2018–19 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by fourth-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 20–15, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State,^[1] Loyola,^[2] and Northern Iowa to win the tournament championship.^[3] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 15 seed in the East region.^[4] There they lost to No. 2-seeded Michigan State in the first round.^[5]

2018–19 Bradley Braves men's basketball
Missouri Valley Tournament champions Cancún Challenge Riviera Division champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	20–15 (9–9 MVC)
Head coach	Brian Wardle (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Drew Adams Mike Bargen Jimmie Foster
Home arena	Carver Arena
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Loyola Chicago	12	–	6		.667			20	–	14		.588
Drake	12	–	6		.667			24	–	10		.706
Southern Illinois	10	–	8		.556			17	–	15		.531
Missouri State	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
Bradley †	9	–	9		.500			20	–	15		.571
Northern Iowa	9	–	9		.500			16	–	18		.471
Illinois State	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
Indiana State	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Valparaiso	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
Evansville	5	–	13		.278			11	–	21		.344
† 2019 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2017–18 season 20–13, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Drake in the first round of the MVC tournament before losing to Loyola–Chicago in the semifinals.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Donte Thomas	1	F	6'7"	225	Senior	Calumet City, IL	Graduated
Ryan Stipanovich	21	G/F	6'7"	210	Freshman	St. Louis, MO	Left the team due to personal reasons
JoJo McGlaston	24	G	6'5"	205	RS Senior	Dublin, CA	Graduated
Chudier Bile	**	G/F	6'6"	200	Junior	Denver, Colorado	Stayed one Summer Session then transferred to Northwestern State
Callum Barker	30	F	6'9"	235	Junior	Hobart, Australia	Graduate transferred to Missouri Baptist

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Armon Brummett SG	Decatur, IL	Douglas MacArthur High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 23, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Ja'Shon Henry SF	Saskatoon, SK	Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Prep, Wilcox, SK	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jun 1, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Aristide Boya C	Douala, Cameroon	Scotland Campus Prep, Scotland, PA	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 5, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:     ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Bradley Commit List for 2018". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "ESPN – Bradley Braves Basketball Recruiting 2018". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Stephan Gabriel SF	Maplewood, NJ	Columbia HS Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix, AZ) Veritas Prep (Santa Fe Springs, CA) NTSI Prep (Orlando, FL)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sep 14, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
JaMir Price SG	Rock Island, IL	Rock Island High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	09/26/2018 (to spend a year at prep school and enter Bradley in fall of 2020)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Ville Tahvanainen PG/SG	Helsinki, Finland	amateur team- Helsinki Basketball Academy (HBA-Marsky 1st Division)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 29, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Antonio Thomas PG	Memphis, TN	Memphis East High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 17, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Rienk Mast PF	Groningen, the Netherlands	amateur team- Donar, Dutch Basketball League (DBL - Eredivisie)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jan 20, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Danya Kingsby PG/SG	Milwaukee, WI	Milwaukee Hamilton HS Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, FL) College of Southern Idaho LSU transfer	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Mar 29, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Bradley Commit List for 2019". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "ESPN – Bradley Braves Basketball Recruiting 2019". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018.

Roster

2018–19 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C 1 Ari Boya 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Scotland Prep Douala, Cameroon G 2 Luqman Lundy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Mays HS Northern Oklahoma Edgewater, NJ G 3 Antoine Pittman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Auburn HS Rockford, IL G 4 Armon Brummett 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr MacArthur HS Decatur, IL G 5 Darrell Brown 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Germantown HS Memphis, TN F 10 Elijah Childs 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Lee's Summit West HS Kansas City, MO C 12 Koch Bar 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Arlington County Day School Abyei, South Sudan F 13 Luuk van Bree 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Canarias Academy Venray, Netherlands F 14 Peter Hanley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Notre Dame HS Peoria, IL G/F 22 Ja'Shon Henry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Saskatoon, Saskatchewan G 23 Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Bristol Academy London, England G 25 Nate Kennell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Metamora Township HS Metamora, IL G 35 Jayden Hodgson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Arlington County Day School Gosford, Australia	Head coach Brian Wardle (Marquette) Assistant coach(es) Drew Adams (Tennessee) Mike Bargen (Marquette) Jimmie Foster (South Dakota) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 29, 2018

