Braves Face Missouri State on the Road Wednesday

Men's Basketball 1/14/2020 11:38:00 AM

Bradley (12-5, 3-1 MVC) at Missouri State (8-9, 2-2 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 15 • 7 p.m. • Springfield, Mo. • JQH Arena
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team looks to continue its winning ways with a road game at Missouri State on Wednesday. The top two teams in the Valley preseason poll will square off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley enters with a 12-5 record and in a three-way tie for first in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-1 league record.
• The Braves have won their last two games with a 67-48 victory against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
• Senior Darrell Brown led the Braves with 21 points against the Salukis and is averaging 14.1 points and a team-best 4.7 assists per game this season.
• Senior Nate Kennell adds 12.5 points per game, ranking 13th nationally with a 3-point percentage of 44.8.
• Senior Koch Bar anchors the post with 8.2 boards and 1.2 blocks per game.
• BU's leading scorer and rebounder – Elijah Childs – has missed five of the last six games with a injury.
• The Braves are averaging 72.4 points per game, while allowing 63.5 defensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• Missouri State holds a 39-23 edge in a series that dates back to when the Bears joined the Valley for the 1990-91 season.
• The schools are meeting for the first time since the Valley Quarterfinals. Darrell Brown led BU with 20 points as Bradley rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit for a 61-58 victory.
• The Bears swept the regular-season series a year ago with BU winning both meetings in 2017-18.
• Missouri State has controlled the series at home with a 23-5 edge over the Braves. Bradley's 2018 victory at MSU was its first since 2009.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Missouri State is 8-9 on the season and is one game back of the three-way tie for first with a 2-2 Valley record.
• MSU lost its most recent game on Saturday, falling at home to Northern Iowa.
• Three Bears score in double figures with Keandre Cook leading the way at 14.4 points per game.
• Gaige Prim is second at 12.8 points, while Tulio Da Siliva adds 10.4 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game.
• Tyrik Dixon leads Missouri State with 3.6 assists.
• The Bears are averaging 66.4 points per game, while allowing 64.9.

PRESEASON TOP TWO
• Wednesday's matchup pits the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
• Missouri State was voted first in October's poll with 410 points and 29 first-place votes.
• Bradley was voted second with 368 points and five-first place votes.

EARLY RETURNS
• The Braves are off to a strong start to the 2019-20 Valley campaign.
• Bradley owns a 3-1 conference record – its best start through four games since beginning the 2008-09 campaign with a 4-0 record.
• Last Wednesday, Bradley posted a 72-52 victory at Evansville – its largest road Valley victory since an 83-63 win versus the Aces on Feb. 6, 2010.
• Bradley then followed with a 67-48 victory against Southern Illinois on Saturday – marking the first time for BU with back-to-back Valley wins by at least 15 points since the 2006-07 campaign.

FINDING HIS SCORING TOUCH
• With Elijah Childs out with an injury, Bradley has returned to a familiar face to lead the way.
• The team's leading scorer the last three seasons, Darrell Brown has begun to find his scoring touch since the holiday break.
• Brown is averaging 19.4 points in the five games since returning from break after averaging 11.8 during the season's first 12 games.
• Overall, Brown is posting 14.1 points to go with 4.7 assists per game as a senior.
• During Valley play, Brown ranks fourth in the league with 17.0 points per game.

VALLEY PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Thanks to his strong play as of late, senior Darrell Brown was named the Missouri Valley Player of the Week on Monday.
• In victories over Evansville and Southern Illinois, Brown scored 18.5 points per game – shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 4-of-10 from 3-point range.
• Brown earned the accolade for the third time during his career and the first time as a senior.

KENNELL RANKS 13TH NATIONALLY
• Senior sharpshooter Nate Kennell is enjoying a career year, largely thanks to his 3-point shooting.
• The senior currently ranks 13th nationally with a 44.8 clip from beyond the 3-point arc. He is also 56th with 2.76 triples per game.
• Kennell is averaging a career-best 12.5 points this season, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3-point range.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
• Bradley once again features one of the nation's top defensive units this season.
• The Braves rank 48th nationally with a scoring defense of 62.6 points per game, while placing 21st by allowing opponents to shoot only 37.7 percent this season.
• BU has been even better in Valley play, allowing just 60.2 points and 34.5 percent shooting through four conference games.
• In Saturday's victory, Bradley allowed the Salukis to score just 48 points – the fewest surrendered by the Braves in a conference game since 2015.

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