2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball
Missouri Valley regular season champions
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record25–10 (16–4 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarver Arena
Seasons
2022–23 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bradley 16 – 4   .800 25 – 10   .714
Drake † 15 – 5   .750 27 – 8   .771
Southern Illinois 14 – 6   .700 23 – 10   .697
Belmont 14 – 6   .700 21 – 11   .656
Indiana State 13 – 7   .650 23 – 13   .639
Missouri State 12 – 8   .600 17 – 15   .531
Murray State 11 – 9   .550 17 – 15   .531
Northern Iowa 9 – 11   .450 14 – 18   .438
Illinois State 6 – 14   .300 11 – 21   .344
Valparaiso 5 – 15   .250 11 – 21   .344
UIC 4 – 16   .200 12 – 20   .375
Evansville 1 – 19   .050 5 – 27   .156
† 2023 MVC tournament winner

The 2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by eighth-year head coach Brian Wardle, played their home games at Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 16–4 in MVC play to win the regular season championship for the first time since 1996.[1] They defeated Northern Iowa and Indiana State in the MVC tournament before losing to Drake in the championship game.[2] As a regular season champion who did not win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament.[3] There they lost to Wisconsin in the first round.[4]

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2021–22 season 17–14, 11–7 in MVC play to finish in fifth place.[5] They lost to Loyola in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament.[6]

Roster

2022–23 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 James Weathers 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Glen Oaks HS
State College of Florida 		Baton Rouge, LA
G 2 Max Ekono 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Scotland Prep Bouffémont, France
G 3 Zek Montgomery 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So St. Louis Christian Academy Louisville, KY
G/F 5 Christian Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So New Hampton School
LeMoyne–Owen College 		Denver, CO
G 10 Connor Hickman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Bloomington South HS Bloomington, IN
G 12 Cade Hardtke (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Glenbard South HS Lombard, IL
G 13 Sam Hennessy (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Benet Academy Naperville, IL
F 14 Malevy Leons 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Mineral Area IJmuiden, Netherlands
G 21 Duke Deen 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Bossier HS
Troy 		Shreveport, LA
F 22 Ja'Shon Henry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
G 23 Ville Tahvanainen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland
F 25 Goanar Biliew 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Denison HS
Des Moines Area CC 		Denison, IA
F 32 Sulaiman Agiste 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Michele Clark Magnet HS Chicago, IL
F 34 Connor Linke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr St. Charles North HS St. Charles, IL
F 35 Darius Hannah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Milwaukee Academy of Science Milwaukee, WI
F 51 Rienk Mast 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Donar Groningen Groningen, Netherlands
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 11, 2022

