Braves Host I-74 Rival Illinois State on Wednesday

Men's Basketball 1/22/2019 12:52:00 PM

Bradley (9-10, 1-5 MVC) vs. Illinois State (11-8, 4-2 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 23 • 6 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	FOX Sports Midwest/Indiana Plus/Kansas City \| NBC Sports Chicago
Webcast	Illinois/Indiana/Iowa/Missouri: FOXSportsGo \| Other States: ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Illinois State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

After posting its first Valley win of the season, the Bradley men's basketball team returns to Carver Arena for the I-74 rivalry against Illinois State. Tip off is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m.

PROMOTIONS
• The first 1,000 fans will receive at Bradley mini basketball.
• Quick Change is set to perform at halftime of Wednesday's game.
• In Kaboom!'s Korner is inflatables from Fun on the Run, including a Bounce House.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley won its first conference game of the 2018-19 season on Sunday, posting a 57-54 victory at Southern Illinois.
• Overall, the Braves are now 9-10 on the year.
• Junior Darrell Brown leads BU 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 7.6 boards per game.
• Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (8.6), Nate Kennell (8.4) and Koch Bar (8.2) round out the team's top five in scoring.
• Bradley is scoring 66.1 points per game in 2018-19, while owning the Valley's second-best scoring defense at 66.6.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1904-05, the nearby rivals are meeting for the 127th time on Wednesday.
• Bradley is 64-62 all-time against the Redbirds, while Illinois State has the edge since joining the Valley in 1981, 44-36.
• Each school won at home last season with Illinois State posting a 70-57 win in January before the Braves ended an eight-game losing streak in the series with a 70-58 win in February.

ABOUT THE REDBIRDS
• Illinois State is in third place in the Valley standings with a 4-2 conference record.
• The Redbirds have won their last two games over Southern Illinois and Evansville and are now 11-8 overall this season.
• Milik Yarbrough leads ISU with 17.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while Phil Fayne is second with 14.8 points and 6.3 boards.
• Zach Copeland leads the team with 3.6 assists per game.
• The Redbirds are scoring 71.9 points per game, while allowing 72.5 on the defensive end.

NO QUIT IN THE BRAVES
• Bradley is going to fight to the final whistle and has shown the ability to rally this season.
• The Braves lead the Valley with four wins this season when trailing at the half, including Sunday's first Valley win at Southern Illinois.
• In fact, BU's four halftime rallies are already the most for the team since seven halftime comebacks during the 2013-13 season.

DB LEADS SECOND-HALF CHARGE
• Junior Darrell Brown has been the man behind the Braves' second half runs this season.
• Brown has come up with a number of big shots for BU, from a game-winning 3-pointer versus Southeastern Louisiana with 4.1 seconds left to two late baskets as the shot clock expired in Sunday's win at Southern Illinois.
• The junior is shooting more than eight percent better in the second half (42.3) compared to the opening 20 minutes (34.0) – scoring 60.8 percent of his points in the second half (169-of-278).

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 second in the MVC with a scoring defense of 66.6 – a number that lowers to 63.8 in six conference games.
• Overall, the Braves rank in the top three of four defensive categories in the Valley – placing second in turnovers forced (14.9) and steals (6.8), while ranking third in field goal percentage defense (42.5) and blocks (3.9).

70 AND UNDER ONLY
• Bradley's defense has kept the Braves in a number of games this season by preventing its opponent from reaching the 70-point mark.
• The Braves are the only Valley team to now allow 70 points in a conference game this season.
• In fact, the Braves have gone the first six Valley games without allowing 70 points since the 1997-98 did so in the first seven contests.

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 55.0 points in six Valley contests so far.
• Overall, Bradley is averaging 66.1 points per game with a 41.6 shooting percentage.

OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS
• Just because the Braves shooting percentages have dipped in MVC play doesn't always mean they are coming away empty handed.
• Bradley currently leads the Valley with 10.3 offensive rebounds per game.
• The Braves feature two of the league's top three players on the offensive glass as Elijah Childs ranks second at 2.37 and Koch Bar is third at 2.32.

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