Bradley Meets Drake Wednesday Night

Men's Basketball 1/18/2022 11:50:00 AM

Bradley (8-10, 2-4 MVC) at Drake (13-5, 4-1 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 19 • 7 p.m. • Des Moines, Iowa • Knapp Center
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Drake
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley basketball team is back on the road for a Missouri Valley contest, squaring off with Drake on Wednesday night. The schools are set for a 7 p.m. tipoff in Des Moines on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 8-10 during the 2021-22 season with a 2-4 record in Valley play.
• The Braves split a pair of games last week with a 79-47 victory against Evansville and a 74-65 setback at Illinois State.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads BU with 15.8 points and 4.3 assists per game.
• Overall, four Braves average in double figures with Malevy Leons (10.5), Ja'Shon Henry (10.4) and Rienk Mast (10.1) following Roberts.
• Mast also leads the Valley with 8.2 rebounds.
• Bradley averages 71.8 points per game, while allowing 67.1 defensively.

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 158 times.
• The Braves own a 90-68 advantage against the Bulldogs in series history.
• The schools split the season series last year with Drake earning an 80-71 victory in the opener before BU answered with a 67-61 win in the finale despite playing with just six scholarship players.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• Drake owns a 13-5 record during the 2021-22 season with a perfect 10-0 record in Des Moines.
• The Bulldogs are 4-1 in Valley play after a 60-59 victory Monday at Southern Illinois.
• Tucker DeVries leads Drake with 13.2 points.
• Garrett Sturtz is second with 10.2 points and adds a team-best 7.0 rebounds, while Roman Penn is third with 10.1 points to go with a team-leading 4.1 assists.
• The Bulldogs are averaging 74.4 points per game, while allowing 64.3 on defense.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORERS
• The Braves have a number of options on offense this season as the team features four double-digit scorers.
• Terry Roberts leads BU with 15.8 points and is followed by Malevy Leons (10.5), Ja'Shon Henry (10.4) and Rienk Mast (10.1).
• The Braves have not had four players average at least 10 points per game since 2012-13.

ROBERTS EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
• Junior Terry Roberts was honored with Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Week accolades Monday.
• Roberts averaged 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in a pair of games against Evansville and Illinois State.
• Roberts is the first player to earn three Newcomer honors this season and the first Brave to do so since Marcellus Sommerville in 2003-04.

TOP NEWCOMER
• Overall, Terry Roberts is among the favorites for Valley Newcomer of the Year.
• Roberts ranks fifth in the Valley in points (15.8) first in assists (4.3) and second in steals (1.7). He is also the top-ranked newcomer in all three.
• Additionally, Roberts' 15.8 average is the highest by a Bradley newcomer since Curtis Stuckey in 1989-90 (23.7).

MAST CATCHING FIRE
• Sophomore Rienk Mast has become one of BU's top offensive weapons as of late.
• In the last four games, Mast is averaging 18.3 points – shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range.
• Mast is averaging 10.1 points this season and is second on BU with 14.0 points in Valley play.

MAST DOUBLES UP WITH BOARDS
• Rienk Mast's recent offensive surge makes the sophomore a more complete player as he was already controlling the glass this season.
• Mast leads the Valley and ranks 73rd nationally with 8.2 rebounds per game. He is also tied for first in the MVC and 29th in the country with six double-doubles this season.
• In 70 seasons as a member of the Valley, only three Braves have previously led the league in rebounds – Chet Walker (1961-62), Luke Jackson (1988-89) and Marcellus Sommerville (2003-04).

AGE RANGE
• Wednesday's contest marks a matchup of two teams on the opposite side of experience.
• Bradley is the youngest team in the Valley in terms of average age (20.78) and average starting age (20.76).
• Drake, meanwhile, features the oldest roster in the conference (22.02) and an even more veteran starting lineup (23.18).

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