ESPN has selected the Bradley at Southern Illinois men's basketball game for distribution on ESPNU on Sunday, Jan. 20. The game will tip at 3 p.m. CT. The network has also selected the Missouri State at Drake game for distribution on ESPN3 on that day with a 3 p.m. CT tip. The network designations were previously listed as TBD on the MVC schedule.
Bradley (0-1 in MVC play after losing to UNI last night) had an 8-5 record in non-league play and have had a balanced attack, with five players averaging at least 8.9 points per game. Returning starter Darrell Brown leads the Braves in scoring (14.1 ppg), while sophomore Elijah Childs ranks second (12.6 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.8 rpg). Bradley's non-league slate was highlighted by a championship title in the Cancun Challenge with wins over SMU and Penn State. It marked the first in-season tournament title for Bradley in 35 seasons.
Southern Illinois has one of the most experienced rosters in the MVC and have arguably played the league's toughest non-conference schedule. Notably, SIU played three regular season non-conference games against ranked teams (at Kentucky, Buffalo, and at Buffalo) for just the third time in school history (1974-75, 2007-08, & 2018-19). And SIU scheduled four non-conference games against teams that played in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, which tied for ninth-most in the nation. The Salukis won their league opener last night against Missouri State.
The Drake Bulldogs’ two returning letterwinners is the second-fewest in the nation behind only Chattanooga. Nevertheless, Drake recorded an 11-2 record in non-league play under first-year head coach Darian DeVries. The 11 wins are the program’s most wins prior to the start of non-conference play in program history. Nick McGlynn leads the team in scoring and rebounding, while newcomer Nick Norton (UAB transfer) highlights a host of new players. Norton, who left last night's game at Evansville with an apparent knee injury in the first half, had a triple-double earlier this season in the win at North Dakota State.
Before losing its conference opener at Southern Illinois last night, Missouri State recorded a 6-7 non-conference under first-year head coach Dana Ford. Ford was a player at Illinois State and had assistant coaching duties at MVC members Illinois State and Wichita State. The Bears have had key contributions from newcomers Josh Webster (leads the league in turnover:assist ratio) and Tulia Da Silva (a transfer from USF). Returning senior Jarred Dixon reached the 1,000-point plateau on Dec. 22, becoming just the 29th MSU player to score 1,000 points at Missouri State.
Using the wildcard/netflex model, the Missouri Valley Conference -- in conjunction with its television partners -- reserves clearance windows for select dates throughout the season and waits until three weeks before the contest(s) to determine network clearances.