Bradley vs Northern Iowa: What to watch in the Valley basketball opener

Dave Eminian, Journal Star
·3 min read
Bradley head coach Brian Wardle directs his players in the second half Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Carver Arena. Bradley routed the Maine Black Bears 71-39.
Bradley head coach Brian Wardle directs his players in the second half Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Carver Arena. Bradley routed the Maine Black Bears 71-39.

PEORIA — Ready or not, here comes the Missouri Valley Conference opener as the Bradley men's basketball team hosts Northern Iowa on Wednesday in Carver Arena.

"We're going to be up against a really good team," Braves forward Rienk Mast said of Northern Iowa, after BU pounded Maine on Saturday. "That second half (against Maine) was really good for us. We had stupid mistakes first half. But now we have a little bit of confidence going into that Northern Iowa game.

"We were looking around, thinking, 'Alright, it's a lot of fun out here.' "

Bradley forward Malevy Leons, fresh off a D-I career-high 21 points, will make his Valley conference debut.

"This will be an important game for us on Wednesday," he said. "It's really important for us to make a statement on Wednesday, show everyone we're for real."

More: Bradley men's basketball gives gift of big victory to fan on her 100th birthday

Why such an early Valley opener?

The game marks the earliest MVC match in school history for BU, surpassing the Dec. 2, 1950-51 opener against Houston.

Bradley will still have six games left on its nonconference schedule after that. All 10 teams in the Valley will play a conference game on Dec. 1 or 2, then resume conference play on Jan. 2.

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MVC associate commissioner Mike Kern said the reason for the early December conference games was to create space for a more attractive nonconference game on the schedule after Christmas.

Kern said a group of Valley coaches noted that in previous years Power 5 schools had made requests for a game right after Christmas. He said the MVC wanted to create schedule flexibility for its members to pursue such a game.

Bradley's Rienk Mast shoots over Maine's Peter Filipovity in the first half Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Carver Arena. The Braves defeated the Black Bears 71-39.
Bradley's Rienk Mast shoots over Maine's Peter Filipovity in the first half Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Carver Arena. The Braves defeated the Black Bears 71-39.

How to watch Bradley vs. Northern Iowa, TV, game time, streaming

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Carver Arena, Peoria

TV, streaming: ESPN+.

Listen: Peoria radio WMBD-AM 1470 or FM 100.3.

Records: Bradley, 2-5. Northern Iowa, 2-3.

All-time series: Bradley, 33-35.

2020-21 vs UNI: Bradley L 78-72, W 75-73.

KenPom rankings: Bradley No. 197. Northern Iowa, No. 116.

Head coaches: Bradley, Brian Wardle. Northern Iowa, Ben Jacobson.

Bradley vs. Northern Iowa game details, outlook

Bradley: Forward Rienk Mast has four double-doubles in his first seven games, most in the Valley and fifth nationally. ... Forward Malevy Leons has made 10 of 15 from 3-point range in his last three games. ... Bradley has a Valley-best 42.43 rebounds per game, ranked 25th in the nation. ... The Braves shot 25.2% from 3-point range in their first five games, but have heated up to 48.7% on 19 of 39 over the last two outings.

More: Hersey Hawkins recalls Bradley basketball days as he's inducted into college Hall of Fame

Northern Iowa: UNI beat No. 16 St. Bonaventure 90-80 on Saturday in a game in which Northern Iowa guard A.J. Green matched his career-high with 35 points. Green, who missed last season with hip surgery, leads UNI with 15.8 points per game. ... UNI leads the Valley and is 13th among NCAA Div.-I teams in 3-pointers made per game at 11.0.

Northern Iowa guard AJ Green, left, dribbles as St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton defends him during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, in Olean, N.Y.
Northern Iowa guard AJ Green, left, dribbles as St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton defends him during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, in Olean, N.Y.

Bravely Speaking

Bradley is 37-32 all-time in Missouri Valley Conference openers and 2-4 under head coach Brian Wardle. ... The Braves are 27-9 when playing their Valley opener in Peoria. ... Bradley is 2-7 all-time in Valley openers against UNI. ... Only four teams since 1993-94 have won at least a share of the regular-season Valley title without winning their conference opener. ... Bradley has won 31 straight games when shooting at least 50% from the field. ... The earliest start to an MVC league schedule plays out like this: On Wednesday: NIU at BU, Southern Illinois at Evansville, Missouri State at Illinois State, Indiana State at Loyola. On Thursday: Valparaiso at Drake.

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. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley vs UNI: What to watch in Missouri Valley basketball opener