Bradley Hosts Drake in Final Series of 2020-21 Season

Men's Basketball 2/25/2021 9:30:00 AM

Bradley (11-14, 5-11 MVC) vs. Drake (23-2, 14-2 MVC)
Game #1 Details	Friday, Feb. 26 • 6 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	FOX Sports Midwest / Indiana Plus / Kansas City / NBC Sports Chicago Plus
Webcast	FOX Sports Go \| ESPN+

Game #2 Details	Saturday, Feb. 27 • 6 p.m. • Peoria, Ill. • Carver Arena
Television	ESPN+

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

The Bradley men's basketball team wraps up the 2020-21 regular season this weekend with a pair of games against first-place Drake. The teams begin the series on Friday at Carver Arena with a 6 p.m. tipoff.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 11-14 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 5-11 Missouri Valley Conference record.
• The Braves have been without their two leading scorers in their last three games, Elijah Childs and Terry Nolan Jr., dropping all three contests.
• Junior Ja'Shon Henry is the team's active leading scorer, tallying 10.9 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds.
• Ville Tahvanainen is next in scoring with 8.7 points, while Rienk Mast adds 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds.
• The Braves are averaging 69.9 points per game in 2020-21, while allowing 66.0.

ARCH MADNESS SEEDING
• Bradley is tied for seventh in the MVC standings with just two games remaining this weekend.
• The top six teams in the regular-season standings will earn a first-round bye to the Arch Madness quarterfinals.
• Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker this year, followed by record versus the highest team(s) in the standings and then NET.
• The Braves can finish anywhere from fifth to 10th in the final standings, needing at least one victory to have a chance at one of the final two bids available for an opening-round bye.

SERIES HISTORY
• In a series that dates back to 1942 and as the two oldest members of the Valley, Bradley has played Drake more than any other school in its history as the teams have met 156 times.
• The Braves own an 89-67 advantage against the Bulldogs in series history, including a 52-21 edge in Peoria.
• BU won 2-of-3 games versus Drake last year with the schools first splitting a pair of regular-season meetings – each winning on their home court.
• The Braves then posted a 76-66 win over the Bulldogs in the MVC Semifinals en route to its second-straight conference title.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 23-2 record and is currently tied for first in the MVC standings at 14-2.
• The Bulldogs have won their last four games and own an 8-1 record in road contests this season.
• Drake's top two scorers – ShanQuan Hemphill and Roman Penn – are both out with an injury.
• Joseph Yesufu is the team's top active player with 11.0 points per game after scoring 29.3 points in three games last week.
• The Bulldogs feature four additional active players that score at least seven points per game.
• Drake averages 78.7 points per game with a scoring defense of 63.7.

NEW FACES FOR BRAVES
• Bradley has featured a young lineup of as of late.
• In the Braves' most recent game against Illinois State, BU's nine-man rotation included only one starter from its opening-day lineup (Sean East II).
• Only five of BU's 11 active players have appeared in a college game prior to this season – three players with experience at BU and two transfers.

HIGH EFFICIENCY FOR HENRY
• Junior Ja'Shon Henry is one of the more consistent weapons for Bradley and in the Valley.
• Henry leads all active BU players with 10.9 points, adding 4.7 boards and a 57.3 field goal percentage.
• The junior currently ranks second in the MVC by making 64.0 percent of his 2-point attempts.
• Additionally, Henry is second in the MVC in points per individual possession, producing 121.0 points in 100 offensive possessions.

EURO TWO-STEP
• Sophomore Ville Tahvanainen and redshirt freshman Rienk Mast have helped Ja'Shon Henry take the lead for Bradley as of late.
• One of the two European underclassmen has led Bradley in scoring in five of the last eight games – totaling a combined 22.3 points per game.
• In the season's first 17 games, the duo led BU in scoring only twice – combining for 13.4 points.
• Mast leads all Bradley players with 11.8 points during the eight-game stretch, while Tahvanainen and Henry are tied for second with 10.5 points.

MAST TOP RANKED ROOKIE
• Overall, Rienk Mast has really turned a corner and improved significantly as of late.
• Mast has scored 11.8 points the last eight games – more than double his 5.5 points in the first 17.
• Mast is averaging 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, ranking among the Valley leaders for freshmen.

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