Braves Meet I-74 Rival Illinois State on Wednesday Night

Men's Basketball 1/19/2021 3:06:00 PM

Bradley (9-4, 3-1 MVC) at Illinois State (4-8, 1-5 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 20 • 8 p.m. • Normal, Ill. • Redbird Arena
Webcast	Marquee Sports Network
Webcast	ESPN3
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Illinois State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team begins a week of rivalry games on Wednesday, traveling to face I-74 rival Illinois State. The schools are set to meet at Redbird Arena for an 8 p.m. tipoff on Marquee Sports Network.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley have won three-straight games to improve to 9-4 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-1 MVC record.
• The Braves swept a pair of games versus Evansville last weekend, earning 69-60 and 86-55 victories.
• Senior Elijah Childs leads the Braves with 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 17 total blocks.
• Two additional Braves average in double figures with Terry Nolan Jr. posting 12.0 points per game and Ja'Shon Henry adding 11.2.
• Sean East II chips in 8.6 points, while also leading the Braves with 4.4 assists per game.
• The Braves are averaging 75.1 points per game in 2020-21, while ranking 22nd nationally with a scoring defense of 61.5.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1904-05, the nearby rivals are meeting for the 131st time Wednesday.
• Bradley is 68-62 all-time against the Redbirds, while Illinois State has the edge since joining the Valley in 1981, 44-40.
• The Braves have won five-straight games in the series – just one shy of their longest streak over ISU as Valley rivals (1985-87 and 2005-08).
• Last season, Bradley swept a pair of games with a 75-63 home win before a 74-71 overtime victory at Illinois State.

ABOUT THE REDBIRDS
• Illinois State owns a 4-8 overall record this season with a 1-5 mark in MVC action, coming off a pair of home losses last weekend to Indiana State
• DJ Horne leads ISU with 13.0 points per game as four Redbirds average in double figures.
• Josiah Strong is second with 12.1 points to go with a team leading 3.6 assists, while Antonio Reeves also adds 11.8 points per game.
• Dusan Mahorcic leads ISU with 7.9 rebounds, while collecting 10.1 points.
• The Redbirds average 76.4 points this season, while allowing 78.5 on defense.

KEY TO BU'S WINNING STREAK
• The biggest key for the Braves during their winning streak against Illinois State is dominating inside.
• In its five-straight wins, Bradley has outscored Illinois State in the paint by a total of 176 to 88 (average of 35.2 to 17.6).

DOMINATING THE PAINT
• The good news for the Braves is that Bradley's dominance in the paint is as strong as ever.
• Bradley has outscored its opponent in the paint by at least 10 points in 9-of-13 contests, winning the battle inside by an average of 32.8 to 20.4.
• In last weekend's sweep against Evansville, BU outscored the Aces inside by a combined 70-28.

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• The Braves have become known for their defense and 2020-21 is no different.
• Bradley owns the nation's 22nd-ranked scoring defense – allowing just 61.5 points per game.
• The Braves were strong on defense right from the start as the team allowed just 59.3 points during non-conference play – its lowest since the 1998-99 non-conference season.

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
• The key to Bradley's early-season success on the defensive end is its field goal percentage defense and, specifically, its defense inside the arc.
• Bradley ranks second nationally by allowing foes to make just 36.8 percent of their shots this season.
• BU is also allowing schools to make only 37.5 percent of their 2-point attempts, including 38.5 percent versus Division I teams – which is first nationally and is more than 11 percent better than the national average (49.8).
• The current Valley record for field goal percentage defense is 37.7 percent, set by Wichita State in 2016-17 (record first kept in 1980).

STRONG VALLEY OFFENSIVE START
• The Braves are also enjoying one of their better starts to Valley play on the offensive side in years.
• Bradley is currently averaging 75.0 points in its first four conference games this season. It is BU's best start through four MVC games since 2009-10 (77.0 points that season).
• The strong start to the Valley season comes after a non-conference campaign when BU averaged 74.9 points – its highest since 2006-07 (80.8).

COMING IN HOT
• The Braves earned their first Valley sweep of the season with a pair of top performances.
• Bradley opened its series against Evansville by shooting 61.4 percent in Saturday's win. It was BU's highest percentage in any game since making 63.2 percent against Drake on Feb. 26, 2011.
• The Braves then completed the sweep with a convincing 86-55 win on Sunday. It marked Bradley's largest Valley victory since an 80-39 win against Northern Iowa on Feb. 5, 2000.
• Overall, Bradley is 3-1 to start conference play for the second-straight season and for just the second time overall in the last 12 years.

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