The Bradley Braves (5-24) will have their chance to beat the Missouri Valley’s best team when they play the Evansville Aces (22-7) at Carver Arena. Action begins at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 23 and can be seen on ES3.
The Braves come into this game on a high note after narrowly defeating Drake 73-70 on Saturday. Antoine Pittman led all scorers on the team with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. The Aces, meanwhile, are coming off an 83-71 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday. D.J. Balentine shot 10 for 16 and led in scoring with 27 points.
The aggressive Evansville offense may see plenty of chances from the free throw line in this one. It ranks second in the nation at getting to the stripe (FTA rate of 48.7), while Bradley gets whistled quite a bit (giving up a 346th-ranked FTA rate of 50.2).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Aces won the first game 67-35. Jaylon Brown had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
The Braves come into this game 5-24 Straight Up (SU) and 13-14 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 3-7 ATS. Over their past 10 games, the Bradley offense has been playing lights out, averaging 72.3 points per game, well over their season average of 55.7.
Across the court, Evansville has a SU record of 22-7 and an ATS record of 11-12-1. Somehow Evansville managed to go 7-3 ATS over the last 10 games, while having an unimpressive record of 2-8 SU during the same amount of time. During the last 10 games, they averaged 59.5 PPG, below their 76.5 PPG season average. The Aces convert their shots at a high percentage, ranking third in the country at .504. The Aces are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 18.2 assists per game. Defensive rebounding is an area where Evansville has excelled. The Aces average 24.8 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the best in the nation. The Aces are in for a physical game against Bradley. The Braves are not afraid to send opponents to the free throw line, averaging 23.2 fouls per game.
Following the Aces’ latest win over Bradley, their SU record is now 6-4 over Bradley in their most recent meetings. Furthermore, Evansville leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. Evansville held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers twice, while Bradley was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Evan, ATS Winner – Evan
Notes
Bradley averages 55.7 points per game, placing the team just 262nd in the nation. Evansville ranks 65th in points allowed, giving up 67.5 points per game.
Bradley scores just 54.6 points per home game (ranked 262nd). Evansville ranks 66th in points allowed on the road, giving up 71.0 points.
The Evansville Aces have a defensive rating of 96.6 (ranked 38th), while the Bradley Braves have an offensive rating of 83.4 (ranked 351st).
Evansville beats Bradley in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Aces average 69.6 possessions and 1.099 points per possession, while the Braves average 66.7 possessions with .834 points per possession.
The Bradley Braves average an effective field goal percentage of 42.8% this season. The Evansville Aces have a solid 13-7 record in games where opponents have an eFG% of 42.8% or greater.
Evansville ranks 38th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.38. Bradley is ranked lower at 351st with an A/TO of .53.
Bradley ranks 312th in offensive rebounds, while Evansville ranks 36th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Bradley forces a turnover rate of 18.1%. When Evansville turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 12-5 record.
