Braves Wrap Up Busy Stretch at Indiana State

Men's Basketball 1/30/2021 8:00:00 AM

Bradley (9-8, 3-5 MVC) at Indiana State (8-7, 5-5 MVC)
Game #1 Details	Sunday, Jan. 31 • 3 p.m. CT • Terre Haute, Ind. • Hulman Center
Television	FOX Sports Midwest / Indiana / Kansas City / NBC Sports Chicago
Webcast	FOX Sports Go \| ESPN3

Game #2 Details	Monday, Feb. 1 • 4 p.m. CT • Terre Haute, Ind. • Hulman Center
Television	ESPN3

Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Indiana State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team completes its eight games in 16-day stretch with a pair of contests at Indiana State on Sunday and Monday. The schools are set to tip off the series on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 9-8 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 3-5 record in Valley play.
• The Braves have dropped their last four contests after a 3-1 start to the Valley season.
• Coming off a career-best 27-point performance at Valparaiso on Thursday, senior Elijah Childs leads the Braves with 15.4 points, 78.0 rebounds and 1.18 blocks per game.
• Two additional Braves average in double figures with Terry Nolan Jr. posting 12.0 points per game and Ja'Shon Henry adding 11.1.
• Sean East II chips in 8.8 points, while also leading the Braves with 4.0 assists per game.
• The Braves are averaging 72.4 points per game in 2020-21, while ranking 49th nationally with a scoring defense of 64.5.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley holds a 54-39 advantage against Indiana State in 93 all-time meetings.
• The Sycamores have won 10 of the last 11 in the series at Hulman Center with Bradley's lone win since 2008 coming in 2018.
• The schools have split the season series in each of the last three seasons.
• Last season, Indiana State earned a 61-53 home victory in a game that BU had only six healthy scholarship players before Bradley posted a 72-61 win in Peoria.

ABOUT THE SYCAMORES
• Indiana State is 8-7 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 5-5 record in Valley action.
• The Sycamores have won their last four games, earning conference sweeps against Illinois State and Southern Illinois.
• Tyreke Key leads ISU with 14.8 points and 2.3 assists per game.
• Jake LaRavia is second on the Sycamores with 12.2 points to go with 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists.
• Cooper Neese also scores in double figures with 11.9 points, while Tre Williams has a team-leading 6.2 rebounds.
• The Sycamores are scoring 68.4 points per game, while allowing 69.5.

WINNING THE FREE THROW BATTLE
• One key to Bradley's success is winning the battle at the free-throw line.
• The Braves are 7-1 this season when attempting more free throws in a game. On the opposite end, Bradley is 2-7 when its opponent has more.
• Overall, Bradley's opponents are making 8.8 free throws in BU's nine wins, compared to 14.5 in its eight losses.
• During its current four-game losing streak, the Braves are 27-of-50 from the charity stripe, while opponents are 68-of-95.

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.

CHILDS PLAY
• Elijah Childs is on the Lou Henson Watch List because he is enjoying a superb senior season.
• Childs leads the Braves with 15.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 20 total blocks.
• The senior is currently on pace to accomplish some feats that no Brave has in years.
• No Brave has collected 8.0 rebounds per game since Patrick O'Bryant in 2005-06.
• No Brave has totaled 15.0 points and 8.0 boards since Adebayo Akinkunle in 1997-98.
• The last Brave to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding was Andrew Warren in 2010-11.
• Childs is only getting stronger as he averages 16.4 points and 8.4 boards in MVC play. The last player to post 16 points and eight rebounds in Valley play was Creighton's Doug McDermott in 2012-13.

A DOUBLE-DIGIT THREAT IN CHILDS
• The key to Elijah Childs' success this season 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 17 games since Jerome Robinson in 2000-01 (23 games).

FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE DEFENSE
• The Braves have become known for their defense and 2020-21 is no different.
• Bradley owns the nation's 49th-ranked scoring defense – allowing just 64.5 points per game.
• The key to BU's success is its field goal percentage defense. BU ranks ninth nationally by allowing teams to make just 38.2 percent of its shots and eighth with a 2-point defense of 42.1 percent.
• Bradley has held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting in 11-of-17 games this season.

CLEANING THE GLASS
• Bradley has maintained its strong defense this season by a nearly-as-dominant performance on the glass.
• BU is 22nd nationally by collecting 40.7 rebounds, placing 38th with a rebound margin of +6.3.
• BU is also 77th in offensive rebounds per game (11.5) and 19th in defensive boards (29.1).
• Overall, the Braves have won or tied the battle on the glass in 13-of-17 games this season.
• Senior Elijah Childs leads BU and is second in the Valley with 7.9 rebounds per game.

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