Peoria, IL -- The Bradley Braves 21-7 (12-5 MVC) will look to bounce back against Murray State Racers 14-14 (8-9 MVC).

Looking Back
Illinois State defeated Bradley 82-71 in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup on February 19, 2025, at CEFCU Arena in Normal, Illinois. With a crowd of 5,719 in attendance, Illinois State improved to 16-12 overall and 8-9 in MVC play, while Bradley fell to 21-7, 12-5 MVC. Illinois State was led by Jack Daugherty, who ended the contest with a game high 25 points on 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Johnny Kinziger contributed 19 points while Chase Walker added 13 points and 5 rebounds, while Dalton Banks chipped in 10 points.

Bradley was led by Duke Deen and Zek Montgomery, both of whom scored 16 points. Deen made 6-of-13 field goals, including 4-of-10 from three-point range, while Montgomery contributed 5-of-12 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Darius Hannah also added 15 points for the Braves. Illinois State held the lead into halftime following a tight first half of action at a 35-27 advantage. Bradley made a few a strong runs in the second half, shooting 53.1% from the field, that saw the deficit drop between five and six points multiple times but Illinois State's would counter by making a concerted effort to get to the foul line, shooting 27 free throws in the second half at a 79.2% clip in contrast to Bradley's 11 trips.

The Redbirds capitalized on Bradley's turnovers, scoring 20 points off of them, while Bradley managed 5 points from turnovers. The game was closer throughout, with the score tied four times and the lead changing seven times

Setting the Table for Saturday
The Bradley Braves will return home this weekend as they welcome the Murray State Racers for Bradley's RED OUT! Bradley University Athletics will be giving away branded rally towels for the occasion and will also be selling RED OUT t-shirts while supplies last. Murray State will hopefully be wrapping up an extended road trip following Saturday night's game due to a power outage caused by a lightning strike on the Murray State campus. This has left the Racers unable to play in their home venue, with both of their last two home games being moved to other locations (Feb 17th vs UNI moved to Nashville, and Feb 19th vs Southern Illinois moved to Carbondale).

Both teams enter the game having won three of their last four. In the all-time series, the Braves have won three of the last four and lead the series 10-9, with an 8-4 record in Peoria. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+ as well as ESPNU with tipoff coming at 5:00 PM CST. The initial meeting this season was won by the Braves in Murray, KY with a final score of 

About the Braves
The Braves enter Saturday in third place of the MVC standings, a half game behind UNI for 2nd place and 1.5 games back of Drake in the lead for the MVC. The Braves are led by a trio of double digit scorers (Duke Deen 13.2 PPG, Zek Montgomery 12.9 PPG, and Darius Hannah 11.8 PPG). Over the last five games for the Braves they've seen their already good offense really hit it's stride, shooting over 40% from three point range and above 44% from the floor in each of their last five contests. The Braves will play two of their last three contests at home with Saturday's game vs Murray State and the regular season finale against Northern Iowa on March 2nd. The Braves last remaining road game comes on February 26th when they will make the trip to Valparaiso, IN. Saturday will feature two of the best scoring defenses in the MVC with Bradley ranked 4th (69.5 PPG) and Murray State ranked 3rd (68.5 PPG). 

The Braves had multiple players contribute in the initial meeting against Murray State with Corey Thomas collecting a season high 16 points, with Darius Hannah and Duke Deen also combining for 34 points.

About the Racers
Murray State is in the third year of Steve Prohm's second stint as head coach. Prohm previously coached Murray State from 2011-2015 before becoming the head coach at Iowa State from 2015-2021. He carries a career record of 244-173. On the floor, the Racers will rely on a quartet of double-digit scorers: JaCobi Wood (13.6 PPG), AJ Ferguson (11.5 PPG), Terrence Harcum (11.3 PPG), and Kylin Milton (11.1 PPG). In the first meeting between the two teams, none of the four recorded more than 13 points, with Milton, Wood, and Ferguson all scoring between 11-12 points. Murray State leads the MVC in free throw attempts this season with 623 on the year (22 attempts per game).

The Racers are coming off their second win of the season in Carbondale following a 62-60 victory on Wednesday night, which saw JaCobi Wood collect a game-high 20 points, while Terrence Harcum and Nick Ellington both picked up 14 points.