Braves Battle Rival Loyola Saturday on ESPN2

Men's Basketball 1/31/2020 9:30:00 AM

Bradley (15-7, 6-3 MVC) at Loyola (14-8, 6-3 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 1 • 7 p.m. • Chicago, Ill. • Gentile Arena
Television	ESPN2
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Loyola
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team hits the road for a key Missouri Valley Conference game against in-state rival Loyola. The schools meet in Chicago on Saturday with a 7 p.m. tipoff on ESPN2.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 6-3 record – just one game behind first place.
• Overall, the Braves are 15-7 during the 2019-20 campaign.
• BU is coming off an 80-69 victory over Valparaiso on Wednesday with Ja'Shon Henry scoring a career-best 21 points in the win.
• Darrell Brown leads Bradley with 14.3 points and 4.9 assists per game this season. The senior returned from an injury Wednesday that sidelined him two games, tallying 17 points and five assists.
• Nate Kennell adds 13.0 points per game, ranking eighth nationally with a 3-point clip of 45.7.
• Henry also averages in double figures with 10.2 points per game.
• Senior Koch Bar anchors the post with 8.0 boards and 1.2 blocks per game.
• The Braves are averaging 72.5 points per game, while allowing 64.6 defensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves hold a 36-27 all-time edge against the Ramblers in a series that dates back to 1928.
• The rivalry has picked up in the last two seasons as the schools have split the last six meetings during the span.
• Bradley and Loyola have met in the last two MVC Semifinals with each school winning once en route to the league title.
• Last season, both teams won on their home court before Bradley earned a 53-51 victory over the top-seeded Ramblers in the MVC Tournament.
• Nate Kennell led the Braves in the postseason victory with 19 points, making 5-of-8 triples.
• Overall, Bradley has lost its last three meetings in Chicago against the Ramblers.

ABOUT THE RAMBLERS
• Loyola is tied with Bradley for second place in the Valley standings with a 6-3 conference record.
• Overall, the Ramblers are 14-8 this season.
• Loyola has lost its last two games, falling at UNI on Sunday, 67-62 in overtime, and at Southern Illinois on Wednesday, 68-63.
• Cameron Krutwig leads the Ramblers with 15.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season.
• Tate Hall is the only other player averaging in double figures with 13.5 points per game.
• Loyola averages 69.2 points per game, while allowing 60.8.

EARLY VALLEY RETURNS
• At the halfway point of the Valley season, Bradley is enjoying its best start in over a decade.
• BU is 6-3 through nine conference games for the first time since the 2008-09 campaign. That team won its 10th league game and improved to 7-3.

DEPTH IN NUMBERS
• Bradley has proven that is has a number of options during the 2019-20 season.
• Of nine scholarship players that are active this season, eight have led the team in scoring at least once and all nine have scored in double figures.
• Additionally, five different Braves have scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
• Overall, four Braves are averaging in double figures, while five are scoring at least 9.9 in Valley play.
• Bradley has not had at least four players score 10 points per game since 2012-13.

NEXT MAN UP
• With Bradley facing a number of injuries as of late, different players have continued to step up for BU.
• In each of the last five contests, a different Brave has either scored or matched their career high in points for a game.
• The "next man up" mentality has been key as BU has had as few as six scholarship players available during the stretch.

TOP 3-POINT SHOOTING TEAM
• The Braves rank as one the nation's top 3-point shooting teams this season.
• Bradley has converted 38.2 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc – ranking 20th nationally.
• On Dec. 15, Bradley made 12-of-18 triples against Georgia Southern – its highest percentage in a game in its history with at least 10 makes.
• BU also made 17-of-30 triples at Missouri State, tied for the most in MVC history in a league game.
• Overall, Bradley's 38.2 percent clip is the team's highest since 2006-07 (42.0).

KENNELL RANKS EIGHTH NATIONALLY
• Nate Kennell is enjoying a career year as a senior and has led the Braves from beyond the arc.
• The senior currently ranks eighth nationally with a 45.7 clip from beyond the 3-point arc. He is also 42nd with 2.86 triples per game.
• Kennell is averaging a career-best 13.0 points this year, shooting 43.2 percent overall from the field.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
• Bradley once again features one of the nation's top defensive units this season.
• BU ranks 62nd nationally with a scoring defense of 64.6 points per game, while placing 24th by allowing opponents to shoot only 38.5 percent.
• Bradley last held opponents to under 40 percent shooting for the season in 2000-01, while its 38.5 percent mark is BU's lowest since 1997-98 (38.2).

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