2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represents Bradley University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Wardle, play their home games at Carver Arena located in Peoria, Illinois, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball
SoCal Challenge Surf Division Champions
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	22–11 (13–7 MVC)
Head coach	Brian Wardle (9th season)
Associate head coach	Mike Bargen
Assistant coaches	Jimmie Foster Mike Black
Home arena	Carver Arena
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Indiana State	17	–	3		.850			28	–	6		.824
Drake †	16	–	4		.800			28	–	6		.824
Bradley	13	–	7		.650			22	–	11		.667
Northern Iowa	12	–	8		.600			19	–	14		.576
Belmont	12	–	8		.600			20	–	13		.606
Southern Illinois	11	–	9		.550			19	–	13		.594
Illinois State	9	–	11		.450			15	–	17		.469
Murray State	9	–	11		.450			12	–	20		.375
Missouri State	8	–	12		.400			17	–	16		.515
Evansville	6	–	14		.300			16	–	17		.485
UIC	4	–	16		.200			12	–	21		.364
Valparaiso	3	–	17		.150			7	–	25		.219
† 2024 MVC tournament winner As of March 10, 2024

Previous season

The Braves finished the 2022–23 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 NIT.^[3] There they lost to Wisconsin in the first round.^[4]

Roster

2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Demarion Burch 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Milwaukee-Hamilton High School Milwaukee, Wisconsin F 1 Almar Atlason 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr KR Reykjavík Reykjavík, Iceland G 2 Emarion Ellis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Marquette Davenport, Iowa C 4 Ahmet Jonovic 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So OKK Beograd Prijepolje, Serbia G/F 5 Christian Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Le Moyne Denver, Colorado G 10 Connor Hickman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Bloomington High School South Bloomington, Indiana G 12 Cade Hardtke (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Glenbard South High School Lombard, Illinois G 13 Sam Hennessy (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Benet Academy Naperville, Illinois F 14 Malevy Leons 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS Mineral Area College IJmuiden, Netherlands G 21 Duke Deen 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Troy Shreveport, Louisiana F 24 Kyle Thomas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Eastern Illinois Bolingbrook, Illinois F 25 Goanar Biliew 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Des Moines Area Community College Denison, Iowa F 34 Connor Linke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr St. Charles North High School St. Charles, Illinois F 35 Darius Hannah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Milwaukee Academy of Science Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Head coach Brian Wardle (Marquette) Assistant coach(es) Mike Bargen (Marquette) Jimmie Foster (South Dakota) Mike Black (Albany) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 16, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023* 7:00 pm		St. Ambrose	W 74–61	–	Carver Arena (3,841) Peoria, IL
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UAB	W 73–71 ^OT	1–0	Bartow Arena (3,632) Birmingham, AL
November 11, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Utah State	W 72–66 ^OT	2–0	Carver Arena (5,845) Peoria, IL
November 14, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Tarleton State SoCal Challenge campus site game	W 86–63	3–0	Carver Arena (4,032) Peoria, IL
November 20, 2023* 9:30 pm, CBSSN		vs. Tulane SoCal Challenge Surf Division semifinals	W 80–77	4–0	The Pavilion at JSerra (498) San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 22, 2023* 9:30 pm, CBSSN		vs. UTEP SoCal Challenge Surf Division championship	W 63–59	5–0	The Pavilion at JSerra (499) San Juan Capistrano, CA
November 25, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Vermont	W 79–70	6–0	Carver Arena (5,068) Peoria, IL
November 29, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Murray State	L 72–79	6–1 (0–1)	CFSB Center (5,211) Murray, KY
December 2, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPNU		Indiana State	L 77–85	6–2 (0–2)	Carver Arena (5,639) Peoria, IL
December 5, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Akron	L 52–67	6–3	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,100) Akron, OH
December 15, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Cleveland State	L 69–76	6–4	Carver Arena (4,842) Peoria, IL
December 18, 2023* 7:00 pm		vs. Duquesne	L 67–69	6–5	Lebron James Arena (1,375) Akron, OH
December 21, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		SIU Edwardsville	W 75–64	7–5	Carver Arena (4,875) Peoria, IL
December 28, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Truman State	W 69–47	8–5	Carver Arena (4,866) Peoria, IL
January 3, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	W 86–61	9–5 (1–2)	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,328) Valparaiso, IN
January 6, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 86–60	10–5 (2–2)	Carver Arena (5,174) Peoria, IL
January 10, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Evansville	W 86–50	11–5 (3–2)	Carver Arena (4,093) Peoria, IL
January 13, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at UIC	W 77–59	12–5 (4–2)	Credit Union 1 Arena (1,328) Chicago, IL
January 17, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Illinois	W 70–69	13–5 (5–2)	Banterra Center (4,614) Carbondale, IL
January 20, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Belmont	W 95–72	14–5 (6–2)	Carver Arena (6,521) Peoria, IL
January 24, 2024 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	W 71–63	15–5 (7–2)	Carver Arena (4,581) Peoria, IL
January 27, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 86–95 ^OT	15–6 (7–3)	Hulman Center (8,223) Terre Haute, IN
January 31, 2024 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Northern Iowa	W 85–69	16–6 (8–3)	Carver Arena (4,861) Peoria, IL
February 3, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Illinois State I-74 Rivalry	W 73–60	17–6 (9–3)	CEFCU Arena (6,871) Normal, IL
February 7, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	L 70–73	17–7 (9–4)	Ford Center (3,542) Evansville, IN
February 10, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	L 67–74	17–8 (9–5)	Carver Arena (8,023) Peoria, IL
February 14, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UIC	W 85–73	18–8 (10–5)	Carver Arena (4,403) Peoria, IL
February 18, 2024 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 63–74	18–9 (10–6)	McLeod Center (3,780) Cedar Falls, IA
February 21, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	W 86–62	19–9 (11–6)	Great Southern Bank Arena  Springfield, MO
February 24, 2024 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Illinois State I-74 Rivalry	W 48–45	20–9 (12–6)	Carver Arena (9,201) Peoria, IL
February 28, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Illinois	W 86–67	21–9 (13–6)	Carver Arena (6,168) Peoria, IL
March 3, 2024 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 66–74	21–10 (13–7)	Knapp Center (6,051) Des Moines, IA
MVC Tournament
March 8, 2024 8:30 pm, MVC TV	(3)	vs. (11) UIC Quarterfinals	W 74–47	22–10	Enterprise Center (5,813) St. Louis, MO
March 9, 2024 5:00 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Drake Semifinals	L 67–72	22–11	Enterprise Center  St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[5][6]

References

1. "Bradley wins MVC Regular Season Title for first time since 1996, defeating Drake 73-61". 25newsnow.com. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
2. "Drake vs. Bradley - Men's College Basketball Box Score - March 5, 2023". ESPN. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
3. Jacques, Mike "Jocko" (2023-03-12). "Badgers men's basketball makes NIT after not being selected to NCAA Tournament". www.nbc15.com. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
4. "Bradley vs. Wisconsin - Men's College Basketball Game Recap - March 14, 2023". ESPN. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
5. "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Bradley University Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
6. "Bradley Braves 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2023.