Bradley Braves
Missouri Valley (20-14, 9-9)
At one point Bradley was 0-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play. At 8-10 overall and winless in conference play it did not look good for Coach Brian Wardle and his Braves. But Bradley started to turn things around in the next handful of games. And by early February, the Braves were one of the best teams in the conference and they have won nine of their last 11 games.
Big Wins: 11/21 vs Penn State (59-56), 2/6 at Northern Iowa (79-71), 3/9 vs Loyola IL (53-51)
Bad Losses: 11/17 at Illinois-Chicago (70-71), 11/28 at IUPUI (73-85), 12/15 Eastern Illinois (66-73)
Coach: Brian Wardle
Why They Can Surprise:
Bradley plays solid defense and that gives them an opportunity to pull off an upset. Elijah Childs and Koch Bar are both solid shot blocking threats in the paint. Childs also averages 12.2 points and 7.8 rebounds on top of his 1.4 blocks. With Childs, Bar and Luuk van Bree, Bradley has some decent size in the paint and some decent defenders. This is not a great shooting team, but Darrell Brown and Nate Kennell are efficient outside shooters. Brown leads the team with 14.7 points per game and connects on 43.9 percent of his attempts from long range.
Why They Can Disappoint:
When Brown and Kennell are knocking down their shots, Bradley can have a decent offense. That is not always the case though, like when the Braves scored just 37 points in a loss to Missouri State. Brown was 0-for-4 from the floor in that game. The team scores just 66.6 points per game and that could be enough to win an NCAA Tournament. With a couple capable shooters and Childs in the paint, Bradley has the tools they need. Whether or not those players can all have a good game at the same time in order to beat a quality opponent will be the big question.
Probable Starters:
Darrell Brown, Junior, Guard, 14.7 ppg, 3.1 apg
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, Senior, Guard, 8.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 5.4 rpg
Luqman Lundy, Senior, Guard, 4.0 ppg, 1.8 apg
Elijah Childs, Sophomore, Forward, 12.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Luuk van Bree, Senior, Forward, 5.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg
Key Role Players:
Nate Kennell, Junior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 1.9 apg
Koch Bar, Junior, Center, 5.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg
Ja’Shon Henry, Freshman, Guard, 4.3 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 66.6 (311th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.0 (35, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.4 (236, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.1 (47, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.8 (267, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.6 (78, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.3 (220, 7)
Rebound Margin: 1.2 (149, 2)
Assists Per Game: 12.1 (276, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.7 (143, 5)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2013 | CIT | First Round win over Green Bay |
| 2013 | CIT | Second Round win over Tulane |
| 2013 | CIT | Quarterfinal loss to Northern Iowa |
| 2009 | CIT | First Round win over Austin Peay |
| 2009 | CIT | Second Round win over Oakland |
| 2009 | CIT | Semifinal win over Pacific |
| 2009 | CIT | Final loss to Old Dominion |
| 2008 | CBI | First Round win over Cincinnati |
| 2008 | CBI | Second Round win over Ohio |
| 2008 | CBI | Semifinal win over Virginia |
| 2008 | CBI | Final loss to Tulsa |
| 2007 | NIT | First Round win over Providence |
| 2007 | NIT | Second Round loss to Mississippi State |
| 2006 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Kansas |
| 2006 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Pittsburg |
| 2006 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to Memphis |
| 2001 | NIT | First Round loss to Detroit |
*all team stats through 3/10
