Bradley Travels to Missouri State for Weekend Matchup

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Men's Basketball 1/20/2017 9:42:00 AM

Bradley (8-12, 3-4 MVC) at Missouri State (13-7, 4-3 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 21 • 2 p.m. • Springfield, Mo. • JQH Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

Bradley heads to Springfield, Missouri, this weekend for a MVC matchup against Missouri State. The Braves and the Bears meet on Saturday on ESPN3 with first tip scheduled for 2 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 3-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play, losing its last two contests. The Braves are tied for sixth in the MVC standings, just one game behind Missouri State and third place.
• Overall, the Braves are 8-12 this season.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 12.3 points per game and 54 assists. He has raised his scoring during MVC play with 13.4 points per game.
• Junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 8.8 points per game.
• Freshman Koch Bar has collected a team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game and 1.3 blocks per game. Junior Donte Thomas is also averaging 5.9 boards for BU, including a 7.1 average in MVC games.
• As a team, Bradley is making 43.1 percent of its field goals with a 36.6 percent 3-point mark.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Bears have played 55 times since Missouri State joined the MVC prior to the 1990-91 season.
• Missouri State owns a 36-19 advantage against Bradley and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools.
• The Bears have especially dominated the series in Springfield with a 21-4 home record. Bradley has lost its last seven trips to Missouri State and 13 of the last 14.
• Last season, the Bears swept a pair of games with a 61-42 victory in Peoria before returning for a 77-71 win in Springfield.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Missouri State is in a three-way tie for third place in the MVC standings with a 4-3 record. Overall, the Bears are 13-7 this season.
• The Bears are coming off a 73-68 victory at Indiana State on Wednesday night.
• Alize Johnson averages a double-double for the Bears with 14.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.
• Dequon Miller is second on the team with 12.1 points to go with a team-best 83 assists, while the Bears' third-leading scorer, Ronnie Rousseau (11.6 ppg), has missed the last five contests.
• As a team, the Bears are shooting 45.6 percent with a 36.4 percent clip from 3-point range.

PLENTY OF WEAPONS
• While the Braves only feature one player averaging double figures, the team has a number of players capable of scoring points.
• Bradley has had 10 players score at least 10 points in a game this season – tied with Wichita State for the most in the MVC against Division I schools.
• Additionally, 11 players scored for the Braves against Illinois State on Wednesday – the most scorers for the team in an MVC game since Jan. 14, 2006 against Evansville (also 11).
• Overall, Bradley features eight players averaging at least five points per game – the most in the MVC this season.

BENCH PRODUCTION
• The Braves are a deep team this year, evident by the production by the team's reserves.
• Bradley is averaging 26.4 points per game from the bench during the 2016-17 campaign, 9.9 points more than its average of 16.5 last season.
• Bradley has scored at least 20 bench points in 19-of-20 games and has outscored its opponent's bench in 15 contests this season.
• In fact, BU hasn't averaged as many as 20 bench points since posting a 20.5 mark in 2008-09.
• The Braves are playing their bench 42.5 percent of the time this season – the ninth-most usage in the country (national average is 32.6 percent).

IT ALL STARTS WITH DEFENSE
• In Missouri Valley Conference games, it has been all about the team's defense.
• In the Braves' three conference victories, BU is allowing just 58.3 points per game as teams are shooting only 28.5 percent from the floor and 19.7 percent from 3-point range versus Bradley.
• However, in BU's four MVC losses, the Braves are surrendering 82.0 points per game as foes are making 50.2 percent of their shots and 46.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Freshman Darrell Brown has been BU's scoring leader right from the start of his rookie campaign.
• The top-scoring freshman in The Valley, Brown is averaging 12.3 points per game.
• Brown is on pace to become the first BU freshman to average double-digits since Patrick O'Bryant during the 2004-05 season.
• The Memphis native is also on pace to post the top scoring average by a Bradley rookie since Phillip Gilbert posted 12.5 points per game during the 2000-01 campaign.

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