Wednesday, February 10, 2016 7:00 p.m.
Carver Arena, Peoria, Ill.

Before playing Loyola at Gentile Arena on January 13, the Bradley Braves were 1-15 against Division I schools, 0-4 in conference (having lost those four games by an average of 29 points), and 9 of their 15 losses had come by 20 points or more. Yet the only basket of the night by Donte Thomas—a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining—gave Bradley a crushing 54-53 win over the Ramblers. It was a crushing defeat, especially since it sank Loyola to an 0-5 conference record.

The win seemed to give the young Braves much more confidence. Although they’ve lost six out of their seven games since, the margin of loss for the young Braves is shrinking. Bradley actually won their last outing at home over Indiana State, 63-58, before 6028 appreciative fans. Coach Brian Wardle’s freshmen have played so many minutes they might as well be sophomores.

The Braves start two guards, a center, and two forwards. Ronnie Suggs and Antoine Pittman currently man the backcourt. Six seven sophomore forward Donte Thomas leads the team in points (9.0) and rebounds (5.3) per game. Luuk van Bree, a 6’9” Dutch forward and reigning MVC Newcomer of the Week adds 4.3 rebounds and 8.5 points per game; he leads the team in made threes (38) and three point percentage (36.9%).

Callum Barker is the 6’9” center out of Australia (and very nearly a Loyola recruit) who played so well in the outing against Loyola in January. He averages 5.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. Barker scored 10 points coming off the bench and dominated the boards with nine rebounds as Bradley out-rebounded the Ramblers 37-24.

Six-foot-three Brit guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye (8.6 ppg), 6’7” forward Scottie James (3.5 points, 2.8 rpg), and 5’11” Joel Okafor get most of the time off the bench. The only senior on the team, 6’1” guard Ka’Darryl Bell, has recently returned to the bench after recovering from injury.

Loyola may be favored in the game, but the Braves are playing much better than when the two teams last met. Their turnovers are still very high, but they’re making fewer silly fouls and hitting their shots at a higher percentage. Suggs has been plugged into the starting lineup to replace turnover-prone Lautier-Ogunleye (87 turnovers against 71 assists), and Bell’s experience and versatility off the bench is also a plus. Loyola is also playing better overall, but their consistency still varies from game to game. And it's worth noting that Coach Wardle has compiled an impressive record against Loyola from the Horizon League and his first game against the Ramblers with Bradley.

Loyola game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... 209aaa.pdf

Bradley game notes: http://www.bradleybraves.com//pdf9/4466 ... EM_ID=3400

TV/Streaming video: ESPN3

Vegas odds: Loyola by 8

Despite having a couple of nice wins this season, winning on the road in conference is never easy. I hope we continue playing aggressively on offense.

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We haven't won two consecutive games since before Christmas. It's the last game in Peoria for Jeff White. I hope we can build off the nice win at SIU, and not go backwards in a game where we're favored.

Good Luck to our guys this evening. We truly SHOULD win this game , I say we do --- 80-69 !! Keep it going RAMBLERS !!

This kid announcing is nails across a chalkboard annoying

When are we going to have OUR announcers ?? Or is there nothing in budget for that ?

I'd actually rate him much higher than many of the student announcers I've heard.

That's not saying much, IMHO. On a homerism scale, I'd rate him a Hawk Harrelson

I would love to see us get an offensive rebound some time before the end of the game.

OK Up seven at half--Should truly be up Fifteen or so.

Now then its great to be in the Valley---BUT the announcers for our games are questionable--EVEN bush league for such a good conf. This junk should NOT be allowed. This evening's duo are rotten-- Totally partial and bad to boot