Braves Travel to Face I-74 Rival Illinois State

Men's Basketball 1/16/2018 10:29:00 AM

Bradley (13-6 , 3-3 MVC) at Illinois State (9-9, 3-3 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 17 • 6 p.m. • Normal, Ill. • Redbird Arena
Television	FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana/Kansas City \| NBC Sports Chicago
Webcast	Illinois/Indiana/Iowa/Missouri: FOX Sports Go \| Other States: ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Illinois State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team is back in action on Wednesday with a road contest against I-74 rival Illinois State. The two nearby schools are set to meet at Redbird Arena with tipoff at 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 13-6 during the 2017-18 season with a 3-3 record in Missouri Valley Conference action.
• The Braves are 3-0 at home in MVC play but 0-3 on the road in conference action, falling at Loyola on Saturday, 81-65.
• Sophomore Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 13.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.
• A balanced squad with eight players averaging at least five points, Donte Thomas and Nate Kennell are second and third on BU in scoring with 10.1 and 9.2 points, respectively.
• Thomas also leads the Braves with 6.4 rebounds per game, while Elijah Childs is second with 5.7.
• BU is averaging 67.9 points, shooting 43.6 percent from the floor and 38.2 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team is on defense where BU features the nation's 16th-ranked unit, allowing only 62.8 points per game, 39.3 percent of field goals and 31.3 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1904-05, the nearby rivals are meeting for the 125th time on Wednesday.
• Bradley is 63-61 all-time against the Redbirds, while Illinois State has the edge since joining the Valley in 1981, 43-35.
• ISU has won seven-straight in the series and 15 of the last 17 overall. Bradley last won in Normal in 2007, losing its last 10 games at Redbird Arena.

BATTLE FOR ILLINOIS SERIES
• The Battle of Illinois series was introduced this year, pitting the four MVC schools from the state in an annual basketball series.
• One point is awarded for victories in men's or women's basketball games between Bradley, Illinois State, Loyola and Southern Illinois.
• The Braves are currently tied for first in the standings with Loyola at three points.

ABOUT THE REDBIRDS
• Illinois State is tied with the Braves in the MVC standings with a 3-3 conference record. Overall, the Redbirds are 9-9 this year.
• ISU has lost its last two games and 3-of-4 after a 2-0 conference start.
• Milik Yarbrough and Phil Fayne are tied for first on the team with 16.9 points, while Keyshawn Evans is third at 16.6.
• Yarbrough also leads the Redbirds with 4.8 assists, while Fayne has a team-best 6.9 boards.
• ISU is third in the league in scoring (73.2 points per game) but 10th in scoring defense (75.5).

TOUGH ROAD TRIPS
• While BU is a perfect 9-0 at home this year, it has found traveling life more difficult with a 2-5 mark in true road games (4-6 overall away from Peoria).
• With a 3-0 home conference record and 0-3 road mark, the Braves have highlighted a home dominance in the MVC this year.
• Bradley's three road MVC opponents are a combined 25-2 this season at home (92.6 winning percentage) as overall, the MVC owns the third-best home record in the nation (83.3 percent).
• Wednesday's opponent, Illinois State, is 5-3 at Redbird Arena with a 2-1 mark in MVC play.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
• The lone senior on the roster, Donte Thomas is determined to finish his career on a strong note.
• Thomas has raised his game during conference play with 13.3 points per game in its first six MVC games, while shooting 59.2 percent.
• The 13.3 points per game for Thomas mark a 4.8-point improvement from non-conference.
• Thomas now ranks second on the team with 10.1 points, while leading Bradley with 6.4 rebounds.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
• While Donte Thomas has been a key contributor and has saved his best for last, Bradley is still largely a team carried by its underclassmen.
• Three of BU's top four scorers are freshmen or sophomores, while six of nine players averaging at least 10 minutes are underclassmen.
• Overall, the underclassmen account for 65.0% of points, 52.5% of boards, 71.1% of assists, 61.8% of blocks and 65.8% of steals.
• Bradley ranks 267th nationally (of 351 schools) in basketball experience with 1.40 average years – 10th in the MVC.

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• The key to the team's success this season has been owning one of the nation's top defenses.
• Bradley is allowing only 62.8 points per game, ranking 16th in the country.
• The Braves also place in the top 50 in field goal percentage defense (21st at 39.3%), 2-point defense (41st at 45.0%) and 3-point defense (41st at 31.3%).

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