Braves Open Arch Madness on Friday versus Drake

Men's Basketball 2/28/2018 11:39:00 AM

Bradley (19-12, 9-9 MVC) vs. Drake (16-15, 10-8 MVC)
Game Details	Friday, March 2 • 2:30 p.m. • St. Louis, Mo. • Scottrade Center
Television	FOX Sports Midwest / Indiana / Kansas City Plus \| NBC Sports Chicago
Webcast	Illinois/Indiana/Iowa/Missouri: FOX Sports Go \| Other States: ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Drake
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The fifth-seeded Bradley basketball team begins the 2018 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference on Friday versus fourth-seeded Drake. The Arch Madness quarterfinal is slated for a 2:30 p.m. tipoff in St. Louis.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley finished the regular season with a 19-12 record, placing fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference at 9-9.
• The Braves are led by a pair of all-conference selections in Darrell Brown and Donte Thomas.
• Brown leads the Braves with 13.3 points and 4.5 assists per game.
• Thomas is second on the team with 11.6 points (led the Braves with 13.8 points against Valley teams) to go with a team-leading 7.1 boards.
• Sophomore Nate Kennell is third on the team with 9.3 points per game.
• BU is averaging 67.9 points, shooting 43.0 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team is on defense where BU features the nation's 24th-ranked unit, allowing only 64.9 points per game, 40.4 percent of field goals and 32.9 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake finished one game ahead of the Braves in the regular-season standings with a 10-8 MVC record. Overall, the Bulldogs are 16-15 this year.
• Reed Timmer leads Drake with 19.6 points, while two other Bulldogs average double figures – Nick McGlynn (11.1) and De'Antae McMurray (10.3).
• C.J. Rivers has a team-leading 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
• Drake leads the Valley with 74.0 points per game this season, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from 3-point range.
• Defensively, the Bulldogs allow 73.5 points.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1942, Bradley has played Drake more than any other school in the its history as the teams have met 150 times.
• The Braves own an 86-64 advantage against the Bulldogs in series history.
• While Bradley swept three games against Drake last season, the Bulldogs are now attempting to sweep three games versus BU this year.

MVC TOURNAMENT RIVALS
• Fans at Arch Madness are used to seeing the Braves and Bulldogs meet in the conference tournament.
• Bradley and Drake is the most played game in MVC Tournament history with 12 all-time meetings.
• Overall, it is the sixth time in the last eight years the Braves and Bulldogs will meet in the postseason but it will be the first time since 1997 the schools meet in the quarterfinals or later.

MVC TOURNAMENT MEETINGS
• The Braves are 7-5 versus Drake in the Valley Tournament, with a 6-2 mark in St. Louis.
• The schools met in the first MVC Tournament with Drake posting an 80-73 victory in 1977.
• Last year, the seventh-seeded Braves topped No. 10 Drake, 67-58, in the opening round. Donte Thomas scored all 17 of his points in the second half in the winning effort. Thomas finished the game 8-for-9 from the field, setting the BU record in the MVC Tournament for field goal percentage.
• The higher-seeded team is 8-4 in meetings with Drake owning a 3-2 record as the higher seed.

SEASON SERIES VERSUS DRAKE
• Drake swept the Braves during the regular season for the first time since the 2014-15 season but the Braves earned revenge that year with a 52-50 overtime victory in the MVC Tournament.
• The Bulldogs are the only team in the Valley the Braves did not defeat during the regular season.
• Drake opened MVC play on Dec. 28 with a home win against the Braves, 66-64, before handing Bradley one of two home defeats, 78-68, on Feb. 3.
• Darrell Brown led the Braves with 19.5 points and 5.0 assists in the two games versus the Bulldogs this year, while Donte Thomas added 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds.

MVC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• Bradley is making its 39th appearance in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
• The Braves own a 31-36 (.463) all-time record in the MVC Tournament, including an 18-23 (.439) mark at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
• Bradley is 18-13 all-time in the quarterfinals, including an 8-6 record in the four vs. five game.
• The Braves are looking for their first semifinal appearance since 2010 when the fifth-seeded Braves defeated No. 4 Creighton before falling to top-seeded Northern Iowa.

#THE MOVEMENT
• The theme for the Braves during the 2017-18 season is The Movement and BU is making its move to return to the top.
• Bradley's 19 victories are one more than its total from the last two seasons combined (5 wins in 2015-16 and 13 wins in 2016-17).
• Additionally, Bradley is one of just two schools in the country to improve its win total by at least five games each of the last two years, joining No. 14 Auburn (11 wins to 18 last year to 24 this year).

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Players Mentioned

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

#25 Nate Kennell: G; 6' 6"; Sophomore

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

Players Mentioned

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

#25 Nate Kennell
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: G

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

Braves Open Arch Madness on Friday versus Drake

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#25 Nate Kennell

#1 Donte Thomas

Players Mentioned

#5 Darrell Brown

#25 Nate Kennell

#1 Donte Thomas