Peoria, IL. The Bradley Braves 15-8 (8-4) and Southern Illinois Salukis (9-3) will meet on Wednesday night in a massive Missouri Valley Conference clash.

Setting the Table
The Southern Illinois Salukis currently sit on top of the MVC standings at 9-3 in conference play with seven other teams within two games of first place. The Salukis will be looking to get back to their winning ways after dropping a close contest against Illinois State in Normal 72-66. The Bradley Braves on the other hand are coming in after two straight wins against Illinois State and UIC. Bradley currently owns the all-time series 54-50 with a 33-16 edge in Peoria. These two in-state rivals have split 10 of the last 14 regular season matchups.

Scouting the Salukis
When it comes to Southern Illinois everything begins with slowing down Marcus Domask. The SIU forward is having perhaps his best season in a Saluki uniform, coming into this matchup he is averaging 17.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 3.5 APG. Domask put up 32 points and six rebounds in his last outing against Illinois State. Lance Jones fills the role as the secondary option for the Salukis. The senior guard is averaging 14.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG while shooting 38% from the floor and is currently leading the MVC in total steals at 42. Bryan Mullins is the head man for SIU and is looking for his first MVC regular season championship. Bradley and Southern Illinois share many similarities including a brand of tough defense. In almost every defensive metric Bradley and Southern Illinois are ranked first or second.

Scouting the Braves
Bradley is currently riding high after a back to back wins over Illinois State in overtime and a road win over UIC on Sunday. Following a wild Sunday that saw both SIU and Belmont lose, Bradley now has a chance to claim a share of first place with a Bradley win and a Belmont loss against Murray State. The Braves will look to make it four straight wins at home in the series against SIU and in order to do so they will need their stars to step up. Rienk Mast, Malevy Leons, and Duke Deen have been the big three for Bradley this season. In BU's last game against UIC all three recorded 15+ points and Deen even went as far as to get 21 points with Leons close behind with 19 points. Mast last season against SIU had some of his best games collecting an average stat line of 15 PPG, 9 RPG, 2 BPG, and 1.5 SPG. If your looking for a game within the game, look no further than the possible matchup between Malevy Leons and Marcus Domask. Leons is currently the front runner for Defensive Player of the year in the MVC with his conference leading 40 blocks, and his 39 total steals which ranks third in the MVC. Leons is also ranked 3rd in the MVC in total player efficiency and 2nd in defensive efficiency according to College Basketball Reference.

HOW THE TEAMS STACK UP

	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3P%	FT%
Bradley	71.9	35.7	13.4	46.2	31.9	67.1
Southern IL	67.0	31.4	13.8	45.8	33.0	73.0

Series History
All-Time Series, BU leads 54-50
    at Bradley, BU leads 33-16
    at SIU, SIU leads 28-18
Neutral Site, SIU leads 6-3
Current Streak, SIU W-1
Last 10 Games, BU leads 6-4

How to Watch/Listen
You can view Bradley vs Southern Illinois on ESPN+ with Brian Bedo and Matt McClain on the call or listen over the radio with 1470 WMBD. The game is set for 7 p.m. start time from Carver Arena on Wednesday, February 1st.

Ticket Link: Here (Single game)
February 4-Pack: Here (All remaining home games)