Braves Hit the Road to take on Indiana State

Men's Basketball 1/26/2018 1:30:00 PM

Bradley (15-7 , 5-4 MVC) at Indiana State (10-11, 5-4 MVC)
Game Details	Sunday, Jan. 28 • 1 p.m. CT • Terre Haute, Ind. • Hulman Center
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Indiana State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

Coming off double-digit MVC wins for the first time in eight years, the Bradley basketball team looks to extend its winning ways to the road as it travels to Indiana State. Tipoff on Sunday is set for 1 p.m. CT.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 15-7 during the 2017-18 season and is in a four-way tie for third in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 5-4 record.
• The Braves are 5-0 at home in MVC play but 0-4 on the road in conference action.
• Sophomore Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 13.6 points and 4.2 assists per game.
• Senior Donte Thomas is second on the team with 10.5 points per game, while also leading the Braves with 7.0 boards.
• BU is averaging 67.5 points, shooting 43.1 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team is on defense where BU features the nation's eighth-ranked unit, allowing only 62.2 points per game, 38.6 percent of field goals and 31.0 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley holds a 51-36 advantage against Indiana State in 87 all-time meetings.
• Last season, the Sycamores swept the season series with an 81-71 win in Terre Haute before a 56-54 rally in Peoria.
• Bradley has lost its last eight trips to Indiana State with its last win coming in 2009, 63-52. BU is 17-24 all-time in Terre Haute.
• Overall, Indiana State has won 12 of the last 15 meetings between the two schools.

ABOUT THE SYCAMORES
• Indiana State is grouped with the Braves in the four-way tie for third place with a 5-4 MVC record. Overall, the Sycamores are 10-11.
• Jordan Barnes leads the Sycamores with 17.3 points per game, ranking as one of the nation's top 3-point shooters at 45.0 percent with 81 makes. Barnes also leads ISU with 3.9 assists.
• Brenton Scott is second on the team with 15.0 points to go with an ISU-best 5.5 rebounds.
• Qiydar Davis also averages in double figures with 10.8 points to go with 5.1 boards.
• Indiana State is second in the MVC with 74.3 points per game, while allowing 72.4.

TRENDING UP
• The Braves are coming off two of their better performances of the season with wins against Evansville and Missouri State in the past week.
• Bradley avenged an earlier 24-point loss to defeat the Purple Aces by 13, 66-53, last Saturday.
• On Tuesday, Bradley defeated preseason favorite, Missouri State, by 20 points, 72-52. It marked BU's largest MVC victory in seven years since a 90-64 win against Drake on Feb. 26, 2011.
• It also marks the first time in nine seasons since the Braves won back-to-back conference games by 10+ points when it topped Indiana State, 68-56, and Wichita State, 65-50, in January of 2009.

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 62.2 points per game, ranking eighth in the country.
• The Braves also place in the top 30 in field goal percentage defense (ninth at 38.6%), 2-point defense (18th at 44.1%) and 3-point defense (26th at 31.0%).

TURNING AROUND
• The Braves have become one of the better teams in protecting the ball as of late.
• After committing 15.8 turnovers in non-conference play, Bradley has lowered that total by 3.8 in MVC games to 12.0. Only Northern Iowa (11.4) and Loyola (11.9) average fewer in conference games.
• In Tuesday's win against Missouri State, the Braves had only five turnovers to go with 15 assists.
• The five miscues are tied for the third fewest for BU in the shot clock era, while the 3:1 assist to turnover ratio was the team's highest since 2007.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Sophomore Darrell Brown has continued to shine as the Braves' top offensive threat, whether he is the team's go-to scorer or setting up others.
• Brown leads BU with 13.6 points and 4.2 assists per game during the 2017-18 season.
• In 22 games this year, Brown has led the team in points on 11 occasions and in assists 17 times.
• Brown, who has scored in double figures in 19-of-22 games, is one of three players in the MVC to lead his team in both scoring and assists.

ASSISTING THE WIN
• Darrell Brown was especially strong in Tuesday's win against Missouri State as the guard recorded 20 points, eight assists and zero turnovers.
• Brown recorded the most assists by a Bradley 20-point scorer since Daniel Ruffin had 20 points and nine helpers on Feb. 20, 2007.
• The point guard was also the first Brave with at least eight assists and zero turnovers since Sam Maniscalco on Feb. 24, 2010.
• Overall, Brown leads all players in the MVC in conference games only with 4.6 assists per game.
• The sophomore also already has five more assists than last season (87-->92), while committing 34 fewer turnovers (93-->59).

IN SEARCH OF A ROAD WIN
• In MVC games, home teams own a 73.3 winning percentage (second nationally) and Bradley is a perfect example.
• The Braves are 5-0 at home (outscoring teams, 71.6-58.2) with a 0-4 record on the road (being outscored, 71.2-57.5).
• Indiana State is 3-1 at home in MVC play.

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Players Mentioned

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

#1 Donte Thomas: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

#1 Donte Thomas
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

Braves Hit the Road to take on Indiana State

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#1 Donte Thomas

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#1 Donte Thomas