Peoria, IL. The Bradley Braves 10-6 (3-2) return to the hilltop looking to claim their 16th straight win in Carver Arena, this time against MVC foe Valparaiso 6-10 (0-5).

Scouting the Beacons
The Valparaiso Beacons have had as tough of a start to MVC play as anyone. The Beacons started of MVC play having to go up against two of the newcomers to the conference in Belmont and Murray St. Now in the restart portion of MVC play it isn't getting any easier. Valparaiso has competed close in every MVC contest so far but as yet to punch through to snag a victory. The Beacons are led by head coach Matt Lottich. Lottich has been in charge of the Valparaiso program since the 2016-17 season. (which was their last in the horizon league). He carries a career record of 103-106 with a horizon league regular season championship and an appearance in the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title game. On the court the Beacons will look to Ben Krikke and Kobe King. Krikke is currently playing as well as anyone in the league averaging 18.1 PPG and 5.8 RPG while shooting 53% from the floor. Meanwhile, Kobe King has kicked it up a notch in the last few contests giving Valparaiso 16.9 PPG and 3.4 RPG while shooting 41% from the field. The Beacons will be looking to claim conference win number one after a heart breaking loss which saw Valpo lose on a last second buzzer beater at home against UNI. Valpo comes in as a team that will be looking to control the glass as well as points in the paint. The big key for Valpo to break BU's 15-game home court win streak will be to knock down the open perimeter shot and collect second chance points.

Scouting the Braves
Home sweet home, Bradley is tied for the nations 14th longest home winning streak and has won 15 straight contests in the confines of Carver Arena, with a BU win they will tie the program's 9th longest home win streak which was 58 years ago in 1965-1966. The Braves currently sit at 3-2 in the MVC standings and are nipping at the heels of Southern Illinois and Missouri State. In order for Bradley to make this milestone a reality they will look to their three headed monster of Rienk Mast, Duke Deen and Malevy Leons. All three are coming off an uncharacteristic shooting night in a road loss to Murray State but all three have been phenomenal on BU's home floor. Bradley has never lost to Valpo in their home venue with a 6-0 record in Peoria and they own a 3-game win streak in the series. The Braves currently boast one of the nations best defenses ranking just outside the top-15 in scoring defense at 59 PPG and they own the second best 3-point attack in the MVC at 123 of 343 (35%). A big bright spot as of late for BU has been the reemergence of Zek Montgomery. The BU wing has recorded double digit scoring efforts in three of his last four games and is 14-18 from the floor in his last two contests. Compared to last season Montgomery had one double digit game in 230 minutes played, this season Montgomery has had five contests in double figures in 213 minutes played. The big key for Braves will be to establish scoring around the rim and wear out a Valpo rotation that sees the majority of their production come from Kobe King and Ben Krikke.

Milestone Watch
- Bradley aims to tie the 9th longest home court win streak in program history, 16 games from 01/30/65 to 01/06/66
- Ja'Shon Henry looks to keep pace for 1,000 career points, currently is 66th on the all-time scoring list with 876 career points and sits 27 points behind Taylor Brown (2008-12) for the 65th spot at 903 career points.
- Ville Tahvanainen is one made FT away from tying Daniel Ruffin for the 10th longest made FT streak in program history at 28 in a row.
- Malevy Leons and Darius Hannah are both looking to crack the top-10 in single season blocks. Leons sits at 27 with a 1.7 average on the year and needs to average 1.4 to make the top-10. While Hannah sits at 21 with a 1.4 average and needs 1.8 to make the top-10.

How to Watch/Listen
You can stream Bradley vs Valparaiso on the CBS Sports Network or listen live over the radio with 1470 WMBD. The game is slated for a 2 p.m. start time tomorrow from Carver Arena.