Braves Hit the Road to Face Georgia Southern

Men's Basketball 12/17/2018 10:45:00 AM

Bradley (7-4) at Georgia Southern (7-3)
Game Details	Tuesday, Dec. 18 • 6:30 p.m. CT • Statesboro, Ga.
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Georgia Southern
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team travels to Georgia Southern for its final road test of the 2018-19 non-conference season. The schools are set to meet on Tuesday with a 6:30 p.m. CT tipoff.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 7-4 during the 2018-19 season with a 1-2 road record. The Braves did win their last road game with a 68-62 victory at Little Rock on Dec. 4.
• BU, however, has lost 3-of-4 after a 6-1 start.
• Junior Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 15.1 points and 3.9 assists per game.
• Sophomore Elijah Childs is second with 12.9 points to go with a BU-best 8.4 rebounds per game.
• Five Braves overall average at least nine points with Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Nate Kennell and Koch Bar all posting 9.5 points per game.
• Bradley is scoring 71.6 points per game, while allowing 67.6 points on the defensive end.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves and Eagles have met five prior times with the home team winning each matchup.
• Overall, Bradley leads the series with Georgia Southern, 4-1, with the Eagles claiming their lone victory at home in 1990.
• Last season, Bradley held an Eagles team that was averaging 83.5 points per game to just 57 in a five-point victory. Darrell Brown led the team with 19 points, while Koch Bar had 14 boards.

BRAVES VERSUS SUN BELT
• Bradley is 15-8 all-time against current members of the Sun Belt Conference.
• The Braves are looking for their fourth-straight win versus the league after sweeping the Eagles and Little Rock last season and posting a 68-62 win at Little Rock earlier this year.

ABOUT THE EAGLES
• Georgia Southern enters the game with a 7-3 record in 2018-19. The Eagles have lost three of their last five after a 5-0 start.
• Four Eagles average in double figures, led by 16.5 points from Tookie Brown. He also leads the team with 5.1 assists per game.
• Ike Smith is second on the team with 14.7 points, while Montae Glenn leads the Eagles with 6.7 boards per game.
• Georgia Southern plays a much quicker pace than the Braves, averaging 89.7 points per game but allowing 76.7.

TRIPLE THE IMPROVEMENT
• Junior Darrell Brown is the team's most dangerous player beyond the arc in 2018-19.
• Brown has connected on multiple 3-pointers in each of the last seven games, making 47.6 percent during the stretch (20-of-42).
• His seven-game run with at least two triples is the longest streak by a Brave since Jeremy Crouch had a 12-game stretch during the 2007-08 season.
• Brown is now making 44.6 percent from beyond the arc this season – more than nine percent better than the 35.5 percent he shot last year.

CONSISTENT BROWN
• The key for Darrell Brown during his career is his consistency.
• Brown is first on the team with 15.1 points and 3.9 assists in 2018-19.
• The junior is the first Brave with at least 10 points in the season's first 11 games since Jeremy Crouch in 2006-07 (who did so in the first 14 games).
• Brown and Indiana State's Tyreke Key are the only two players in the Valley to score at least 10 points in each of their team's games this season.

DEFENSE KEYS BU VICTORIES
• Through 11 games, the Braves have learned they will only go as far as their defense takes them.
• In its seven wins, Bradley is allowing only 61.4 points per game. However, in its four losses, BU is allowing 78.5 points per game.
• Offensively, the Braves are averaging a similar 72.0 points in wins and 71.0 in losses.

70 POINTS
• The defensive number the Braves need to aim for is to keep their opponent under 70 points.
• Bradley is a perfect 7-0 this season when allowing 70 or fewer points.
• However, the Braves are winless in four games when their opponent scores more than 70.
• Since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign, Bradley is 23-6 when allowing 70 points or fewer points in a game and just 4-11 when surrendering more.

3-POINT DEFENSE
• The real key for the defense this year is beyond the arc as Bradley has been unable to overcome hot-shooting teams.
• Bradley is allowing 4.0 more 3-pointers in its losses this season, while teams shoot 17.8 percent better from beyond the arc.
• The 3-pointers have been key as Bradley owns a 2-point defense that ranks 59th nationally at 46.0 percent – BU's best mark since 2005-06 (44.9%).
• Overall, the Braves are allowing teams to shoot 33.6 percent from 3-point range this season.

BOYA MAKES DEBUT
• After missing the first 10 games of the season with an injury, highly-regarded center Ari Boya made his long-awaited debut on Saturday.
• In just nine minutes of action, Boya chipped in six points, four rebounds and two blocks for BU.

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