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm CT		Carroll (WI)	W 81–31		Carver Arena (4,386) Peoria, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		UW–Parkside Cancún Challenge campus site game	W 74–58	1–0	Carver Arena (4,610) Peoria, IL
Nov 10, 2018* 1:00 pm CT, ESPN3		Southeast Missouri State	W 68–57	2–0	Carver Arena (5,181) Peoria, IL
Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Jacksonville State Cancún Challenge campus site game	W 74–65	3–0	Carver Arena (4,706) Peoria, IL
Nov 17, 2018* 7:00 pm CT, ESPN3		at UIC	L 70–71	3–1	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,423) Chicago, IL
Nov 20, 2018* 5:00 pm CT, CBSSN		vs. SMU Cancún Challenge Riviera Bracket semifinal	W 75–62	4–1	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya  Cancún, Mexico
Nov 21, 2018* 7:30 pm CT, CBSSN		vs. Penn State Cancún Challenge Riviera Bracket final	W 59–56	5–1	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,473) Cancún, Mexico
Nov 24, 2018* 1:00 pm CT, ESPN3		Chicago State	W 86–70	6–1	Carver Arena (4,952) Peoria, IL
Nov 28, 2018* 6:00 pm CT, ESPN+		at IUPUI	L 73-85	6–2	Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,383) Indianapolis, IN
Dec 1, 2018* 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		New Mexico MW–MVC Challenge	L 75-85	6–3	Carver Arena (5,494) Peoria, IL
Dec 4, 2018* 6:30 pm CT		at Little Rock	W 68-62	7–3	Jack Stephens Center (1,388) Little Rock, AR
Dec 15, 2018* 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Eastern Illinois	L 66-73	7–4	Carver Arena (5,186) Peoria, IL
Dec 18, 2018* 6:30 pm CT, ESPN+		at Georgia Southern	L 74–79 ^OT	7–5	Hanner Fieldhouse (1,507) Statesboro, GA
Dec 22, 2018* 1:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Southeastern Louisiana	W 63–60	8–5	Carver Arena (5,004) Peoria, IL
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Jan 2, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Northern Iowa	L 47–65	8–6 (0–1)	Carver Arena (5,252) Peoria, IL
Jan 5, 2019 1:00 pm CT, ESPN3		at Indiana State	L 60–65	8–7 (0–2)	Hulman Center (4,117) Terre Haute, IN
Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 50–61	8–8 (0–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,535) Valparaiso, IN
Jan 12, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Missouri State	L 64–69	8–9 (0–4)	Carver Arena (5,009) Peoria, IL
Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm CT, FSMW/NBCSCH		Drake	L 52–69	8–10 (0–5)	Carver Arena (4,654) Peoria, IL
Jan 20, 2019 3:00 pm CT, ESPNU		at Southern Illinois	W 57–54	9–10 (1–5)	SIU Arena (4,327) Carbondale, IL
Jan 23, 2019 6:00 pm CT, FSMW/NBCSCH		Illinois State	W 85–68	10–10 (2–5)	Carver Arena (7,122) Peoria, IL
Jan 26, 2019 3:00 pm CT, FSMW/NBCSCH		at Missouri State	L 37–55	10–11 (2–6)	JQH Arena (5,215) Springfield, MO
Jan 30, 2019 6:00 pm CT, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 81–73	11–11 (3–6)	Ford Center (5,019) Evansville, IN
Feb 2, 2019 1:00 pm CT, CBSSN		Southern Illinois	L 68–72	11–12 (3–7)	Carver Arena (5,968) Peoria, IL
Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	W 79–71	12–12 (4–7)	McLeod Center (3,345) Cedar Falls, IA
Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 96–67	13–12 (5–7)	Carver Arena (5,805) Peoria, IL
Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm CT, FSMW/NBCSCH		Loyola–Chicago	W 61–54	14–12 (6–7)	Carver Arena (5,490) Peoria, IL
Feb 16, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN2		at Illinois State	W 65–59	15–12 (7–7)	Redbird Arena (9,011) Normal, IL
Feb 19, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		at Drake	L 68–77	15–13 (7–8)	Knapp Center (3,061) Des Moines, IA
Feb 23, 2019 1:00 pm CT, ESPN3		Evansville	W 63–61	16–13 (8–8)	Carver Arena (6,571) Peoria, IL
Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm CT, ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 67–42	17–13 (9–8)	Carver Arena (5,867) Peoria, IL
Mar 2, 2019 5:00 pm CT, ESPN2		at Loyola–Chicago	L 68–81	17–14 (9–9)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963) Chicago, IL
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 8, 2019 2:35 pm CT, MVC-TV Network	(5)	vs. (4) Missouri State Quarterfinals	W 61–58	18–14	Enterprise Center (6,774) St. Louis, MO
Mar 9, 2019 2:35 pm CT, CBSSN	(5)	vs. (1) Loyola–Chicago Semifinals	W 53–51	19–14	Enterprise Center (7,884) St. Louis, MO
Mar 10, 2019 1:05 pm CT, CBS	(5)	vs. (6) Northern Iowa Championship	W 57–54	20–14	Enterprise Center (8,108) St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2019* 1:45 pm CT, CBS	(15 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 5 Michigan State First Round	L 65–76	20–15	Wells Fargo Arena (16,512) Des Moines, IA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[6]

References

1. "NCAAM College Basketball Scores - NCAAM Scoreboard - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
2. "Bradley vs. Loyola (Chi) - Game Recap - March 9, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
3. Petaros, Nick. "MVC championship: Bradley stuns UNI". Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
4. Solari, Chris. "Michigan State basketball gets No. 2 seed, will face Bradley Braves". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
5. "Bradley vs. Michigan State - Game Recap - March 21, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
6. "2018-19 Men's Basketball Schedule". BradleyBraves.com. Retrieved August 29, 2018.