Bradley Visits Southern Illinois on Wednesday

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Men's Basketball 1/31/2017 11:59:00 AM

Bradley (8-15, 3-7 MVC) at Southern Illinois (12-11, 5-5 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Feb. 1 • 7 p.m. • Carbondale, Ill. • SIU Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Southern Illinois
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team hits the road for a midweek matchup with Southern Illinois on Wednesday. The Braves and Salukis are set to battle on ESPN3, beginning at 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has lost its last five contests of the season to drop to 3-7 in Missouri Valley games. Overall, the Braves are 8-15 during the 2016-17 campaign.
• BU is coming off a strong defensive game but couldn't get the offense rolling in a 64-49 loss to Wichita State on Sunday.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 12.4 points per game and 60 assists, while junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 8.0 points per game.
• Junior Donte Thomas leads the Braves with 6.0 rebounds per game, including a mark of 7.2 in conference play.
• As a team, Bradley is making 42.2 percent of its field goals with a 35.8 percent 3-point mark.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1927, Bradley holds a slight advantage in the all-time series, 47-44.
• The schools met earlier in the season with Bradley securing a 60-51 victory over the Salukis on Dec. 29 in Peoria. Bradley featured a strong defensive effort, while making 10-of-21 3-point shots to secure the win.
• The BU victory snapped a three-game losing-streak in the series.
• Southern Illinois owns a 25-16 advantage against the Braves in Carbondale, including each of the last three meetings.

ABOUT THE SALUKIS
• Southern Illinois is an even 5-5 record in MVC play this season and 12-11 overall.
• The Salukis earned an 85-84 overtime victory over Missouri State on Saturday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
• Armon Fletcher and Mike Rodriguez lead SIU in scoring with 13.3 and 13.2 points per game, respectively. Rodriguez also has a team-best 103 assists this season.
• Sean O'Brien is third on SIU with 11.9 points per game to go with a team-leading 8.0 rebounds.
• The Salukis are hitting on 43.9 percent of their shots this season with a 31.3 percent mark from 3-point range.

ON THIS DATE
Feb. 1 Highlight: Roger Phegley scored a career-best 46 points (the sixth-most in school history) in a home game against No. 4 UNLV on Feb. 1, 1977 but the nationally-ranked Rebels squeaked out a 107-106 victory at Robertson Fieldhouse thanks to a late 9-2 run.

FIRST-HALF LESSONS LEARNED
• Bradley is showing promising signs of improvement its second time through the league schedule.
• The Braves have played both Loyola Chicago and Wichita State two times this season. The first two meetings with the schools, BU trailed by a combined 35 points at the half with the closest being a 13-point difference.
• The second time around, Bradley trailed Loyola by just four points before earning a 25-20 lead against the Shockers at the intermission on Sunday.
• The key so far has been on the defensive end. Bradley allowed 89.0 points the first two meetings but lowered that number to 67.0 the second time around (also decreasing the first half averages from 47.5 to 27.0 points).
• Unfortunately for BU, the adjustments haven't led to victories as Loyola and WSU outscored the Braves by a combined 80-44 in the second half.

HODGSON GAINING CONFIDENCE
• Rookie point guard Jayden Hodgson is showcasing his talent as of late as he becomes more comfortable with the college game.
• Hodgson is second on the Braves with 9.0 points per game since Jan. 18, scoring 36 total points in the four-game stretch.
• In his first 19 career contests, the rookie totaled only 63 total points – an average of 3.3 per game.
• The rookie's recent push has led to ranking eighth in MVC games only with a 3-point percentage of 47.8 percent (he made just 21.4 percent of his 3-pointers in non-conference action).
• Hodgson has also proven to be among the team's best ball handlers. The freshman ranks first on BU in MVC games with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.3 (second in all games with 1.1).

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 features eight players that have scored at least 15 points in a game this season and 10 that have scored in double figures.
• The Braves last featured that many capable scorers during the 2005-06 season when they also had eight players score at least 15 in a game.

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