Braves Face No. 14 Missouri in Final Non-Conference Matchup

Men's Basketball 12/21/2020 9:30:00 AM

Bradley (6-2, 0-0 MVC) at No. 14 Missouri (5-0, 0-0 SEC)
Game Details	Tuesday, Dec. 22 • 6 p.m. • Columbia, Mo. • Mizzou Arena
Television	SEC Network
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Tuesday night, traveling to face nationally-ranked Missouri. The Braves and No. 14 Tigers are set to battle on SEC Network, beginning at 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has won its last three games to improve to 6-2 during the 2020-21 campaign.
• Senior Elijah Childs leads Bradley with 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
• Overall, the Braves feature three players averaging in double figures and five that tally at least nine points per game.
• Junior Ja'Shon Henry is second on the team with 12.1 points per game off the bench, while junior Terry Nolan Jr. is third with 11.0 points.
• Junior Ville Tahvanainen adds 9.6 points with a team-best 19 made 3-pointers, while sophomore Sean East II chips in 9.4 points to go with a team-leading 4.8 assists per game.
• The Braves are averaging 77.6 points per game this year, while allowing 60.0 on the defensive end.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley and Missouri have played twice before and are meeting for the first time in 30 years.
• The Tigers won both contests, earning an 86-77 home victory in 1989 and a 76-60 win at Carver Arena in 1990.

BRAVES VERSUS SEC
• Bradley is 8-17 all-time against SEC schools with a 3-5 record in road games.
• BU last played an SEC team in 2017, losing at Ole Miss, 82-59.
• The Braves have lost their last six contests versus conference schools. Bradley last earned a win versus an SEC team in 1994 with a 63-61 victory at Ole Miss.

ABOUT THE TIGERS
• Missouri is a perfect 5-0 to start the 2020-21 season. The Tigers enter the week ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll.
• The Tigers were last in action on Dec. 13, earning an 81-78 victory over No. 6 Illinois.
• Mark Smith leads Missouri with 14.8 points, while Dru Smith and Xavier Pinson follow closely with 14.6 and 14.2 points, respectively.
• Pinson also leads the Tigers with 4.2 assists, while Jeremiah Tilmon has a team-best 7.4 rebounds.
• Missouri is averaging 79.2 points per game, while allowing 67.8.

BRAVES VERSUS RANKED TEAMS
• Bradley owns a 51-115 all-time record against nationally-ranked teams in the AP poll (30.7%)
• BU has lost its last 20 games versus top-25 teams with its last win over No. 18 Northern Iowa in 2010.
• Additionally, BU has not won a true road game against a top-15 team since 1985 with the streak dating back to 1956 in non-conference play.

CAPTAIN CLUTCH
• Terry Nolan Jr. has been at this best with the game on the line this season.
• In just eight games as a Brave, Nolan has already tallied the game-winning basket with under 20 seconds remaining twice.
• In his first collegiate game in 623 days, Nolan sunk the game-winner with 0.8 seconds left against Toledo. He added the go-ahead basket with 18.7 ticks remaining on Saturday versus Miami.
• Overall, in BU's three games decided by a single possession this season, Nolan has scored seven points in the final 30 seconds, shooting 3-of-4.

NON-CONFERENCE OFFENSE
• Bradley is enjoying a strong start on the offensive end in 2020-21.
• The Braves are currently averaging 77.6 points per game through eight contests.
• Bradley is currently on pace for its highest-scoring non-conference season since averaging 80.8 points during the 2006-07 campaign.

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• Bradley is already showcasing an elite defense to start the 2020-21 season.
• The Braves currently rank 29th nationally (of 325 teams) by holding teams to just 60.0 points.
• The key to BU's success is forcing its foe into tough shots as the Braves rank 18th in the country with a field goal percentage defense of 36.0.
• An example of Bradley's tough defense was evident when it held Xavier to just 51 points on Nov. 26 – the Musketeers have scored at least 76 points in each of their other seven games.

TWO-POINT DEFENSE
• The real key to BU's successful start on the defensive end is its two-point defense.
• While teams are shooting 36.2 percent from 3-point range against Bradley, the Braves have allowed opponents to convert only 35.8 percent of their two-point attempts (102-285).
• In fact, the Braves are seventh in the country in Division I games by allowing teams to shoot just 36.8 percent from inside the arc – nearly 13 percent better than the national average (49.5%).

A LEADER IN CHILDS
• The first player on opposing teams' scouting reports is senior Elijah Childs.
• Childs leads the Braves in points (14.6), rebounds (7.4) and blocks (1.8). He is seventh in the MVC in points, second in rebounds and fourth in blocks.
• Childs is the only Brave to score in double figures in all eight games this season.
• The Kansas City native also is returning to Mizzou Arena on Tuesday, playing there for the first time since helping Lee's Summit West win the 2017 state semifinal before finishing as runner-up.

Print Friendly Version