2019–20 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by fifth-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 23–11, 11–7 in MVC play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated Southern Illinois, Drake, and Valparaiso to be champions of the MVC tournament for the second consecutive year. They received the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, but the tournament was cancelled in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

2019–20 Bradley Braves men's basketball
MVC tournament champions
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	23–11 (11–7 MVC)
Head coach	Brian Wardle (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Drew Adams Mike Bargen Jimmie Foster
Home arena	Carver Arena
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Iowa	14	–	4		.778			25	–	6		.806
Loyola Chicago	13	–	5		.722			21	–	11		.656
Indiana State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	12		.600
Bradley †	11	–	7		.611			23	–	11		.676
Southern Illinois	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
Missouri State	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Valparaiso	9	–	9		.500			19	–	16		.543
Drake	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
Illinois State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Evansville	0	–	18		.000			9	–	23		.281
† 2020 MVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2018–19 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]

Offseason

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	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	Helsinki Basketball Academy	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, Netherlands	Donar	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	Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, FL)	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

2019–20 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Danya Kingsby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Hamilton HS Southern Idaho Milwaukee, WI C 1 Ari Boya 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Scotland Prep Douala, Cameroon G 2 Antonio Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr East HS Memphis, TN G 4 Terry Nolan, Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Our Lady of Mount Carmel HS George Washington Baltimore, MD G 5 Darrell Brown 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Germantown HS Memphis, TN F 10 Elijah Childs 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Lee's Summit West HS Kansas City, MO C 12 Koch Bar 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Arlington County Day School Abyei, South Sudan G 13 Sean Houpt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Danville HS Danville, IL G/F 14 Riley Burger 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Totino-Grace HS Orono, MN G 21 Kevin McAdoo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr West Bloomfield HS Eastern Michigan Pontiac, MI F 22 Ja'Shon Henry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Athol Murray College of Notre Dame Saskatoon, Saskatchewan G 23 Ville Tahvanainen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland G 25 Nate Kennell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Metamora Township HS Metamora, IL F 51 Rienk Mast 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Donar Groningen Groningen, Netherlands	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: February 5, 2020

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2019* 6:00 pm		Millikin	W 91–52		Carver Arena (4,495) Peoria, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Saint Joseph's	L 81–86	0–1	Hagan Arena (2,068) Philadelphia, PA
November 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		IUPUI	W 90–56	1–1	Carver Arena (5,518) Peoria, IL
November 16, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		UIC	W 65–56	2–1	Carver Arena (5,411) Peoria, IL
November 19, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Norfolk State Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game	W 69–57	3–1	Carver Arena (4,813) Peoria, IL
November 22, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		Radford Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game	W 70–61	4–1	Carver Arena (5,167) Peoria, IL
November 25, 2019* 7:30 pm, FS1		vs. Northwestern Fort Myers Tip-Off semifinals	L 51–78	4–2	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (2,286) Fort Myers, FL
November 27, 2019* 5:00 pm, FS1		vs. Kansas State Fort Myers Tip-Off 3rd Place Game	W 73–60	5–2	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (2,210) Fort Myers, FL
December 3, 2019* 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at No. 15 Memphis	L 56–71	5–3	FedEx Forum (15,517) Memphis, TN
December 7, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		North Carolina A&T	W 83–52	6–3	Carver Arena (5,087) Peoria, IL
December 10, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		Maryville	W 91–58	7–3	Carver Arena (4,643) Peoria, IL
December 15, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3		Georgia Southern	W 81–51	8–3	Carver Arena (4,904) Peoria, IL
December 21, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	L 55–71	8–4	Millett Hall (1,011) Oxford, OH
Dec 28, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Toledo	W 78–66	9–4	Carver Arena (5,293) Peoria, IL
Missouri Valley Conference regular season
Dec 31, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	W 80–72	10–4 (1–0)	Carver Arena (5,416) Peoria, IL
Jan 4, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Northern Iowa	L 64–69	10–5 (1–1)	McLeod Center (6,650) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 8, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 72–52	11–5 (2–1)	Ford Center (4,489) Evansville, IN
Jan 11, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Illinois	W 67–48	12–5 (3–1)	Carver Arena (5,684) Peoria, IL
Jan 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	W 91–78	13–5 (4–1)	JQH Arena (4,583) Springfield, MO
Jan 18, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN2		Northern Iowa	L 71–86	13–6 (4–2)	Carver Arena (6,774) Peoria, IL
Jan 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Illinois State	W 75–63	14–6 (5–2)	Carver Arena (7,303) Peoria, IL
Jan 25, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 53–61	14–7 (5–3)	Hulman Center (4,159) Terre Haute, IN
Jan 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Valparaiso	W 80–69	15–7 (6–3)	Carver Arena (5,038) Peoria, IL
Feb 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at Loyola–Chicago	L 51–62	15–8 (6–4)	Joseph J. Gentile Center (4,963) Chicago, IL
Feb 5, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 60–73	15–9 (6–5)	Knapp Center (3,328) Des Moines, IA
Feb 9, 2020 w, CBSSN		at Evansville	W 69–58	16–9 (7–5)	Carver Arena (5,719) Peoria, IL
Feb 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Indiana State	W 72–61	17–9 (8–5)	Carver Arena (5,023) Peoria, IL
Feb 15, 2020 1:00 pm, CBSSN		at Southern Illinois	W 69–67	18–9 (9–5)	Banterra Center (5,766) Carbondale, IL
Feb 19, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 83–79 ^OT	19–9 (10–5)	Carver Arena (5,708) Peoria, IL
Feb 22, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 78–90	19–10 (10–6)	Athletics-Recreation Center (3,237) Valparaiso, IN
Feb 26, 2020 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Illinois State	W 74–71 ^OT	20–10 (11–6)	Redbird Arena (5,541) Normal, IL
Feb 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN3		Loyola–Chicago	L 66–67	20–11 (11–7)	Carver Arena (8,558) Peoria, IL
Missouri Valley tournament
March 6, 2020 2:35 pm, ESPN+	(4)	vs. (5) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals	W 64–59	21–11	Enterprise Center (7,399) St. Louis, MO
March 7, 2020 2:35 pm, CBSSN	(4)	vs. (8) Drake Semifinals	W 76–66	22–11	Enterprise Center (8,145) St. Louis, MO
March 8, 2020 1:05 pm, CBS	(4)	vs. (7) Valparaiso Championship	W 80–66	23–11	Enterprise Center (8,016) St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
			Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[6]
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[7][8]

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. "NCAA cancels men's and women's basketball championships due to coronavirus concerns | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
7. "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule". Bradley University Athletics. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
8. "2019-20 Bradley Braves Schedule Stats". ESPN. Retrieved October 17, 2019.