Braves Travel to Face First-Place Drake on Tuesday

Men's Basketball 2/18/2019 11:34:00 AM

Bradley (15-12, 7-7 MVC) at Drake (20-7, 9-5 MVC)
Game Details	Tuesday, Feb. 19 • 7 p.m. • Des Moines, Iowa • Knapp Center
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Drake
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

Two of the hottest teams in the Valley are set to battle on Tuesday when the Braves take on first-place Drake on the road. Bradley puts its four-game winning streak on the line versus the Bulldogs, starting at 7 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has won four games in a row and seven of its past nine to improve to 15-12 in 2018-19.
• The Braves are currently tied for fourth in the MVC standings with a 7-7 conference record.
• Darrell Brown has led BU during its four-game winning streak, scoring 22.3 points per game.
• Overall, Brown leads Bradley with 15.3 points and 3.0 assists per game in 2018-19.
• Sophomore Elijah Childs is second on the team with 11.7 points and leads BU with 7.9 rebounds.
• Junior Nate Kennell (9.4) and senior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (8.5) rank third and fourth on the team in scoring.
• The Braves are averaging 67.7 points per game, while ranking second in the Valley with a scoring defense of 66.1.

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 152 times.
• The Braves own an 87-65 advantage against the Bulldogs in series history.
• The schools have become frequent foes as of late as they have met in six of the last eight conference tournaments, including the last two.
• Drake has claimed the last three regular-season meetings – including a 69-52 win in Peoria earlier this year that sent BU to 0-5 in Valley play.
• The Braves, however, did earn a 63-61 win in the 2018 MVC Quarterfinals to break up the Drake run.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake has been just as hot as the Braves since the schools first played on Jan. 16 – winning eight of its last 10 contests.
• The Bulldogs are tied for first in the MVC standings at 9-5 and are 20-7 overall.
• Nick McGlynn leads Drake with 15.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
• Brady Ellingson is second on the team with 14.0 points – making 48.3 percent from 3-point range.
• The Bulldogs lead the Valley with a scoring offense of 76.4, while allowing 71.1 points per game.

ROAD WARRIORS
• Bradley is enjoying one of its better seasons away from home in 2018-19.
• The Braves have won their last three road games and are 4-3 in Valley play away from Carver Arena.
• BU's four road wins against MVC schools are its most since 2007-08. The Braves just need to win one of their final two away games to finish with a winning road record in the Valley for the first time since 1995-96 (7-2 that year).
• Additionally, Bradley's three-straight away wins in Valley play is its longest since 2008-09. BU has not won four-straight road MVC games since 1987-88.

NEW LOOK BRAVES
• When Drake defeated BU on Jan. 16, the Braves dropped to 0-5 in the Valley standings.
• Bradley, however, has responded by winning 7-of-9 – tied with Drake and Missouri State for the Valley's best record during that stretch.
• It marks Bradley's best nine-game run in MVC play since 2007-08 (also 7-2).
• The Braves have now gone from two games behind ninth in the Valley standings to tied for fourth.

OFFENSIVE RESURGENCE
• The biggest difference in Bradley's run is on the offensive side.
• Bradley is averaging 72.4 points per game in its last eight contests.
• In their first six Valley games of the year, the Braves averaged only 55.0 points per game – increasing their output by 16.5 points.

STAY HOT DARRELL BROWN
• The player most responsible behind the Braves' offensive surge is junior Darrell Brown.
• During Bradley's nine-game run, Brown is scoring 16.6 points per game – shooting 47.2 percent from the field and a blistering 59.2 percent from 3-point range (29-of-49).
• Brown has been even better during BU's four-game winning streak with 22.3 points – shooting 54.7 percent with a 3-point clip of 64.0 (16-of-25).
• Overall, Brown leads Bradley with 15.2 points, making 46.8 percent of his 3-pointers.

3-POINT SURGE
• One of the keys behind the Braves' offensive turnaround as of late is their 3-point shooting.
• Bradley has made at least half of their 3-pointers in five of the last eight games (and six of the last 11) – shooting 46.9 percent in the eight-game run.
• In the season's first 16 games, Bradley shot over 40 percent only once (40.9 vs. Chicago State) and made just 32.0 percent of its triples.

3-POINT RANKINGS
• BU currently ranks as one of the nation's best over their eight-game surge from beyond the arc.
• Bradley's 46.9 percent clip is the third-best nationally since BU started its run on Jan. 23.
• Overall, BU has seen its national rank rise from 267th on Jan. 12 (32.0%) to its current rank of 71st (36.8%).

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