 3.9 points and 3.8 rebounds during the team's first nine games of the year.
• However, the junior is now averaging 6.4 points and 7.4 rebounds during the last nine contests.
• The team's leader in rebounds last season, Thomas had led BU in boards in seven of the last nine games after not doing so in any of the first nine, including his first double-double of the season on Wednesday versus Northern Iowa with 12 points and 13 boards.

SHOOTING ADVANTAGE
• Out of all stats in basketball, quite simply, BU games have come down to which team shoots better.
• The Braves are 8-2 this season when finishing with a higher shooting percentage. On the opposite end, Bradley is 0-8 when its opponent makes a higher percentage of its field goals.
• In the team's eight wins, Bradley is shooting 49.0 percent, while holding teams to 33.9 percent.
• In their 10 losses, the Braves are making 40.1 percent of their field goals, while their opponent is converting 46.2 percent of their shots.
• Overall, in Missouri Valley games only, Bradley ranks third in field goal percentage at 46.2 and second in field goal percentage defense at 38.9 – the only team ranked in the top three in both categories.

HIGHS AND LOWS
• In MVC play, the team's field goal percentage defense has been especially key.
• In its three victories, Bradley has held its opponent to under 35 percent shooting in all three contests with a 28.5 percent mark overall and 19.7 percent clip from 3-point range.
• However, in its two losses, BU opponents have made at least 50 percent in both games with an overall percentage of 54.7 and a 46.0 percent mark from 3-point range.

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