Braves Put Win Streak on the Line at IUPUI

Men's Basketball 11/27/2018 10:00:00 AM

Bradley (6-1) at IUPUI (4-2)
Game Details	Wednesday, Nov. 28 • 6 p.m. CT • Indianapolis, Ind. • Indiana Farmers Coliseum
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| IUPUI
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team aims to extend its winning streak to four games, while also winning its first true road contest of the year at IUPUI. Wednesday's tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has won its last three games – claiming victories over SMU and Penn State at the Cancun Challenge before defeating Chicago State on Saturday – to improve to 6-1 on the year.
• The MVC Player of the Week, Elijah Childs leads the Braves with 14.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
• Darrell Brown is tied with Childs with 14.4 points to go with a team-leading 3.9 assists per game.
• Overall, four Braves average in double figures as Koch Bar (10.9) and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (10.3) rank third and fourth on the team.
• Bradley owns a scoring offense of 72.3 and a scoring defense of 62.7 in 2018-19.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley has won 3-of-5 meetings with IUPUI, including a victory in the season opener one year ago.
• Nate Kennell led Bradley with 19 points in the winning effort, making 5-of-9 3-pointers en route to the 68-53 victory.
• The schools have met twice in Indianapolis with each team winning one contest.

BRAVES VERSUS HORIZON
• The Braves are 31-12 all-time against current members of the Horizon League.
• Bradley's lone loss on the year was to a league member, falling at UIC by one point, 71-70.
• The loss ended a three-game winning streak versus the conference for the Braves.

ABOUT THE JAGUARS
• IUPUI is 4-2 on the season, winning two-straight games against St. Francis Brooklyn and Grambling State as part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
• Camron Justice leads the Jaguars with 18.8 points per game this season, while Evan Hall is second at 11.6.
• Elyjah Goss leads IUPUI with 8.5 rebounds per game, while Grant Weatherford has a team-best 2.7 assists per game.
• IUPUI matches Bradley by averaging 72.3 points, while allowing 68.5 on the defensive end.

CHILDS EARNS MVC WEEKLY HONOR
• Sophomore Elijah Childs was named the Missouri Valley Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Braves to a 3-0 week.
• The Cancun Challenge MVP, Childs averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks during the week – including 19.5 points and 7.5 boards against SMU and Penn State in Mexico.
• Against the Mustangs, Childs set career highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
• The weekly honor is the first for Childs during his collegiate career.

FLEXING THEIR DEFENSIVE MUSCLE
• Bradley has picked up right where it left off last season on the defensive end.
• After posting the nation's 15th-ranked scoring defense in 2017-18 (64.7 ppg), BU is allowing 62.7 points through seven games this season.
• The Braves currently rank in the top 100 nationally in four defensive categories: scoring defense (43rd, 62.7), field goal defense (46th, 38.5%), steals (79th, 7.9) and 3-point defense (88th, 29.9%).
• Bradley has held its opponent to its fewest points of the year three times and second-fewest twice.

DOUBLE-DIGIT THREAT
• Junior Darrell Brown has proven during his career to be the team's most consistent offensive threat.
• Brown currently is tied for first on Bradley with 14.4 points to go with a team-leading 3.9 assists.
• The junior is the only Brave to score at least 10 points in all seven games this season – the longest streak to start a season since 2007-08 when Daniel Ruffin tallied at least 10 in the first nine games.
• In fact, Brown has scored at least 10 points in 57-of-72 career games and in 34-of-40 games since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign.
• More than just a scorer, Brown has led BU in assists 47 times in his career (five times this season).

MILESTONE WATCH
• Darrell Brown is nearing the 1,000-point mark.
• Brown currently has 949 career points and the junior is just 51 points shy of becoming the 47th Brave in school history to reach 1,000.
• At his current average of 14.4 points, Brown would reach the mark on Dec. 15 versus Eastern Illinois.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
• Sophomore Elijah Childs looks to take the next step during the 2018-19 season.
• Childs leads the Braves with 14.2 points and 8.9 rebounds through seven games.
• No Brave has averaged at least eight rebounds a game since Patrick O'Bryant in 2005-06.
• Additionally, he is on pace to the be highest-scoring underclassmen since Marcellus Sommerville in 2003-04 (15.6 ppg), while no underclassman has averaged 8.5 rebounds a game since Mitchell Anderson in 1979-80.

BLOCK PARTY THEFT
• Elijah Childs is more than just a threat to score and rebound as the sophomore is also one of the team's top defenders.
• Childs ranks fifth in the Valley with steals (1.7) and ninth in blocks (1.3) – the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 of both.
• Overall, Childs places in the top 10 of six different stats in the Valley: also in points (9th, 14.4), field goal percentage (6th, 48.8), rebounds (1st, 8.9) and double-doubles (1st, 2).

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