Braves Travel to Evansville for Weekend Matchup

Men's Basketball 1/5/2018 11:32:00 AM

Bradley (12-4 , 2-1 MVC) at Evansville (10-6, 0-3 MVC)
Game Details	Saturday, Jan. 6 • 3 p.m. • Evansville, Ind. • Ford Center
Television	ESPN3
Radio	1470 WMBD
Game Notes	Bradley \| Evansville
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Twitter: @bradleyumbb \| Instagram: @bradleyumbb

The Bradley men's basketball team travels to Evansville in search of its first road MVC win of the season. The Braves and Purple Aces are set to meet on Saturday at Ford Center with a 3 p.m. tipoff.

ABOUT THE BRAVES
• Bradley is 12-4 during the 2017-18 campaign with a 2-1 record in Missouri Valley Conference action.
• BU has won its last two games with home victories against Northern Iowa and Valparaiso.
• Sophomore Darrell Brown has scored in double-figures in the last 10 games and leads the Braves with 14.1 points and 4.1 assists per game.
• A balanced squad with eight players averaging at least five points, Nate Kennell and Donte Thomas are second and third on BU in scoring with 9.6 and 9.1 points, respectively.
• Thomas also leads the Braves with 6.4 rebounds per game, while Elijah Childs is second with 6.1.
• BU is averaging 69.6 points, shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 39.9 percent from 3-point range.
• The strength of the team so far is on defense where BU features the nation's 13th-ranked unit, allowing only 61.4 points per game, 37.6 percent of field goals and 30.6 percent from 3-point range.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Braves own a 28-22 all-time edge versus the Purple Aces.
• The series has largely been dominated by the home team with the host schools combining to win 35-of-43 games (81.4 percent).
• Bradley did sweep Evansville last season, posting a 74-63 road win before finishing the game on a 43-17 run to earn an 84-72 home victory.
• Darrell Brown led the Braves with 16.5 points in the two wins, with Donte Thomas also averaging a double-double with 10.5 points and rebounds.

ABOUT THE PURPLE ACES
• Evansville is 10-6 this season and is still in search of its first MVC victory with a 0-3 mark.
• Overall, the Purple Aces have lost their last four games after a five-game winning streak.
• Ryan Taylor has returned to the lineup after missing seven contests with an injury and leads the team with 21.2 points per game.
• Dru Smith is second with 12.4 points, while leading the Aces with 5.1 assists per game.
• Dainius Chatkevicius leads the team with 4.9 boards per game.
• Evansville averages 68.4 points per game – ranking second nationally with a 3-point clip of 44.6 – while allowing 65.6 points per game.

TOP-RANKED DEFENSE
• The key to the team's success this season has been owning one of the nation's top defenses.
• Bradley is allowing only 61.4 points per game, ranking 13th in the country.
• The Braves also place in the top 40 in field goal percentage defense (eighth at 37.6%), 2-point defense (17th at 42.7%) and 3-point defense (35th at 30.6%).

IMPROVED OFFENSIVE RHYTHM
• Overall, the Bradley offense has started to match the performance of the defense as of late.
• In its last seven games, Bradley is averaging 8.3 more points, shooting 5.3 percent better from the field and 7.7 percent better at 3-pointers.

REBOUNDING BATTLE
• Donte Thomas and Elijah Childs are both looking to join elite company in terms or rebounding.
• After his first double-double of the year versus Valparaiso on Wednesday (19 pts/12 rebs), Thomas now leads the team with 6.4 boards per game, while Childs is second at 6.1.
• Thomas aims to be the ninth player in BU history to lead the team in boards in three-straight years – a list that includes seven Bradley Hall of Famers.
• Meanwhile, Childs is looking to become just the fourth freshman to lead BU in rebounds, joining Josh Cunningham (2014-15), Danny Granger (2001-02) and Harold McMath (1976-77).

GUARDING THE GLASS
• Junior Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye continues to prove that he is one of the team's top rebounders despite being a 6-4 guard.
• On Wednesday, Lautier-Ogunleye collected a career-best 14 rebounds – the most by a Bradley guard since J.J. Tauai had 17 on March 14, 2007.
• The junior has collected at least 10 boards in three games this season (none in 62 games his first two years) and ranks third on BU with an average of 5.3.
• In a win against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 1, Lautier-Ogunleye registered his first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?
• Sophomore Darrell Brown has continued to shine as the Braves top offensive threat, whether he is the team's go-to scorer or setting up others.
• Brown leads BU with 14.1 points and 4.1 assists per game during the 2017-18 season.
• In 16 games this year, Brown has led the team in points on eight occasions and in assists 13 times.
• The sophomore is one of only two players in the MVC to lead his team in both scoring and assists (Indiana State's Jordan Barnes is the other).

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