Peoria, IL -- The Bradley Braves hit the road to take on the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Game Information
Bradley Braves 16-8 (9-4 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers 14-9 (6-6)
Date & Time: Friday, February 6th | 7:00 PM CST
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Location: McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, IA
All-Time Series: Bradley leads 40-38
The Valley
The Belmont Bruins sit atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings at 11-2, with Murray State and Bradley tied for second at 9-4. Rounding out the top five are UIC at 8-5 and Illinois State at 7-5. Friday's matchup between Bradley and Northern Iowa will feature the two longest active tenured coaches in the MVC with UNI's Ben Jacobson, in his 20th season, and Bradley's
Brian Wardle, now in his 11th season. The game will also showcase two of the nation's best teams at taking care of the ball, as both Bradley and UNI average just 9.5 turnovers per game ranking among the NCAA's top 20. Additionally, Bradley ranks fifth nationally in turnover margin at +5.0.
The Bradley Braves
Bradley will look to continue its winning ways while navigating a demanding stretch of four games in 10 days, having already played two.
Alex Huibregtse has led the Braves in scoring over the last three contests and was recently named U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week following his nine three-pointer performance against Drake. Bradley's frontcourt has also stepped up of late, with the forwards as a group averaging 34 points and 23 rebounds per game. As a team, Bradley has generated high-percentage looks, shooting better than 47 percent from the field in each of its last two games.
The Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa is coming off a double-digit home win over Evansville, 71-55. On the season, UNI has three players averaging double figures in Trey Campbell, Leon Bond III, and Will Hornseth combining for 34.8 points per game. In the last meeting in Peoria, Hornseth did not play, and the remaining duo combined for 29 points. Ben Jacobson, the longest-tenured coach in the MVC, remains at the helm of the UNI program and owns a career record of 388-255. Defensively, UNI boasts the nation's top scoring defense, allowing just 60.4 points per game, along with the 27th-best field goal percentage defense in the country.
History Says!
Historically, the Bradley/UNI series has been one of the most tightly contested in the MVC. Bradley leads the all-time series 40-38, while UNI holds a 25-11 advantage in Cedar Falls. With a Bradley win, the Braves would complete a regular-season sweep of both UNI and Drake for the first time since 2001.
Brian Wardle is also approaching yet another milestone sitting just two wins away from owning the record for MVC wins for Bradley men's basketball and is also three wins away from his 300th career win.
The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff from the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The matchup will air on CBS Sports Network with Jack Gordon and Tre Demps on the call. Bradley fans can also listen on 1470 WMBD or the Varsity App for the Bradley Basketball radio broadcast featuring Dave Snell and Chad Kleine.
