Bradley Faces Missouri State in Top-Five Valley Matchup

Men's Basketball 2/22/2022 10:41:00 AM

Bradley (15-11, 9-5 MVC) at Southern Illinois (13-13, 6-8 MVC)
Game Details	Wednesday, Feb. 23 • 7 p.m. • Springfield, Mo. • JQH Arena
Television	ESPN+
Radio	1470 & 100.3 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Missouri State
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team begins the final week of the regular season with a key matchup between top-five Valley teams, playing at Missouri State. Tipoff on Wednesday is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 16-12 during the 2021-22 season with a 10-6 record in Missouri Valley Conference play.
• The Braves are coming off a victory over rival Illinois State on Saturday, 72-64.
• Junior Terry Roberts leads Bradley with 15.0 points, while ranking first in the MVC with 4.1 assists.
• Sophomore Rienk Mast is second on BU with 11.3 points, while leading the MVC with 8.3 rebounds.
• Junior Malevy Leons also scores in double figures with 10.1 points per game – coming off a career-best 21-point performance on Saturday.
• Bradley averages 71.0 points per game, while allowing 64.9 defensively.

DOUBLE-DIGIT VALLEY WINS
• With two games left, BU has already clinched a winning Valley record with a 10-6 mark.
• It marks the second time in the last three years Bradley has won at least 10 Valley games after not reaching the mark in the previous 10 seasons.
• If Bradley can win its final two games, it will mark the team's most conference wins since going 12-6 in 2000-01.

ARCH MADNESS SEEDING
• The Braves are currently in fifth place of the MVC standings with a 10-6 conference mark – just one game behind Drake and Missouri State in third.
• Bradley can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the final standings, having already secured a first-round bye for the 2022 MVC Tournament.
• If BU wins on Wednesday or Southern Illinois loses to Illinois State, Bradley will clinch a top-five seed for the fourth time in the last five years.

SERIES HISTORY
• Missouri State holds a 42-25 edge in a series that dates back to when the Bears joined the Valley for the 1990-91 season.
• The Bears are 25-6 all-time against Bradley in Springfield but the Braves have claimed victory in two of the last four years at JQH Arena.
• Missouri State has won the last three meetings over BU – posting a 71-69 victory on Jan. 5 thanks to a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

ABOUT THE BEARS
• Missouri State enters the final week tied for third in the Valley standings with a 11-5 league mark.
• Overall, the Bears are 20-9 this season.
• MSU had its three-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, losing at Northern Iowa, 95-75.
• Isiaih Mosely leads the Bears with 19.5 points.
• Gaige Prim is second on Missouri State with 15.9 points to go with a team-leading 7.8 rebounds.
• Lu'cye Patterson has a team-best 2.3 assists.
• The Bears average 77.2 points per game, while allowing 67.9 on defense.

FINISHING STRONG
• The Braves are finishing the regular season with momentum as Bradley has won eight of its last 10 games – the best record in the Valley during that stretch (Missouri State is tied for second at 7-3).
• It is tied for BU's best 10-game stretch in Valley play the last 25 seasons (was 2-4 prior to the run).

DEFENSE ANCHORS RUN
• Defense has keyed BU's recent 10-game run.
• Bradley has allowed just 60.9 points per game during the last 10 contests – the 17th-best scoring defense in the nation during that period.
• Overall, the Braves have seen their national rank in scoring defense rise 76 places since the run began – from 132nd (67.1) to 56th (64.9).

LEADER OF THE PACK
• Sophomore Rienk Mast has controlled the glass during the 2021-22 season.
• Mast ranks first in the Valley and 54th nationally with 8.3 rebounds.
• 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).

VERSATILE MALEVY LEONS
• Junior Malevy Leons has proven to be a weapon for Bradley in a number of ways.
• After matching a personal best with 21 points on Saturday, Leons is third on BU in points (10.1), second in boards (6.1), first in blocks (31) and fourth in assists (37).
• The junior also leads BU with a field goal mark of 49.5 and a 3-point clip of 38.5.
• Leons is also on pace to become the second player to lead BU in 3-point percentage and blocks in the same season (Will Egolf in 2012-13).

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
• One key for the Braves is limiting its turnovers.
• In Valley games, Bradley is a perfect 7-0 this season with 13 or fewer turnovers – averaging 11.3 per victory.
• On the opposite end, the Braves are 3-6 versus conference foes with 14 or more turnovers – averaging 15.7 in their setbacks.
• Last week, BU committed 17 turnovers in a loss at SIU before posting 10 in a win over Illinois State.

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Players Mentioned

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

#14 Malevy Leons: F; 6' 9"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#14 Malevy Leons
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F

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

Bradley Faces Missouri State in Top-Five Valley Matchup

Players Mentioned

#51 Rienk Mast

#14 Malevy Leons

#0 Terry Roberts

Players Mentioned

#51 Rienk Mast

#14 Malevy Leons

#0 Terry Roberts