Braves Take on Valparaiso Wednesday

Men's Basketball 1/25/2022 11:25:00 AM

Bradley (10-10, 4-4 MVC) at Valparaiso (10-10, 3-5 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Jan. 26 • 6 p.m. • Valparaiso, Ind. • Athletics-Recreation Center
Television	ESPN+
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 on the road with a trip to Valparaiso on Wednesday. The Missouri Valley Conference matchup is set for a 6 p.m. tipoff on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 10-10 during the 2021-22 season with a 4-4 record in Missouri Valley Conference action.
• The Braves have won their last two games, earning a 83-71 victory at Drake on Wednesday before a 70-62 home win versus Southern Illinois Saturday.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads BU with 16.1 points and 4.5 assists per game.
• Sophomore Rienk Mast is second on the team with 11.0 points per game, while leading the Braves with 8.2 rebounds.
• Junior Malevy Leons also scores in double figures with 10.1 points per game.
• Bradley averages 72.2 points per game, while allowing 67.1 defensively.

SERIES HISTORY
• Bradley leads the series with Valpo, 7-5, as the schools first met during the 1980-81 season.
• The home team is 10-1 overall in the all-time series, including a 7-1 mark as Valley foes.
• The schools met for the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Championship with Bradley earning an 80-66 victory.
• Last season, the teams split the season series at Valparaiso with the hosts earning a 91-85 double overtime victory in the opener before Bradley responded with a 76-52 win later in the year.

ABOUT THE BEACONS
• Valparaiso enters Wednesday's game with a 10-10 overall record and a 3-5 mark in Valley play.
• Like the Braves, the Beacons have also won their last two games, defeating Northern Iowa at home, 83-80 in overtime, and at Indiana State, 75-73.
• Kobe King leads Valpo with 14.5 points per game, while Ben Krikke is right behind at 14.2.
• Thomas Kithier has a team-best 6.9 rebounds, while Trevor Anderson leads Valpo with 2.5 assists.
• The Beacons average 73.0 points per game, while allowing 70.2 on defense.

METRICS ON THE RISE
• If there was a Most Improved Award from the early season, the Braves would be among the contenders.
• BU has seen its KenPom ranking rise by 118, while its NET ranking has risen 129 places since the first release.
• In fact, Bradley's 128 rise in the NET rankings is the largest increase in the nation.

ROBERTS EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
• For the second-straight week, junior Terry Roberts was honored with Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Week accolades on Monday.
• Roberts averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals in a pair of wins against Drake and Southern Illinois.
• Roberts is the first Valley player to earn four Newcomer honors this season and the first Brave to do so since Marcellus Sommerville in 2003-04.

MAST ON FIRE
• Sophomore Rienk Mast has become one of BU's top offensive weapons.
• In the last six games, Mast is averaging a team-best 18.3 points – shooting 57.0 percent from the field and 43.5 percent from 3-point range.
• Mast is now second on the team with 11.0 points overall and 15.1 points in Valley play this season.

TAHVANAINEN'S KEY TO SUCCESS
• Junior Ville Tahvanainen's shot from 3-point range is a key to success for Bradley this season.
• Tahvanainen is BU's leader with 32 made triples this season – shooting 36.0 percent overall.
• The junior has been at his best in BU victories, shooting nearly double the percentage than defeats.

DEFENSIVE STRENGTH
• The Braves have once again been anchored by their defense in 2021-22.
• Of 358 schools nationally, Bradley ranks among the top 15 percent in field goal percentage defense, 2-point defense and blocks.
• In fact, BU has forced its opponent to shoot under its season average in 17-of-20 games (and all eight Valley games), including eight contests of at least eight percent lower.

BOYA ADDS SPARK OFF THE BENCH
• With forward Ja'Shon Henry out with an injury, senior Ari Boya has provided the Braves with a spark off the bench.
• In BU's last two games, Boya is averaging 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 13.5 minutes of action.
• In the first six Valley games of the season, Boya combined to total eight points, eight rebounds in 28 minutes of action.

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