Braves Host Loyola Chicago on Saturday Night

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Men's Basketball 1/6/2017 6:53:00 PM

Bradley (7-9, 2-1 MVC) vs. Loyola Chicago (11-5, 1-2 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 7 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Loyola
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Bradley men's basketball team, off to a 2-1 start in MVC play, returns to Carver Arena for a Saturday night contest against Loyola Chicago. The schools are set to meet at 7 p.m. with the game shown live on ESPN3.

PROMOTIONS
• The Loyola game marks the first contest of a BU ticket package for remaining home games. Fans that purchase tickets for the final three Saturday contests (Jan. 7, Feb. 4 and Feb. 18), receive a free ticket to the Jan. 29 game versus Wichita State.
• Every home game also includes Kaboom!'s Korner in the Great Hall lobby. Saturday's contest features the Basketball Jam Bounce House and face painting from Wild Style Design Company.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• After earning a 74-63 victory at Evansville on Wednesday, Bradley improved to 2-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Braves are one of three schools tied for third with their 2-1 record.
• Overall, Bradley is 7-9 during the 2016-17 season.
• Freshman Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 11.8 points per game and 42 assists this year.
• After scoring a career-best 24 points in the win over Evansville, junior JoJo McGlaston is second on the team with 9.9 points per game.
• Freshman Koch Bar has collected a team-leading 6.2 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game.
• As a team, Bradley is making 43.3 percent of its field goals with a 35.6 percent mark beyond the 3-point line.
• In addition, BU has been winning with defense this season and is holding opponents to 40.0 percent shooting and a 30.9 percent 3-point mark.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1928, the Braves hold a 33-22 advantage against the Ramblers.
• The first 47 meetings in the series were as non-conference foes with Bradley claiming a 30-17 edge in the series.
• Loyola, however, owns a 5-3 lead against the Braves since joining the MVC prior to the 2013-14 campaign, which includes two wins in three conference tournaments versus Bradley.
• Last season, the Ramblers won 2-of-3 matchups with each school winning on the road and Loyola also winning in the MVC Tournament, 74-66.
• Bradley is 21-7 against Loyola in Peoria but the Ramblers have won in four of their last five trips.

ABOUT THE RAMBLERS
• Loyola is 11-5 during the 2016-17 campaign with a 1-2 record in conference play.
• The Ramblers earned their first conference win of the year on Wednesday against Northern Iowa.
• Loyola has the second-ranked scoring offense in the MVC, averaging 77.5 points per game with a 51.2 shooting percentage.
• Four players average between 13 and 15 points for the Ramblers with Aundre Jackson leading the way with 14.4 points per game and Milton Doyle ranking second with 14.3 points.
• Donte Ingram leads Loyola with 6.4 rebounds per game, while Ben Richardson has a team-best 56 assists this year.

ON THIS DATE
Record on Jan. 7: 14-9
Jan. 7 Highlight: En route to the program's first MVC title, Bradley opened conference play on Jan. 7, 1950 with a 72-57 victory at Drake. The Braves would advance to the NCAA and NIT Championship games that season following the program's first conference championship.

MVC GAINS
• With its win on Wednesday, the Braves moved to 2-1 in Missouri Valley play.
• Bradley is over .500 in conference play this late in the season for the first time since owning a 4-3 record to start the 2012-13 season.
• If the Braves earn a win on Saturday, it will mark the first time the team is two games above .500 this late in the year since finishing the 2008-09 campaign with a 10-8 conference record.

DEFENSE KEYS EVANSVILLE WIN
• The Bradley defense led the team to victory in Wednesday's win at Evansville.
• Bradley held the Purple Aces to just 23.5 percent shooting in the winning effort with Evansville making 12-of-51 field goals.
• The 23.5 percent shooting is the ninth-best mark in school history for field goal percentage defense, while the 12 field goals made are the fewest by an opponent since Oakland made 10 on Dec. 6, 1997.

BU FORCES BAD SHOOTING DAYS
• The Evansville game wasn't the only contest when the Bradley defense led the team to victory.
• In both of the team's MVC wins this year, BU has held its opponent to under 30 percent shooting (Southern Illinois shot 27.3 percent).
• Bradley's two games of holding an opponent under 30 percent is one more than the rest of the conference combined.
• Despite being just three games into the MVC season, it marks the first time since the 1992-93 campaign Bradley has held two MVC opponents to under 30 percent.
• In conference games only, Bradley is second with a field goal percentage defense of 35.2 and first with a 3-point defense of 25.4 percent.
• Additionally, with the team holding Chicago State to under 30 percent, it marks the first time in the shot clock era that Bradley has held three opponents under the mark.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Koch Bar: C; 6' 10"; Freshman

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

#24 JoJo McGlaston: G/F; 6' 5"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Koch Bar
: 6' 10"; Freshman
: C

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

#24 JoJo McGlaston
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G/F

Braves Host Loyola Chicago on Saturday Night

Players Mentioned

#12 Koch Bar

#5 Darrell Brown

#24 JoJo McGlaston

Players Mentioned

#12 Koch Bar

#5 Darrell Brown

#24 JoJo McGlaston