The Match-Up
When the Bradley Braves welcome the UTSA Roadrunners to Carver Arena on Tuesday night, it will be only the second time the two schools have met in a men's basketball contest. Bradley leads the all-time series—albeit a brief one—1-0. The two programs last faced off in the 2017 season, when the Braves earned a 71-69 victory in the Island of the Bahamas showcase. So far in the 2024-2025 season, Bradley finds itself at 1-1 following its first loss of the season at the hands of the Washington State Cougars. For UTSA, they are 1-0 after a 103-77 win over Trinity University (TX). The Roadrunners were scheduled to play North Dakota on Saturday, but the game was postponed due to weather in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which prevented North Dakota from arriving for the contest.

About the Braves
Bradley will be looking to get back into the win column on Tuesday night, and one factor in achieving that goal will be their bench. Through their first two games this season, Bradley has accumulated 59 total points from bench players, which accounts for just over one-third of their total scoring for the young season. Senior guards Zek Montgomery and Connor Dillon also contributed solid individual performances. Montgomery posted 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, while Dillon was perfect from three-point range, hitting all four of his attempts, and added three rebounds. Another positive note for the Braves is their strong performance at home under head coach Brian Wardle. Dating back to last season, the Braves are riding a 5-game home-court win streak, during which they have outscored opponents by an average of 15 points (76-61).

About the Roadrunners
New faces are central to UTSA under first-year head coach Austin Claunch, who took over the program after a year as an assistant with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Claunch previously served as the head coach at Nicholls, where he won 90 games over five seasons and led the team to back-to-back Southland Conference Championships in 2021 and 2022. He was named Southland Coach of the Year in 2021. As for the roster, UTSA has largely revamped its lineup, bringing in six players who previously played at Power Six schools. In their lone game so far, Primo Spears led the way with 27 points and 3 rebounds. As a team, UTSA had four players score in double digits against Trinity. Jonvisius Smith led the Roadrunners on the boards with 10 rebounds to go along with his nine-point performance.