Braves Take on Toledo Tuesday

Men's Basketball 12/6/2021 10:30:00 AM

Bradley (4-5, 1-0 MVC) at Toledo (6-2, 0-0 MAC)
Game Details	Tuesday, Dec. 7 • 6 p.m. CT • Toledo, Ohio • Savage Arena
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Toledo
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team looks to take its winning ways on the road as it travels to face Toledo on Tuesday. Tipoff between the Braves and Rockets is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley has won three-straight contests and is now 4-5 through nine games in 2021-22 with a 1-0 record in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Braves are coming off a perfect 3-0 homestand, capped by an 80-55 victory on Saturday against SIU Edwardsville.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads BU with 14.8 points and 3.9 assists per game.
• Senior Ja'Shon Henry also scores in double figures with 10.6 points per game.
• Sophomore Rienk Mast leads Bradley with 8.9 rebounds per game – registering four double-doubles this season.
• The Braves average 70.6 points this season, while allowing 66.1 on defense.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley and Toledo have played nine prior times with BU holding a 7-2 advantage in the series.
• BU has won the last seven meetings with Toledo's victories coming in 1941 and 1946.
• The schools have played each of the last two seasons with Bradley winning at home in 2019, 78-66, and in Cincinnati last year, 61-59.
• Terry Nolan hit the game-winning basket with 0.8 seconds left last season to lead BU to the win in the season opener for both teams.

BRAVES VERSUS MAC
• Bradley is 30-8 all-time against schools in the Mid-American Conference.
• The Braves won a pair of close games against MAC schools last season – defeating Toledo and Miami by a combined three points.

ABOUT THE ROCKETS
• Toledo enters Tuesday's contest with a 6-2 record.
• The Rockets had their four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday, falling at No. 22 Michigan State, 81-68.
• Ryan Rollins leads Toledo with 20.1 points per game this season.
• Overall, four Rockets average in double figures – Setric Millner Jr. (15.1), JT Shumate (13.9) and Rayj Dennis (11.8).
• Shumate also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds, while Dennis has a team-best 3.3 assists.

COACHING CONNECTIONS
• For the second-straight game, Brian Wardle will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline.
• Wardle was an assistant on current Toledo head coach Tod Kowalczyk's staff at Green Bay from 2005 to 2010.
• The duo posted a 92-70 record together before Kowalczyk left for Toledo in 2010.
• Wardle would be promoted to head coach after Kowalczyk's departure, posting a 95-65 record in five years before joining the Bradley program.

DEFENSE DOMINATES SIUE
• The Braves rode a dominant defense to score a victory against SIU Edwardsville on Saturday.
• Bradley did not allow the Cougars to hit a field goal for 12:28 as it turned a 23-22 edge into a 52-28 lead. The Braves forced SIUE into 10-straight misses to go with nine turnovers during the run.
• Overall, BU set season highs in field goal defense (27.6%), steals (13) and blocks (10).
• In fact, it marked just the third time in school history that BU reached double figures in both blocks and steals and the first time since 2006.

DEFENSIVE TRADITION
• Bradley's defense, overall, should be no surprise, as it is once again proving to be a difficult team to score on.
• The Braves are one of only eight schools in the nation to hold their opponent under 42 percent in each of the last five seasons – joining Florida State, Houston, Maryland, Norfolk State, Old Dominion, UC Irvine and Virginia.
• In 2021-22, Bradley is holding opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting – ranking 23rd nationally.

STRONG START FOR ROBERTS
• Junior college transfer Terry Roberts has had a strong start to his Division I career.
• Roberts leads Bradley with 14.5 points and 3.9 assists per game in 2021-22.
• In fact, Roberts' 133 total points are the most in a player's first nine games of his Bradley career since Marcellus Sommerville scored 152 in the first nine contests of 2003-04.
• Overall, Roberts has led BU in scoring in 5-of-9 games this season and in assists six times.

MAST CLEANS UP THE BOARDS
• Sophomore Rienk Mast ranks among the nation's best in rebounding this season.
• Mast leads Bradley and ranks 47th nationally with 8.9 rebounds per game – the highest average by a Brave since Luke Jackson averaged 9.4 in 1988-89.
• The sophomore has collected at least 10 rebounds in 5-of-9 games this season.

SHOOTING TURNAROUND
• After a slow start to the season, the Braves are starting to make their shots at a much higher clip.
• BU has made 47.5 percent of its field goals the last four games (6.9% improvement) while making 43.7 percent of its 3-pointers during the stretch (18.3% improvement).

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Players Mentioned

#22 Ja'Shon Henry: F; 6' 6"; Senior

#51 Rienk Mast: F; 6' 9"; Sophomore

#0 Terry Roberts: G; 6' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 Ja'Shon Henry
: 6' 6"; Senior
: F

#51 Rienk Mast
: 6' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#0 Terry Roberts
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

Braves Take on Toledo Tuesday

Players Mentioned

#22 Ja'Shon Henry

#51 Rienk Mast

#0 Terry Roberts

Players Mentioned

#22 Ja'Shon Henry

#51 Rienk Mast

#0 Terry Roberts