Peoria, IL. The Braves Braves 20-8 (13-4) will look to keep pace for first place in the MVC when they make the trip south to Carbondale, IL, to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis 20-8 (12-5).

Setting the Table
It's time for round two between Bradley and Southern Illinois. The first meeting saw Bradley exit with a 10-point win in Peoria just over two weeks ago. Since that matchup in Peoria, the Bradley Braves have run off four straight wins as a part of their seven-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois has won three out of their last four games against Missouri State, UIC and Valparaiso. BU leads the all-time series 55-50, with SIU holding a 28-18 edge in Carbondale.

Scouting the Salukis
SIU has been solid on the defensive side of the court this season, boasting the nation's 17th best scoring defense at 61.9 PPG and leading the MVC in steals with 210. The Salukis will look to get Marcus Domask going early against BU as the do-everything forward for SIU was held to five points and four rebounds on 1-5 shooting from the floor. Lance Jones will also be a player to watch out for. The senior guard recorded 13 points and went 5-14 against BU in Peoria. Jones is a ball-handler known for his ability to get downhill and hit the big outside shot. SIU sits just one game out of first place at 12-5 in MVC, looking to keep pace with Drake and Bradley who are both at 13-4 in league play.

Scouting the Braves
Bradley basketball getting hot in February has been a tradition under head coach Brian Wardle and this season it is no different. BU is not only 5-0 this month but also has a chance to sweep the MVC schools of Illinois for the first time since 1998-99 when the only MVC schools they played from Illinois were Southern Illinois and Illinois State. Bradley will be seeking MVC win number 14 of the season early Sunday afternoon, but in order to do so, they will need their stars to step up. Rienk Mast and Malevy Leons, aka the Flying Dutchmen, have been a menace to opposing teams during this seven-game win streak for Bradley with an average combined stat line of 28.2 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 4.8 ASP, 1.8 BPG and 1.7 SPG. Ville Tahvanainen and Ja'Shon Henry have also continued to establish themselves off the bench; Tahvanainen is just a few days removed from going 6-6 from 3-point land and Henry continues to narrow in on his 1,000th career point currently sitting at 978. Bradley will also need to be strong on the defensive end once again. BU's defense ranks 15th nationally in PPG and is currently number one in the MVC.

HOW THE TEAMS STACK UP

	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3P%	FT%
Bradley	72.1	35.6	13.4	46.7	37.3	67.6
Southern Illinois	66.4	31.2	13.9	45.6	31.7	73.5

Series History
All-Time Series, BU leads 55-50
    at Bradley, BU leads 34-16
    at SIU, SIU leads 28-18
Neutral Site, SIU leads 6-3
Current Streak, BU W1
Last 10 Games, BU leads 6-4

How to Watch/Listen
You can watch Bradley at Southern Illinois on ESPN2 as well as ESPN+. You may also listen over the radio with 1470 WMBD. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start time from the Banterra Center in Carbondale, IL.