Saturday, January 13, 2018 3:00 p.m.
Gentile Arena, Chicago, Ill.
Bradley University hired Coach Brian Wardle in April 2015 to bring competence and stability to a program in chaos as legal issues and losing seasons were piling up in Peoria. Loyola fans knew of Wardle from his days at Green Bay, where he led the Phoenix rebound to the top of the Horizon League. After two seasons of struggle to right the ship, the program seems to be coming together for the Braves in 2017-18 with a stingy defense and just enough offensive ability to enter the top half of a Missouri Valley landscape characterized by parity.
Wardle started off by bringing along a few recruits he discovered at Green Bay and signing up just about anyone else who could dribble and follow directions. Ten freshmen were on his first squad at Bradley, and while some developed and some washed out, he’s added several recruits since who have some high quality talent. Five of the original ten are still on the team, and while some no longer start, they add experience, familiarity with the system, and a work ethic that helps guide the talented newcomers.
The Braves defense is formidable. KenPom.com ranks Bradley’s defensive efficiency at 35th in the country, just below Kansas and Ohio State, and a notch better than New Mexico State and Oklahoma. That’s some impressive company. The package comes together best at Carver Arena, where growing crowds enthusiastically cheer on their team’s tight defense and Bradley opponents are averaging just 53.3 points per game. Away from home, however, confidence levels and whistles are less predictable; the Braves give up an average of 69.3 points in road games and 66 at neutral sites.
Bradley has settled on a starting five of 5’10” sophomore point guard Darrell Brown, 6’4” junior guard Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye, 6’3” sophomore guard Jayden Hodgson, 6’11” sophomore center Koch Bar, and 6’7” senior forward Donte Thomas. These are the players that have earned starting spots over a very deep and experienced bench, and they did so primarily by playing hard defense.
Donte Thomas would likely start on just about any MVC team, and is the only starter who shoots better than 44% from the field. Thomas, the Chicago-area native and lone senior on the roster, has been a thorn in Loyola’s side since the Geno Ford regime at Bradley. In seven career games against the Ramblers, Thomas has had a game-winning shot at Gentile Arena and two double-doubles against the Ramblers while averaging 6.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. This year, he’s averaging 10.0 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.
Darrell Brown is what makes the Braves go offensively. The diminutive but solidly-built point guard leads the team in minutes, field goal attempts, free throw attempts, assists, turnovers, and points per game (13.2). He is a better three-point shooter (40%) than from two (36.8%), but he gets to the line quite a bit and adds a lot on defense. Joining him in the backcourt are Hodgson, a three-point threat who averages 4.8 points per game, and one of the original Wardle recruits Lautier-Ogunleye, who averages 5.6 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Center Koch Bar is a very good rim protector, and averages 5.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He contributes some blocks, but is prone to fouls. Thomas and Bar get a lot of frontcourt support from the bench in the person of 6’7” freshman forward Elijah Childs, who might be the most promising and athletic recruit at Bradley since the early Geno years. Childs leads the team in blocks and ranks second in field goal percentage while averaging 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds in an average of 18.4 minutes per game.
Six-six sophomore guard Nate Kinnell leads the team in three point attempts off the bench, and averages 8.9 points per game. Luuk van Bree, the 6’9” junior forward, adds 6.1 points and provides a surprising outside shot threat—he leads the team in three-point percentage.
Don’t expect a very pretty game against Bradley. The Braves have shot below 40% from the field in all but one of their five losses. They’re not great free throw shooters, but getting to the line is a big part of their offense—so keeping them away from the foul line is important. Bradley averages 14.6 free throw attempts in their five losses, but 22.5 attempts in their 13 wins. Only one team has beaten Bradley while shooting less than 43% from the field, but the best any team this season has performed against Bradley is Evansville’s 49% last Saturday.
The Ramblers know a little something about defense, too. Since conference play began, Loyola is holding their opponents to 59 points per game. On Wednesday, the Ramblers held Illinois State to their lowest point total of the season on their home court, and that was three days after holding UNI to their lowest point total of the season on their home court. Points will be hard to come by on Saturday, even with the Ramblers’ usually efficient offense.
Loyola game notes: http://www.loyolaramblers.com/documents … df?id=4798
Bradley game notes: https://bradleybraves.com/documents/201 … df?id=7049
TV/Streaming video: NBC Sports Chicago / http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3244986/ … basketball (Outside IL-MO-IN-IA)
Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=189599
Vegas odds: Pending
