Bradley and Evansville Meet on Wednesday

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Men's Basketball 1/3/2017 1:29:00 PM

Bradley (6-9, 1-1 MVC) at Evansville (10-5, 1-1 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 4 • 7 p.m. • Evansville, Ind. • Ford Center
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Evansville
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Braves hit the road for their second-straight Missouri Valley contest, squaring off with Evansville on Wednesday night. The schools are set to meet at 7 p.m. with the game shown live on ESPN3.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 1-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play after opening with a win versus Southern Illinois on Thursday before falling at preseason favorite Wichita State on Sunday.
• Overall, the Braves are 6-9 during the 2016-17 year.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 11.8 points per game and 42 assists this year.
• A deep squad that features six players averaging between five and nine points, junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 8.9 points per game, while sophomore Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye is third with 7.7.
• Freshman Koch Bar has collected a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game.
• As a team, Bradley is making 42.9 percent of its field goals with a 35.9 percent mark beyond the 3-point line.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves own a 26-22 all-time advantage versus the Purple Aces.
• The schools first met during the 1986-87 season for the first of two non-conference games before the Purple Aces joined The Valley for the 1994-95 campaign.
• Evansville swept the season series last year from the Braves, claiming a 67-35 win in Evansville before a 67-55 victory in Peoria.
• Bradley has won one of its last six trips to Evansville, defeating the Aces during the 2014-15 season.

ABOUT THE PURPLE ACES
• Evansville joins Bradley as one of four schools with a 1-1 MVC record, earning a 70-58 victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday after a 62-50 setback at Illinois State.
• Overall, the Purple Aces are 10-5 this season, including a perfect 9-0 mark at home.
• Jaylon Brown leads Evansville with 20.9 points per game, making 48.8 percent of his shots this year. Ryan Taylor is also averaging double digits with 15.5 points per game
• Christian Benzon leads the Purple Aces with 4.9 rebounds and Duane Gibson has a team-leading 3.9 assists.

ON THIS DATE
Record on Jan. 4: 11-12
Jan. 4 Highlight: En route to their fourth Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, the Braves opened league play with a 79-77 double overtime victory at Indiana State on Jan. 4, 1982. Mitchell Anderson led BU with 20 points, while David Thirdkill had 18, including a jumper with five seconds remaining in the second overtime to give the Braves the victory.

LOOKING LIKE THE VETERANS
• The BU rookie class has been the driving force behind the Braves' offense in Missouri Valley play.
• Of the team's 63.0 points in conference games, the Braves' four freshmen are scoring 32.0 points per game (50.8 percent of the team's scoring).
• Freshman Darrell Brown has led BU in scoring in both MVC games and is averaging 13.0 points in league games, while classmate Nate Kennell is second with 10.0 points and fellow rookie Koch Bar is tied for fourth with 7.5 points.
• Overall, five BU newcomers are averaging 40.5 points for the Braves this season when you add junior transfer JoJo McGlaston's 8.5 points.
• For comparison's sake, BU's six sophomores have totaled 19.0 points per game and the three juniors are averaging 12.0 points.

DOUBLE-DIGIT ROOKIES
• Not only have freshmen Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell reached double digits in their first two career MVC games, but the duo is in elite company.
• The two are just the sixth and seventh freshmen in program history to reach double digits in their first two Missouri Valley games since freshmen became eligible for the 1972-73 season, while also marking the first time that two freshmen accomplished the feat in the same season.
• Additionally, of the five previous Braves to score 10-plus points in their first two MVC games, four are Bradley Athletics Hall of Famers, while three are also NBA Draft Picks and Missouri Valley Hall of Famers.

KENNELL RAISES HIS GAME
• Freshman Nate Kennell is the one player that has really raised his game in MVC play.
• After averaging 4.3 points per game during non-conference play, Kennell has averaged 10.0 points against Southern Illinois and Wichita State in 19.0 minutes of play off the bench.
• Kennell reached double digits once in 12 non-league games but scored 10 in back-to-back contests to start conference play for the first time in his career.

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