Braves Take on SIU on ESPNU

Men's Basketball 1/18/2019 2:00:00 PM

Bradley (8-10, 0-5 MVC) at Southern Illinois (9-9, 2-3 MVC)
Game Details	Sunday, Jan. 20 • 3 p.m. • Carbondale, Ill. • SIU Arena
Television	ESPNU
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Southern Illinois
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball game hits the road for a nationally-televised contest at Southern Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The Braves and Salukis are set to battle on ESPNU with a 3 p.m. tipoff.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has lost its first five conference games of the season and is 8-10 on the year following a setback to Drake on Wednesday.
• Junior Darrell Brown leads the Braves with 14.6 points and 3.2 assists per game.
• Sophomore Elijah Childs is second on the team with 11.8 points per game, while leading Bradley with 7.7 boards per game – coming off his third double-double of the season.
• Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (9.0), Nate Kennell (8.2) and Koch Bar (8.2) round out the team's top five in scoring.
• Bradley is scoring 66.6 points per game in 2018-19, while owning the Valley's third-best scoring defense at 67.3.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to the 1927 season, Bradley holds a slight advantage against Southern Illinois, 48-46.
• The home team has won 10 of the last 11 games in the series, including each of the last five. Bradley has lost its last five trips to Carbondale.
• Last year, Bradley earned a 68-62 win in January against the Salukis in Peoria before Southern Illinois posted a 74-57 home win in February.

ABOUT THE SALUKIS
• Southern Illinois is 9-9 in 2018-19 with a 2-3 MVC record. The Salukis have lost their last three games after a 2-0 conference start.
• Armon Fletcher leads SIU with 14.7 points per game, playing 9-of-18 contests this season.
• Kavion Pippen is second on the team with 12.2 points, making 59.4 percent of his field goals.
• Eric McGill leads the Salukis with 6.1 rebounds, while Aaron Cooks has a team-best 3.7 assists per game.
• The Salukis are averaging 68.4 points per game, while allowing 67.7 on the defensive end.

LUNDY IN THE STARTING SPOTLIGHT
• Luqman Lundy is one the Braves are looking toward for a spark and the senior has responded as of late.
• In the last three games since being inserted into the starting lineup, Lundy has averaged 6.3 points in 18.0 minutes, shooting 58.3 percent from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range with four steals.
• On Wednesday versus Drake, Lundy tallied his first double-digit game of his Division I career with 10 points.

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 67.3 – a number that lowers to 65.8 in five conference games.
• BU has not allowed an opponent to reach 70 points in a conference game so far this season – a first through five contests since 2014-15. In fact, the Braves have not gone the first six games of the Valley season without allowing 70 since 1997-98.
• Overall, the Braves rank in the top three of three defensive categories in the Valley – placing second in blocks (3.9), turnovers forced (15.2) and steals (6.9).

TURNING SIGNAL
• The strength of this year's defense is the ability to force mistakes.
• BU ranks second in the MVC (and ranks 78th nationally) with 15.2 turnovers forced and also second in the Valley with a +0.9 turnover margin.
• On Wednesday versus Drake, the Braves forced 19 turnovers with 14 steals. The last time BU had more steals in a Valley game was against Indiana State on Jan. 24, 2009 (15).
• Overall, Bradley's 15.2 turnovers forced are its most since forcing 15.8 in 2006-07.

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 54.6 points in five Valley contests so far.
• Overall, Bradley is averaging 66.6 points per game with a 42.0 shooting percentage.

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 10 losses, the starting duo has combined for just 15.1 points, 12.8 rebounds and 39.9 field goal percentage.
• Childs, especially, has been an important piece as Bradley is 7-4 when he scores 10-plus points but just 1-6 when he fails to reach double-digits.

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