Bradley Hosts Drake on Wednesday Night

Men's Basketball 1/15/2019 1:47:00 PM

Bradley (8-9, 0-4 MVC) vs. Drake (12-5, 1-3 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 16 • 7 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana/Kansas City \| NBC Sports Chicago
Webcast	Illinois/Indiana/Iowa/Missouri: FOXSportsGo \| Other States: ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Drake
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

The Bradley men's basketball team remains at home for its second-straight game at Carver Arena, hosting Drake on Wednesday night. The 152nd meeting between the two rivals is set for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

PROMOTIONS
• In Kaboom!'s Korner is inflatables from Fun on the Run, including a Bounce House.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has lost its first four conference games of the season and is 8-9 on the year following a 69-64 setback to Missouri State on Saturday.
• Junior Darrell Brown leads the Braves with 15.1 points and 3.2 assists per game.
• Sophomore Elijah Childs is second on the team with 11.6 points per game, while leading Bradley with 7.4 boards per game.
• Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (8.8), Nate Kennell (8.7) and Koch Bar (8.5) round out the team's top five in scoring.
• Bradley is scoring 67.4 points per game in 2018-19, while owning the Valley's third-best scoring defense at 67.2.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1942 and as the two oldest members of the Valley, Bradley has played Drake more than any other school in the its history as the teams have met 151 times.
• The Braves own an 87-64 advantage against the Bulldogs in series history, including a 51-20 edge in Peoria.
• The schools have also become frequent foes as they have met in six of the last eight conference tournaments, including the last two.
• Last season, Drake won a pair of regular-season games before the Braves responded with a 63-61 victory in the MVC Quarterfinals.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake enters the contest with a 12-5 overall record and a 1-3 mark in MVC action.
• The Bulldogs lost their most recent game – a 57-54 road setback to Northern Iowa.
• Nick McGlynn leads Drake with 16.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
• D.J. Wilkins (11.1 points) and Bradley Ellingson (10.4) also average in double figures, while Wilkins leads the team with 3.0 assists per game.
• Offensively, the Bulldogs average 79.2 points per game, while allowing 72.8.

BIG MEN CONTRIBUTIONS
• The success of the Braves and the success of the team's starting frontcourt have gone hand-in-hand this season.
• In BU's eight wins, forward Elijah Childs and center Koch Bar have combined for 26.1 points and 13.6 boards with a field goal percentage of 56.9.
• However, in its nine losses, the starting duo has combined for just 14.9 points, 12.3 rebounds and 39.8 field goal percentage.
• Childs, especially, has been an important piece as Bradley is 7-3 when he scores 10-plus points but just 1-6 when he fails to reach double-digits.

BLOCK PARTY
• The Braves frontcourt is also an important piece to BU's defense in 2018-19.
• Bradley leads the Valley with 4.5 blocks per game in conference contests – nearly double the average of the other nine schools (2.4 per game).
• In fact, Bradley features two of the MVC's top three shotblockers in Valley action as Elijah Childs is tied for first with 2.0 per game and Koch Bar ranks second at 1.5.

DEFENSE LEADING THE BRAVES
• The Braves are once again showing that they own one of the top defenses in the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
• Bradley currently ranks third in the MVC with a scoring defense of 67.2 – a number that lowers to 65.0 in four conference games.
• Overall, the Braves rank in the top three of four defensive categories in the Valley – placing second in blocks (3.9) and turnovers forced (15.0) and third in field goal percentage defense (42.1) and steals (6.5).

OFFENSIVE DIP
• While the defense has improved during Valley play, Bradley has seen its offensive performance dip in league action.
• After showcasing its offensive potential with its highest-scoring non-conference season in 11 years (71.2 points per game), Bradley has posted 55.2 points in four Valley contests so far.
• The good news is BU had one of its top shooting games of the season in its last contest, making a season-best 10 3-pointers in just 19 attempts.

A LEADER IN VALLEY PLAY
• One player that has raised his game in MVC play is senior Luuk van Bree, increasing both his scoring and rebounding against Valley foes.
• The senior is averaging 7.5 points and 5.8 boards since MVC action began, needing just two games to surpass his rebound total from the entire non-conference season (18 to 16).
• Overall, van Bree is averaging 5.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 2018-19.

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