The (4-13 SU, 5-11-1 ATS) Evansville Purple Aces and (11-6 SU, 9-7 ATS) Bradley Braves will play on Wednesday at Carver Arena. The Purple Aces, 1-7 on the road and 0-6 overall in conference, lost their fourth straight game on Saturday at Illinois State. The Braves, 9-0 at home and 4-2 overall in conference, beat Valparaiso 88-66 on Saturday.
Bradley beat Evansville twice last season. The Braves are 37-23 all-time versus the Purple Aces.
Tip-off from Peoria, IL, is at 8:00 p.m. ET. Bradley is a 20-point spread favorite, and the game total is 127 points.
The Purple Aces sit at the bottom of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball standings after six games, losing by double digits in four of their six MVC defeats. It should come as no surprise, as Evansville was picked to finish last in the conference's preseason poll.
The Purple Aces did play much better in their last game, losing by single digits on the road to the Redbirds. Evansville trailed by just three at halftime and stayed within striking distance despite shooting only 37.5 percent from the floor. The Purple Aces shot 7-for-16 (43.8%) from three but lost the game at the foul line, converting just 18 of their 29 (62.1%) free-throw attempts.
Antoine Smith Jr. from downtown!!
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— UE Men's Basketball (@UEAthletics_MBB) January 7, 2023
Evansville scores 61.9 points per game on 31.9 percent shooting, with a 31.2 three-point shooting percentage. It's ranked 350th in KenPom's offensive efficiency rating (adjusted for schedule). The Purple Aces have a negative rebounding margin (-4.5) and shoot 64.1 percent from the foul line.
Senior guard Kenny Strawbridge Jr. paces the Purple Aces, averaging 16.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Other players to watch include junior forward Yacine Toumi (10.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG), senior guard Marvin Coleman II (9.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG), and junior guard Blaise Beauchamp (8.6 PPG).
Evansville surrenders 72.9 points per game on 45.8 percent shooting, including 37.6 percent from deep. Its schedule-adjusted defensive efficiency rating is 262nd, and its assist-per-turnover ratio (0.82) is 291st.