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2022*
7:00 pm 		Illinois Wesleyan W 79–64  –
 Carver Arena (3,528)
Peoria, IL
Regular season
November 7, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Wisconsin–Parkside W 93–59  1–0
 Carver Arena (3,761)
Peoria, IL
November 11, 2022*
8:00 pm, Mountain West Network 		at Utah State L 62–84  1–1
 Smith Spectrum (6,875)
Logan, UT
November 15, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Eastern Michigan W 89–61  2–1
 Carver Arena (4,110)
Peoria, IL
November 19, 2022*
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southeast Missouri State W 73–60  3–1
 Carver Arena (4,826)
Peoria, IL
November 22, 2022*
5:00 pm, CBSSN 		vs. No. 13 Auburn
Cancún Challenge Riviera semifinal 		L 64–85  3–2
 Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (951)
Cancún, Mexico
November 23, 2022*
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		vs. Liberty
Cancún Challenge Riviera consolation 		L 44–55  3–3
 Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (271)
Cancún, Mexico
November 26, 2022*
3:00 pm, ESPN3 		Merrimack W 83–41  4–3
 Carver Arena (3,714)
Peoria, IL
November 30, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Northern Iowa W 68–53  5–3
(1–0) 		Carver Arena (4,043)
Peoria, IL
December 3, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Missouri State W 58–40  6–3
(2–0) 		Great Southern Bank Arena (3,582)
Springfield, MO
December 6, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville W 56–54  7–3
 First Community Arena (1,516)
Edwardsville, IL
December 17, 2022*
3:00 pm 		vs. No. 10 Arkansas L 57–76  7–4
 Simmons Bank Arena (16,675)
North Little Rock, AR
December 19, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Stonehill W 79–50  8–4
 Carver Arena (3,716)
Peoria, IL
December 22, 2022*
4:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Akron W 74–55  9–4
 Carver Arena (3,530)
Peoria, IL
December 28, 2022
7:00 pm, MVC TV 		at Belmont L 60–63  9–5
(2–1) 		Curb Event Center (2,019)
Nashville, TN
December 31, 2022
1:00 pm, MVC TV 		UIC W 79–45  10–5
(3–1) 		Carver Arena (4,890)
Peoria, IL
January 4, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Murray State L 58–67  10–6
(3–2) 		CFSB Center (3,891)
Murray, KY
January 7, 2023
2:00 pm, CBSSN 		Valparaiso W 88–66  11–6
(4–2) 		Carver Arena (4,476)
Peoria, IL
January 11, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Evansville W 91–46  12–6
(5–2) 		Carver Arena (3,905)
Peoria, IL
January 14, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPNU 		at Drake L 61–86  12–7
(5–3) 		Knapp Center (4,144)
Des Moines, IA
January 18, 2023
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Indiana State W 78–67  13–7
(6–3) 		Hulman Center (4,038)
Terre Haute, IN
January 21, 2023
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Belmont L 76–78  13–8
(6–4) 		Carver Arena (5,584)
Peoria, IL
January 25, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Illinois State
I-74 Rivalry 		W 79–75 OT 14–8
(7–4) 		Carver Arena (6,046)
Peoria, IL
January 29, 2023
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UIC W 83–76  15–8
(8–4) 		Credit Union 1 Arena (2,240)
Chicago, IL
February 1, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southern Illinois W 62–52  16–8
(9–4) 		Carver Arena (4,817)
Peoria, IL
February 4, 2023
5:00 pm, ESPNews 		at Northern Iowa W 77–69  17–8
(10–4) 		McLeod Center (4,392)
Cedar Falls, IA
February 8, 2023
7:00 pm, MVC TV 		at Illinois State
I-74 Rivalry 		W 79–61  18–8
(11–4) 		CEFCU Arena (5,374)
Normal, IL
February 11, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN3 		Murray State W 83–48  19–8
(12–4) 		Carver Arena (6,213)
Peoria, IL
February 15, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Missouri State W 64–54  20–8
(13–4) 		Carver Arena (4,791)
Peoria, IL
February 19, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN2/ESPN+ 		at Southern Illinois W 50–48  21–8
(14–4) 		Banterra Center (6,516)
Carbondale, IL
February 22, 2023
6:00 pm, MVC TV 		at Valparaiso W 76–66  22–8
(15–4) 		Athletics–Recreation Center (1,848)
Valparaiso, IN
February 26, 2023
3:00 pm, ESPN2 		Drake W 73–61  23–8
(16–4) 		Carver Arena (10,458)
Peoria, IL
MVC Tournament
March 3, 2023
12:00 pm, MVC TV 		(1) vs. (8) Northern Iowa
Quarterfinals 		W 72–66  24–8
 Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 4, 2023
2:30 pm, CBSSN 		(1) vs. (5) Indiana State
Semifinals 		W 71–70  25–8
 Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2023
1:00 pm, CBS 		(1) vs. (2) Drake
Championship 		L 51–77  25–9
 Enterprise Center 
St. Louis, MO
NIT
March 14, 2023*
8:30 pm, ESPN 		(7) at (2) Wisconsin
First round – Oregon bracket 		L 62–81  25–10
 Kohl Center (3,919)
Madison, WI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[7]

References

  1. ^ "Bradley wins MVC Regular Season Title for first time since 1996, defeating Drake 73-61". 25newsnow.com. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Drake vs. Bradley - Men's College Basketball Box Score - March 5, 2023". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Jacques, Mike "Jocko" (March 12, 2023). "Badgers men's basketball makes NIT after not being selected to NCAA Tournament". www.nbc15.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bradley vs. Wisconsin - Men's College Basketball Game Recap - March 14, 2023". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "2021-22 Bradley Braves Men 's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  6. ^ "Bradley vs. Loyola Chicago - Men's College Basketball Game Recap - March 4, 2022". ESPN. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  7. ^ "2022-23 Bradley Braves Men 's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 6, 2023.