Bradley Hosts Eastern Illinois Friday

Bob Hunt - Photographer

Men's Basketball 11/30/2017 3:55:00 PM

Bradley (6-1) vs. Eastern Illinois (2-4)
Game Details	Friday, Dec. 1 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	NBC Sports Chicago+ \| ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Eastern Illinois
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

Winners of four-straight games, the Braves put their winning streak on the line with a home game against Eastern Illinois. The schools are set to meet on Friday night at Carver Arena, beginning at 7 p.m.

PROMOTIONS
• In Kaboom!'s Korner is a Bounce House and additional inflatables from Fun on the Run.
• All fans will have the chance to take a holiday photo on the court with your family postgame. Kaboom! also will be available to join photos.
• The first Braves Club Pre-Game Party is also set for Friday from 5-7 p.m. in Exhibit Hall 401-404 with free admission to Braves Club members. Party is open to one entrant per membership card (guests are $10 and must be accompanied by member) and will include complimentary beer, wine, soda and snacks.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has matched its best start in the last 32 years with a 6-1 record, coming off a 62-57 win against Georgia Southern on Saturday.
• Sophomore Darrell Brown leads three Braves in double-figure scoring with 13.1 points per game. Brown also has a team-best 3.1 assists per game.
• Nate Kennell and Donte Thomas are second on the team with 10.3 points per game.
• Freshman Elijah Childs leads the Braves with 7.3 rebounds per game, while Thomas and Koch Bar are right behind with 7.1 and 7.0, respectively.
• BU is averaging 67.9 points, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team so far is on defense where BU is allowing only 58.3 points, a 35.8 field goal percentage and 25.9 percent 3-pointers.

STRONG START
• The Braves are 6-1 through seven games during the 2017-18 campaign, matching the program's best start in any of the last 32 seasons.
• The Braves last started better than 6-1 during the 1985-86 campaign and have only equaled this year's record twice in the 32 years since 1985 (1987-88 and 2004-05).

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Panthers have met 12 previous times with Bradley holding a 7-5 advantage.
• Eight of the 12 meetings occurred prior to the Great Depression with Bradley winning 3-of-4 games during the NCAA Tournament era.
• Last year, the schools met for the first time in Charleston in 90 years with Bradley emerging with an 87-83 overtime victory. Koch Bar led the Braves with 17 points and 14 rebounds as BU outrebounded the Panthers, 53-30, in the win.

BRAVES VERSUS OVC
• Bradley is 32-17 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
• BU has won its last seven games against current members, including a pair last year versus the Panthers and Southeast Missouri State.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
• Eastern Illinois is 2-4 this year, coming off a narrow 86-83 overtime loss to Marquette on Monday.
• Jajuan Starks scored 27 points against the Golden Eagles and has a team-best 16.8 points per game to go with an EIU-leading 6.3 rebounds.
• Montell Goodwin is second on the team with 9.8 points, while Terrell Lewis is third at 9.3.
• The Panthers are averaging 74.0 points per game, while allowing 71.8 this year.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Sophomore Darrell Brown has continued to shine as the Braves go-to offensive threat.
• Brown leads BU with 13.1 points and 3.1 assists per game during the 2017-18 season.
• Brown has scored in double figures in 6-of-7 games this year and the lone game he didn't, the sophomore posted a career-best seven assists.
• After one of the best freshman campaigns in school history, Brown is averaging 12.7 points in 39 career games.
• In fact, with 494 career points, Brown needs just six more points to become the quickest Brave (not including transfers) to score 500 points since NBA first-round pick Danny Granger – who reached the mark in his 39th career contest in 2002.

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• The Braves have hung their hat on a strong defense during the 2017-18 campaign.
• Bradley is allowing only 58.3 points per game, ranking sixth in the country.
• The Braves also place in the top 20 in both field goal percentage defense (10th at 35.8%) and 3-point defense (16th at 25.9%).

DOMINANT DEFENSIVE START
• Through seven games, Bradley is off to one of its best starts in school history on the defensive end.
• BU's 58.3 points allowed is the fifth-best mark in the last 68 years of BU basketball (since 1950).

NO 70 DEFENSE
• The defensive strength has been evident by the Braves not allowing teams to hit the 70-point mark this season.
• It marks the first time since the 1947-48 campaign that Bradley has gone the first seven games of the year without allowing a team to hit the threshold.
•BU is one of eight schools in the country (of 351 teams) that have not allowed a team to score 70 points during the 2017-18 season (Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, San Diego, SMU, South Carolina, Texas Tech and Virginia are the others).

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