Murray, KY. It's early, but already two of the top teams in the MVC are set to square off in Murray, KY when Murray State 8-6 (3-1) hosts Bradley 10-5 (3-1) on Wednesday night.

Scouting the Racers
Murray State will be the final of the three new teams that Bradley has yet to play. Bradley currently has two very different results against the leagues other newcomers with a close road loss to Belmont and a dominate home victory over UIC. The Racers are somewhat of a surprise to some MVC fans this season with Murray State currently tied for second in the MVC with Bradley, Missouri State, and Southern Illinois at 3-1 in league play. The Racers are led by head coach Steve Prohm, who is in his second stint as the head man for the Racers program. Before coming back to Murray State, coach Prohm served as the head coach for six seasons at Iowa State University in the Big 12 conference. Prohm won two Big 12 tournament titles and qualified for three NCAA tournaments in that time. While things didn't shake our for Prohm at Iowa State he is once again with Murray State and has them off to a hot start in their first season in the MVC. The Racers are fueled by two of the leagues best newcomers in Rob Perry and JaCobi Wood. Rob Perry is a senior from Orlando, FL who is currently averaging 15.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.1 ASP while shooting 45% from the floor. Wood meanwhile is just a sophomore and is giving the Racers 11.3 PPG, 4.8 ASP and 4.2 RPG. The big key for Murray State will be to cut off Bradley's points in the pain and create good shots in the half court offense. BU ha scored 36+ points in the paint in three of their last 4 contests and currently boats the nations 13th best scoring defense at 58 PPG.

Scouting the Braves
After a heartbreaking loss to Belmont back on 12/28/30, Bradley came out of the gates angry against UIC jumping out to a near 20 point lead before the U12 media timeout. While it is unlikely to see Bradley do that on the road against a team that has won 20 of its last 21 at home there is still a lot to be excited about. Bradley's Rienk Mast is currently ripping apart the opposing teams front court. Mast has recorded a double-double in three of his last four games and is now averaging a double-double at 13.6 PPG and 11.2 RPG, keep in mind that Mast missed the first 6 games of the season with an MCL Sprain. While Mast doesn't qualify for the minimum percentage of games played for his stats to appear on the MVC website his stats would currently rank him 1st in RPG at 11.2 (almost 3 RPG more than second place) and 16th in total rebounds at 81. Another player who has been stepping it up big time for Bradley is guard Duke Deen. The Troy transfer has come alive the last few games putting up double figure scoring in four of his last five contests and making four or more 3-pointers in three of his last four games going 16 of 30 for 53%. Bradley will also be looking to add to their strong start in MVC play with a chance to be 4-1or the first time in nearly 15 years. BU but now sits with an opportunity to claim MVC road win number two before playing two straight at home against the MVC's 11th and 12th place teams. Bradley's best bet for handing Murray State their second straight home loss will come from controlling the turnover battle and converting open looks from outside. Bradley shot 5/20 from 3-point land against Belmont and 8/22 against UIC.

Milestone Watch
- Rienk Mast needs to average 12.6 RPG to be in the top-10 for single season rebound totals, currently at 11.3
- Malevy Leons needs to average 1.4 BPG to be in the top-10 for single season block totals, currently at 1.7
- Darius Hannah needs to average 1.7 BPG to be in the top-10 for single season block totals, currently at 1.4
- Ja'Shon Henry needs to average 7.8 PPG to collect 1,000 career points, currently at 866 and 68th all-time
- Bradley can improve to 4-1 in the MVC for the first time since the 2008-2009 season when they started 5-1.

How to Watch/Listen
You can stream Bradley at Murray State on ESPN+ or listen over the radio with 1470 WMBD. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from CFSB Center in Murray, KY.