Peoria, IL -- Two of the best mid-majors basketball programs in the country are set to collide when the San Francisco Dons 9-2 (0-0 WCC) come to Peoria Wednesday night to meet the Bradley Braves 8-2 (1-0 MVC) at Carver Arena.
Game information
Bradley Braves 8-2 (1-0 MVC) vs San Fransisco Dons 9-2 (0-0 WCC)
Date & Time: Wednesday, Dec. 18th • 7:00 PM CST
Live Coverage: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Radio
Location: Carver Arena
All-Time Series: Bradley leads 4-2 (1-1 in Peoria)
Setting the Table
The Bradley Braves and San Francisco Dons will meet in men's basketball for the first time since the 1981-82 season when the two programs faced off in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, HI. Together, the two programs have accumulated 3,272 all-time wins and seven national championships. This season, the Dons, much like the Braves, are off to a red-hot start with a record of 9-2, including an 8-0 mark against Quad-2 or lower teams. Bradley similarly holds a record of 7-1 against Quad-2 or lower teams. Neither program has frequently traveled to the opposing team's home floor, with this being the first time they will meet in a non-neutral venue since the 1951-52 season. It's also the first time the Dons will play in Peoria since the 1949-50 season. San Francisco carries a NET ranking of 45 into Wednesday's contest, while Bradley is currently ranked 72nd.
About the Braves
Bradley will be looking to bounce back following an 84-74 neutral-site loss to the Santa Clara Broncos in Henderson, NV, as part of the 2024 Jack Jones Classic. The Braves still rank among the nation's leaders in field goal percentage (8th), effective field goal percentage (1st), three-point percentage (1st), and assists per game (21st). Bradley has received big contributions from several impact players in recent games, with Duke Deen scoring 20+ points in two of his last three outings, and Zek Montgomery shooting better than 45% in each of his last three games. A trend that should bode well for Braves fans is that Bradley has been one of the best teams in America at home over the past few seasons. In fact, since 2019-20, Bradley MBB has gone 65-14 and is 42-6 over the last three seasons, currently riding an 8-game home-court win streak dating back to last season.
About the Dons
San Francisco will head south from Milwaukee, WI, following their 76-66 neutral-site win over the previously unbeaten Loyola-Chicago Ramblers at Fiserv Forum. The Dons are currently riding a three-game win streak (St. Louis, Stanislaus State, and Loyola-Chicago). Malik Thomas is the big name to watch for the Dons. The 6'5" senior guard from Fontana, CA, dropped 35 points against the Ramblers and enters Wednesday night's game averaging 18.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, while shooting just over 50% from the floor. The Dons also have two other double-digit scorers in Marcus Williams and Tyrone Reilly IV, who combine for roughly 22 PPG and nearly 10 RPG. San Francisco is led by head coach Chris Gerlufsen, who is 60-32 in his three seasons as a head coach, with a previous stop for one season at Hawaii.
A Bit of History
Darius Hannah and Duke Deen both continue to inch up the Bradley top-15 all-time assist and rebound lists, respectively. Deen needs 56 assists to move into a tie for 15th place, while Hannah needs 154 more rebounds to move into a tie for 15th. Deen is also approaching 1,000 points for his Bradley career, currently sitting at 973 through two seasons and 10 games. Other players with fewer than 300 points remaining to reach 1,000 include Darius Hannah (840), Christian Davis (757), and Zek Montgomery (746).
