Nashville, TN -- The Bradley Braves 16-3 (7-1 MVC) are set to close out their two-game road trip against the Belmont Bruins 14-5 (6-2 MVC) on Tuesday night.
Game Information
Bradley Braves 16-3 (7-1 MVC) at Belmont Bruins 14-5 (6-2 MVC)
Date & Time: Tuesday, Jan. 21st • 6:30 PM CST
Live Coverage: ESPN+Â |Â
Live Stats |
RadioÂ
Location: Curb Events Center
All-Time Series: BEL leads 2-1 (BEL leads 2-0 in Nashville, TN)
Setting the Table
Two of the Missouri Valley's top teams are set to square off Tuesday night when the Bradley Braves meet the Belmont Bruins. Bradley currently sits alone in first place in the MVC with a record of 16-3 and 7-1 in league play following a 74-61 win over Murray State. Belmont sits one spot behind the Braves in a tie for second place with the Drake Bulldogs, holding a record of 15-5 and 6-2 in the MVC after earning an 85-82 road win against the Evansville Purple Aces. This will be the fourth all-time meeting between the two programs, with the teams playing twice in Belmont's first year in the MVC in 2022-23 and only once during the 2023-24 season in Peoria. The matchup has been selected by national college basketball media member Andy Katz as a top-10 game of the week.
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About the Braves
For the Braves, they find themselves enjoying time away from Carver Arena, having already earned four MVC road wins, which leads the conference. The Bradley bench has provided a big boost over the last two contests, notably with Corey Thomas collecting a career-high 16 points, six rebounds, and two assists while Jaquan Johnson was named MVC Freshman of the Week following his career-high 17-point outing against Indiana State, finishing the week with seven rebounds, five assists, and only one turnover. Over these past two games, the Braves have gotten contributions from all over the court, with eight players averaging 7+ PPG. BU's recent strong run of play has them still in the top three in both scoring offense and defense in the MVC, averaging 80.7 PPG on offense and allowing 67.2 PPG on defense. BU has also dominated the three-point line this season, ranking first in the MVC in team three-point percentage (41.3%) and first in opponent three-point percentage (28.3%).
About the Bruins
For the Bruins, they have been red-hot as of late, winning five straight games, with four of those games being decided by five points or less. The Bruins are coached by Casey Alexander, who is in his fifth season as head coach after taking over in 2019-20. Alexander has previous coaching experience at Lipscomb and Stetson, and he owns a career record of 269-168. On the floor, the Bruins are led by four players who are averaging between 11 and 14 PPG: Carter Whitt, Jonathan Pierre, Isaiah Walker, and Tyler Lundblade. As a team, Belmont is scoring at a high clip, owning the MVC's highest-scoring offense at 81.4 PPG and sitting one spot behind Bradley in total made three-pointers (197 for the season). Finally, Belmont shares the ball at a high level, averaging 17.3 assists per game, first in the MVC.
The game will be available on ESPN+ as the MVC's Game of the Week, tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 PM CSTÂ
