Braves Begin Road Trip at Valparaiso Thursday Night

Men's Basketball 1/27/2021 10:00:00 AM

Bradley (9-7, 3-4 MVC) at Valparaiso (5-9, 2-3 MVC)
Game Details	Thursday, Jan. 28 • 6 p.m. • Valparaiso, Ind. • Athletics-Recreation Center
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Valparaiso
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team is back in action on Thursday night in a rematch of the 2020 Arch Madness title game. Tipoff between the Braves and Crusaders is set for 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 9-7 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-4 record in Valley play.
• The Braves have dropped their last three contests after a 3-1 start to the Valley season.
• Senior Elijah Childs leads the Braves with 14.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.25 blocks per game.
• Two additional Braves average in double figures with Terry Nolan Jr. posting 11.5 points per game and Ja'Shon Henry adding 11.2.
• Sean East II chips in 8.8 points, while also leading the Braves with 4.1 assists per game.
• The Braves are averaging 71.6 points per game in 2020-21, while ranking 33rd nationally with a scoring defense of 62.8.

SERIES HISTORY
• The newest member of the Valley, Valparaiso is playing the Braves for just the 11th time.
• Bradley leads the all-time series, 6-4, as the schools first met during the 1980-81 season.
• The schools have split their three regular-season series as Valley foes, while the home team has won all nine meetings during the regular season.

ARCH MADNESS REWIND
• The schools are meeting for the first time since facing off in the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title game.
• The Braves earned an 80-66 victory over the Crusaders to claim their second-straight Arch Madness crown.
• Bradley ended the contest strong and used a 24-5 second-half run to turn a 48-42 deficit into a 66-53 lead with three minutes remaining.
• Tournament MVP Darrell Brown led the Braves with 21 points and nine assists, while Elijah Childs earned All-Tournament Team honors with 17 points and eight rebounds.

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
• Valparaiso is 5-9 during the 2020-21 season with a 2-3 record in Missouri Valley play.
• The Crusaders swept Illinois State last weekend, earning road wins on Saturday and Sunday to end a five-game losing streak.
• Ben Krikke leads Valpo with 12.1 points per game.
• Donovan Clay adds 11.3 points to go with a team-leading 5.4 rebounds.
• Daniel Sackey has a team-best 4.5 assists.
• Valparaiso is averaging 67.4 points through 14 games, while allowing 69.8.

CHILDS ON LOU HENSON WATCH LIST
• Senior Elijah Childs was named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List on Tuesday.
• The award is presented annually to the nation's top Division I mid-major player.
• The senior is one of four Valley players on the 40-man midseason watch list.

A LEADER IN CHILDS
• The first player on opposing teams' scouting reports is senior Elijah Childs.
• Childs leads BU in points (14.6), rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.25) per game. He is sixth in the MVC in points, second in boards and fifth in blocks.
• The senior has led the team in points on 10 occasions, on the glass 10 times and in both points and rebounds a total of seven times.

A DOUBLE-DIGIT THREAT IN CHILDS
• The key to Elijah Childs' success is his consistency.
• Childs is one of only three Valley players to score in double figures in each game this year.
• In fact, Childs is the first Brave to score at least 10 points in each of the team's first 16 games since Jerome Robinson in 2000-01 (23 games).

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• The Braves have become known for their defense and 2020-21 is no different.
• Bradley owns the nation's 33rd-ranked scoring defense – allowing just 62.8 points per game.
• The key to BU's success is its field goal percentage defense. BU ranks 13th nationally by allowing teams to make just 38.3 percent of its shots and eighth with a 2-point defense of 42.2 percent.
• Bradley has held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting in 10-of-16 games this season.

60-POINT GOAL
• With as strong as the Bradley defense has been this season, the goal on the offense is just to score 60 points in a game.
• Bradley is 9-2 this season when scoring 60 or more points. However, the Braves are winless in five games when held under the number.
• Overall, the Braves are scoring 71.6 points per game this season.

AVOIDING THE TURNOVERS
• One issue the Braves have to clean up to be successful is taking care of the ball.
• During conference play, Bradley is allowing just 10.3 turnovers per victory with teams scoring 10.7 points off those miscues.
• In four MVC losses, BU is turning the ball over 15.5 times – leading to 17.5 points for its opponent.

STRIVE FOR 45
• The number the Braves need to aim for on offense is 45 percent shooting.
• Bradley is 8-1 this season when making at least 45 percent of its field goals. However, the Braves are just 1-6 when held under the mark.
• In its nine wins, BU is shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from 3-point range.
• In the team's seven losses, the Braves are making just 39.9 percent of their field goals with a 28.2 percent clip from 3-point range.

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