NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Bradley Braves are putting their first-place grip on the Missouri Valley Conference on the line this evening in a men’s college basketball showdown with second-place Belmont, which trails by a game.
The Braves have played only once before at Belmont, and lost there at Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tenn. It’s a game between two teams both in the collegeinsider.com Top 25 national rankings, Bradley at No. 5, Belmont at No. 15.
Bradley is 16-3 overall and 7-1 in Valley play. The Braves beat Murray State on the road Saturday, 74-61, in the start of a tough road trip. Belmont is hot, with five straight wins in the Valley, and comes in at 14-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The Bruins won at Evansville, 85-82, on Saturday.
Below are updates from Tennessee:
| TEAMS | 1st half | 2nd half | — | FINAL |
| Bradley | 00 | 00 | — | 00 |
| Belmont | 00 | 00 | — | 00 |
Bully nets league honors
Bradley freshman guard Jaquan “Bully” Johnson was named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week after his performances against Indiana State and Murray State.
The Milwaukee native combined in the two games for 21 points in 30 minutes, with 8 of 12 shooting from the field, a pair of 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
Bradley is 9-1 when Johnson comes off the bench and attempts at least two free throws and notches an assist and a steal in a game.
Bradley at Belmont by the numbers
- Kenpom ranking: Bradley No. 81, Belmont No. 136
- Kenpom says: Bradley 79, Belmont 76 (60%)
- Massey computer says: Bradley 77, Belmont 75 (56%)
- NET ranking: Bradley No. 65, Belmont No. 123
- CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley No. 5. Belmont No. 15.
- MidMajorBasketball.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley No. 15
- BracketBustersHoops.com Mid-Major Ranking: Bradley No. 9
- Basketball.realgm.com Mid-Major Rankings: Bradley No. 17
- Preseason poll: Bradley No. 1 in MVC. Belmont No. 6 in 12-team MVC
- Records: Bradley 16-3, 7-1, 1st in MVC. Belmont 14-5, 6-2, 2nd in MVC.
- All-time series: Bradley, 1-2
- Coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle, 10th year (174-141). Belmont, Casey Alexander, 6th year (132-48).
Bradley head coach Brian Wardle has 92 wins in the Missouri Valley Conference at the Braves helm, second-most in program history. … The Braves are trying to get to 17-3, which would tie for the seventh-best 20-game start to a season in program history. … A win at Belmont would make the Braves 8-1 in the Valley, tied for the second-best start in the first nine games of conference play in their program history, and first time since 1993-94. … The Braves are No. 2 in the nation and No. 1 in the Valley in 3-point shooting at 41.34%. … Bradley guard Connor Dillon is shooting 63% from 3-point range and 70% from the field over the last three games. … Belmont is hot, bringing in a five-game win streak all in Valley play. … Bruins 6-foot-9 forward Jonathan Pierre leads the team in points per game (13.8), rebounds (6.8) and assists (4.0). … Belmont freshman Eoin Dillon — the brother of Bradley senior guard Connor Dillon — is red-shirting. … Bradley’s effective field goal rate is No. 7 in the nation at 58.2%. … The Braves are 13th in the nation in 3-point defense (28.3%). … Bradley guard Duke Deen has made a 3-pointer in 21 straight games. He has 316 assists in 89 career games, 23 short of a top 15 spot on the program’s all-time list. He would be just the third player to earn a top 15 spot in BU history, and the first since Jim Les in 1986. … Bradley sophomore guard Demarion Burch has missed two straight games with an illness. BU head coach Wardle said the team might try to bring him in for the game Tuesday at Belmont if he’s healthy enough to play. … Belmont leads the MVC in assists per game (17.3). … The Braves lead the MVC in field goal percentage defense (39.6%).
More:Missouri Valley basketball preseason poll: Bradley basketball picked as favorite
- Date: Jan. 21, 2025
- Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
- Location: Curb Event Center, Nashville, Tenn.
Bradley vs Belmont will be streaming on ESPN+. A subscription is required.
Watch Bradley vs Belmont on ESPN+ (subscription required)
Game lines and odds from Oddsshark as of Monday:
- Spread: Bradley by 2.5
- Over/under: 153.5
- Moneyline: Bradley -138, Belmont +115
Record: 16-3, 7-1
- Nov. 4: Bradley 88, Southeast Missouri State 60
- Nov. 8: Washington State 91, Bradley 74
- Nov. 12: Bradley 85, UTSA 72
- Nov. 16: Bradley 76, Northern Illinois 60
- Nov. 21: Bradley 82, Texas State 68
- Nov. 22: Bradley 77, Wright State 74
- Nov. 24: Bradley 80, Middle Tennessee 69
- Nov. 29: Bradley 107, Judson 41
- Dec. 3: Bradley 83, Southern Illinois 60
- Dec. 14: Santa Clara 84, Bradley 74 at Jack Jones Classic
- Dec. 18: Bradley 66, San Francisco 64
- Dec. 21: Bradley 92, Canisius 59
- Dec. 29: Bradley 81, Valparaiso 75 (2 OT)
- Jan. 1: Bradley 90, Indiana State 89 (OT)
- Jan. 4: Bradley 69, Missouri State 60
- Jan. 8: Drake 64, Bradley 57
- Jan. 11: Bradley 61, UIC 60
- Jan. 15: Bradley 118, Indiana State 65
- Jan. 18: Bradley 74, Murray State 61
- Jan. 21: Bradley at Belmont, Curb Event Center, Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN+
- Jan. 25: Illinois State at Bradley, Carver Arena, Peoria, Illinois | CBSSN
Buy Bradley basketball tickets this season via StubHub
Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men’s basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.
Bradley basketball news
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