Braves Meet Nationally-Ranked Memphis Tuesday

Men's Basketball 12/2/2019 9:30:00 AM

Bradley (5-2) at Memphis (6-1)
Game Details	Tuesday, Dec. 3 • 8 p.m. • Memphis, Tenn. • FedExForum
Television	CBS Sports Network
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Memphis
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday, squaring off with nationally-ranked Memphis. The teams are set to meet on CBS Sports Network with an 8 p.m. tip time.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley improved to 5-2 in 2019-20 after posting a 73-60 win over Kansas State Wednesday in the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off.
• Senior Nate Kennell led the Braves to victory with a season-best 22 points – connecting on 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
• Senior Darrell Brown leads BU with 14.0 points this year, while also posting a team-best 5.3 assists.
• Overall, three Braves average in double figures. Junior Elijah Childs is second on the team with 12.9 points to go with a team-leading 9.0 boards, while Kennell is right behind with 12.7 points.
• The Braves are averaging 71.3 points per game, while allowing 64.9 defensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• The former Missouri Valley Conference rivals are meeting for 21st time and for the sixth time since the Tigers left the conference in 1974.
• Memphis owns an 11-9 edge over BU, winning all five games since leaving the Valley.
• Among those five non-conference victories is a 80-64 win in the 2006 Sweet 16.
• Bradley last defeated the Tigers in 1974, 94-81.

BRAVES VERSUS AMERICAN
• The Braves are 1-2 versus the American Athletic Conference since it was formed in 2013.
• Last season, Bradley won its first game versus the league with a 75-62 victory against SMU in the Cancun Challenge.
• BU also dropped decisions to South Florida in 2013 and to Memphis in 2014.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Memphis enters the week ranked 16th in the latest AP poll and 20th in the Coaches Poll.
• The Tigers are 6-1 this year, winning their last four games. Memphis is also a perfect 5-0 at home.
• Precious Achiuwa is the highest-scoring Tiger expected to play with 15.0 points to go with 8.7 boards.
• D.J. Jeffries is next on the team with 12.6 points per game, while Alex Lomax leads the Tigers with 5.1 assists per game.
• The Tigers are averaging 86.1 points per game, while allowing 67.1 defensively.

BRAVES VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
• Bradley owns a 51-114 all-time record against nationally-ranked teams in the AP poll (30.9%).
• BU has lost its last 19 games versus top-25 teams with its last win over No. 18 Northern Iowa in 2010.

MEMPHIS CONNECTIONS
• Two current Braves crafted their game in Memphis before joining the Bradley program.
• Senior Darrell Brown finished as the all-time leading scorer at Germantown High School and is the godson of current Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway.
• Freshman Antonio Thomas spent the 2018-19 season at East High School and was teammates of current Tigers Malcom Dandridge and James Wiseman. The Mustangs made the state title game in Thomas' only year at the school.

DEFENSE THE KEY TO BU VICTORIES
• Bradley's defensive effort has determined its success during the 2019-20 season.
• The Braves are allowing just 58.0 points in their five wins this season but have surrendered 82.0 in their two losses.
• Bradley has not allowed more than 61 points in any of its victories but has allowed at least 78 in its two setbacks.

A TRIPLE THREAT IN KENNELL
• Nate Kennell had led the Braves from beyond the arc and is enjoying a career year so far.
• Coming off a 6-of-8 performance from 3-point range in the win versus Kansas State, Kennell now ranks 28th nationally with a season percentage of 47.5 and 80th with 2.71 triples per game.
• Kennell has been at its best recently, connecting on 66.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc in the last three games (10-of-15).
• The senior has scored at least 20 points in two of the last three games. He had three 20-point contests in his first 104 career games prior to the run.
• Overall, Kennell owns career-best totals in points (12.7), field goal percentage (50.0) and 3-point percentage (47.5) in 2019-20.

CLEANING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
• The Braves own two of the nation's top rebounders, especially on the offensive end.
• Elijah Childs and Koch Bar are both ranked among the top 40 players in offensive rebounds per game. Childs is 24th nationally with 3.71 per game, while Bar is 34th with 3.57.
• The duo's 7.29 offensive rebounds per game make them the second-highest duo in the country – only Oral Roberts' Kevin Obanor and Elijah Lufile combine for more with 7.71 per game.
• Overall, Childs is first in the Valley and 61st in the NCAA with 9.0 rebounds per game, while Bar is 109th with 8.4 boards per game.

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