Braves Open Valley Play Wednesday versus Northern Iowa

Men's Basketball 12/31/2018 4:50:00 PM

Bradley (8-5, 0-0 MVC) vs. Northern Iowa (5-8, 0-0 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 2 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Northern Iowa
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Bradley men's basketball team turns its focus toward the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019 as the Braves open MVC action on Wednesday against Northern Iowa. Tipoff at Carver Arena is set for 7 p.m.

PROMOTIONS
• Fans can purchase tickets in the BU student section with students on break for just $10.
• In Kaboom!'s Korner is inflatables from Fun on the Run, including a Bounce House.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• BU finished the non-conference season with an 8-5 record, including a 5-2 mark at Carver Arena.
• Junior Darrell Brown made a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left in Bradley's last game before the break, leading the Braves to a 63-60 win against Southeastern Louisiana.
• Brown leads the Braves with 15.1 points and 3.5 assists per game.
• Sophomore Elijah Childs is second with 12.7 points to go with a Valley-best 8.2 rebounds per game.
• Four Braves average at least nine points with Nate Kennell (9.7), Koch Bar (9.6) and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (9.5) ranking third to fifth on the team.
• Bradley is scoring 71.2 points per game, while allowing 67.9 points on the defensive end.

SERIES HISTORY
• Northern Iowa holds a slight edge in the all-time series with a 31-30 record against the Braves.
• The series has largely been dominated by the home team with the schools winning a combined 40-of-56 matchups as host.
• The schools have split their last four meetings with each team winning on their home court over the last two seasons.
• Darrell Brown led BU to a 72-53 home win in December with 24 points before the Panthers posted a 74-65 win in February thanks to a late 17-4 run.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
• Northern Iowa completed its non-conference season with a 5-8 record, finishing with a 73-63 home setback to Stony Brook on Saturday.
• AJ Green leads the Panthers with 15.2 points per game, while Wyatt Lohaus is second with 10.4.
• Green also leads the team with 2.1 assists per game, while Trae Berhow owns a UNI-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
• The Panthers are scoring 66.3 points per game, while allowing 70.6.

BRAVES IN VALLEY OPENERS
• Beginning its 67th season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Bradley is 36-30 all-time in openers.
• Bradley has enjoyed even more success when opening conference play in Peoria, posting a 26-8 record at home in its first Valley game.
• While BU fell in its opener at Drake last season, 66-64, the Braves responded with a 19-point win against Northern Iowa in its first home Valley game of the season.
• Overall, Bradley is 2-5 in openers versus UNI.

NON-CONFERENCE RECAP
• The Braves finished their non-conference portion with an 8-5 record, highlighted by a title at the Cancun Challenge with a win over Penn State in the championship game.
• Bradley is over .500 for the second-straight year in non-conference play and enters Valley action with a winning record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2007-08 (7-5) and 2008-09 (6-5).
• The most positive area of growth for BU is an increased offensive output. Bradley is improved in nearly every offensive statistic during non-conference play with scoring up from 69.1 to 71.2 compared to last season.

DEFENSE KEYS BU VICTORIES
• The Braves have learned they will only go as far as their defense takes them.
• In its eight wins, Bradley is allowing only 61.2 points per game. However, in its five losses, BU is allowing 78.6 points per game – a difference of 17.4 points per game.
• Offensively, the Braves actually average a similar total but more in losses (71.6) than in wins (70.9).

70 POINTS
• The defensive number the Braves need to aim for is to keep their opponent under 70 points.
• Bradley is a perfect 8-0 this season when allowing 70 or fewer points.
• However, the Braves are winless in five games when their opponent scores more than 70.
• Since the beginning of the 2017-18 campaign, Bradley is 24-6 when allowing 70 points or fewer points in a game and just 4-12 when surrendering more.

TURNING SIGNAL
• The strength of this year's defense is the ability to force mistakes.
• BU – who ranks second in the Valley by allowing 67.9 points per game – leads the MVC (and ranks 56th nationally) with 15.9 turnovers forced and a +1.8 turnover margin.
• Bradley's 15.9 turnovers forced are its most since forcing 16.5 in 2005-06.

20-PLUS TURNOVERS
• Bradley really increased its pressure right before the break, forcing a combined 45 turnovers in its last two games.
• It marked the first time with at least 20 turnovers forced in back-to-back games since 2012, while BU forced Georgia Southern into 25 miscues on Dec. 18 – the most by an opponent since 2008.

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