Second Place on the Line as Bradley Hosts Loyola Saturday

Men's Basketball 2/28/2020 10:09:00 AM

Bradley (20-10, 11-6 MVC) vs. Loyola (20-10, 12-5 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 29 • 1 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	CBS Sports Network
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Loyola
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb
Tickets	Ticketmaster \| (309) 677-2625

Bradley men's basketball looks to finish the regular season strong with a Senior Day matchup against Loyola on Saturday. Playing for the two seed, the schools are set to meet at Carver Arena at 1 p.m.

PROMOTIONS
• Bradley will honor the program's Class of 2020 in a ceremony prior to Saturday's game.
• The Bradley Braves Club Raffle presented by Busey Bank, with a grand prize of $25,000, will draw its winners at halftime.
• The final Braves Club Pre-Game Party is at 11 a.m. at Pere Marquette.
• All Bradley merchandise is 25% off on Saturday.
• In Kaboom!'s Korner is inflatables from Fun on the Run and Pop-a-Shot.

SENIOR SENDOFF
• Prior to Saturday's game, BU will honor its three seniors – Koch Bar, Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell.
• The three joined a program that had won only five games the year before their arrival and leave with three-straight 20-win seasons in addition to at least one MVC Tournament title.
• Overall, the trio has combined to play in 386 games with 3,699 combined points, 1,316 rebounds and 782 assists.
• The Class of 2020 is BU's highest-scoring senior class since the five-man Class of 2004 (4,245).

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is third in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 11-6 record – just one game behind Loyola for second. Overall, BU is 20-10 during the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Braves have won five of their last six games, including an overtime victory over rival Illinois State on Wednesday.
• Senior Darrell Brown leads BU with 14.7 points and 4.5 assists per game.
• Junior Elijah Childs is second on the team with 14.4 points to go with a BU-best 8.7 rebounds.
• Senior Nate Kennell also averages in double figures with 12.6 points – ranking ninth nationally in 3-point percentage (43.8).
• The Braves are averaging 71.7 points per game this season, while allowing 66.1 defensively.

ARCH MADNESS SEEDING
• If the season ended today, Bradley would claim the third seed and play sixth-seeded Valparaiso in the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals.
• With a win over Loyola Saturday, the Braves and Ramblers tie for second with the NET rankings on Sunday morning serving as the tiebreaker (Loyola is currently 98 and BU is 107).
• If the Braves and Indiana State lose, BU is No. 3.
• If Bradley loses, Indiana State wins and Southern Illinois wins, the Braves are the three seed.
• If Bradley loses, Indiana State wins and SIU loses, BU is likely the four seed via NET tiebreaker.
• The Braves have already clinched a top-four seed for the first time since 2009. BU hasn't finished in the top three since earning the two seed in 2001.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves hold a 36-28 all-time edge against the Ramblers in a series that dates back to 1928.
• BU is also 23-8 against the Ramblers in Peoria, winning the last two home games in the series.
• In the last three years, the home team has won all five regular-season meetings, while splitting a pair of MVC Semifinals matchups en route to titles for each school.
• Loyola used a strong start to the second half to earn a 62-51 victory in Chicago earlier this year.

ABOUT THE RAMBLERS
• Loyola is 20-10 during the 2019-20 season with a 12-5 Valley record – one game behind first place and one game ahead of BU in third.
• Cameron Krutwig leads Loyola with 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
• Tate Hall is second on the team with 13.1 points.
• Loyola averages 68.6 points per game, while allowing only 62.2 defensively.

SEASON RETURNS
• Fresh off its first Missouri Valley Tournament title in 31 years, Bradley is continuing to rewrite its recent history during the 2019-20 season.
• With 11 conference wins, Bradley has matched its best Valley win total since 2005-06. BU has not won 12 conference games since 2000-01.
• The Braves have also won 20 games before the MVC Tournament for the first time since 2006-07.

HOME SWEET HOME
• The Braves have played their best basketball at Carver Arena this season.
• Bradley is currently 15-1 in Peoria in 2019-20, outscoring foes by an average of 76.5 to 62.1.
• BU's 15 home wins are tied for the sixth most in the nation this season and are the most for the Braves since recording 16 in 1993-94.
• Bradley has also earned its most regular-season home victories since 1967-68. BU has not earned 16 regular-season wins in Peoria since 1949-50 (18-1).

HOME COOKING
• Darrell Brown has also treated the home fans to his best basketball this season.
• In 15 home games during the 2019-20 campaign, Brown is averaging 16.3 points and 5.5 assists.
• During 13 road and neutral games, Brown has totaled 12.8 points and 3.3 assists.

HENRY PROVES CLUTCH
• Sophomore Ja'Shon Henry has played at his best in the most important moments of late.
• The forward has led BU to overtime wins in two of the last three games. Henry has scored 13 of the team's 18 points in the extra sessions, including all seven in OT on Wednesday at Illinois State.

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