Hickman and Bradley host Illinois State

Published Feb. 2, 2024 3:43 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Bradley Braves (16-6, 8-3 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (11-11, 5-6 MVC)

Normal, Illinois; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Bradley visits the Illinois State Redbirds after Connor Hickman scored 22 points in Bradley's 85-69 victory over the Northern Iowa Panthers.

The Redbirds are 7-4 on their home court. Illinois State ranks second in the MVC in rebounding averaging 36.0 rebounds. Myles Foster paces the Redbirds with 7.5 boards.

The Braves are 8-3 against MVC opponents. Bradley has a 3-1 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

Illinois State is shooting 41.1% from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points lower than the 41.8% Bradley allows to opponents. Bradley has shot at a 47.8% rate from the field this season, 3.7 percentage points higher than the 44.1% shooting opponents of Illinois State have averaged.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Darius Burford is averaging 13.6 points for the Redbirds. Foster is averaging 12.4 points over the last 10 games for Illinois State.

Duke Deen is averaging 13.5 points and 4.1 assists for the Braves. Hickman is averaging 16.1 points over the last 10 games for Bradley.

LAST 10 GAMES: Redbirds: 3-7, averaging 63.2 points, 34.3 rebounds, 11.4 assists, 4.8 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 39.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.2 points per game.

Braves: 9-1, averaging 81.1 points, 35.2 rebounds, 14.9 assists, 8.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 50.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.