# 2017–18 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by third-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 20–13, 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 quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Braves finished the 2016–17 season 13–20, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Drake in the first round before losing to Wichita State in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Lou Griffith | 0 | G | 5'9" | 155 | Freshman | Washington, IL | Walk-on; transferred to Lincoln |
| Ronnie Suggs | 2 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Sophomore | Washington, MO | Transferred to Missouri |
| Jerome Merritt | 20 | F | 6'5" | 210 | Freshman | Houston, TX | Transferred to College of Central Florida |
| Alex Foster | 34 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Junior | Joliet, IL | Transferred to Albany |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Luqman Lundy | 2 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Junior | Newark, NJ | Junior college transferred from Northern Oklahoma College |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Elijah Childs SF | Lee's Summit, MO | Lee's Summit West High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Aug 16, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Ryan Stipanovich SF | Saint Louis, MO | De Smet Jesuit High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 16, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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 2017". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "ESPN – Bradley Braves Basketball Recruiting 2017". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. ||||||
Source

## Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Braves were picked to finish in seventh place in the MVC. Sophomore guard Darrell Brown was named to the preseason All-MVC second team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 26, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Lewis | W 71–58 | | 12 – Brown | 6 – Childs | 6 – Brown | Renaissance Coliseum Peoria, IL |
| Nov 1, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Robert Morris (IL) | W 87–57 | | 17 – Lautier-Ogunleye | 8 – Childs | 4 – Tied | Carver Arena (4,248) Peoria, IL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | W 68–53 | 1–0 | 19 – Kennell | 11 – Lautier-Ogunleye | 4 – Tied | Carver Arena (4,936) Peoria, IL |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Delaware | W 61–53 | 2–0 | 15 – Van Bree | 10 – Thomas | 3 – Tied | Carver Arena (4,556) Peoria, IL |
| Nov 17, 2017* 10:00 am | | vs. Vermont The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase quarterfinals | L 64–65 | 2–1 | 12 – 3 tied | 11 – Childs | 3 – Lautier-Oguenleye | Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium (334) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 18, 2017* 10:00 am | | vs. UTSA The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase consolation round | W 71–69 | 3–1 | 18 – Thomas | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium (247) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 19, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. Weber State The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase 5th-place game | W 70–64 | 4–1 | 23 – Brown | 8 – Thomas | 3 – 3 tied | Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium (312) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri S&T The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase campus game | W 79–47 | 5–1 | 18 – Kennell | 8 – Tied | 7 – Brown | Carver Arena (4,655) Peoria, IL |
| Nov 25, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia Southern | W 62–57 | 6–1 | 19 – Brown | 14 – Bar | 3 – Tied | Carver Arena (4,670) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 1, 2017* 7:00 pm, NBCSC+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 67–56 | 7–1 | 14 – Childs | 10 – Lautier-Oguenleye | 4 – Brown | Carver Arena (5,275) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 3, 2017* 5:00 pm, STADIUM | | at San Diego State MW–MVC Challenge | W 75–52 | 7–2 | 12 – Brown | 7 – Childs | 2 – 3 tied | Viejas Arena (11,102) San Diego, CA |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Little Rock | W 86–46 | 8–2 | 12 – Thomas | 6 – Van Bree | 5 – Brown | Carver Arena (4,670) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:05 pm | | at Chicago State | W 84–58 | 9–2 | 15 – Van Bree | 6 – Thomas | 10 – Brown | Dickens Athletic Center (750) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 20, 2017* 1:00 pm | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 75–67 | 10–2 | 18 – Brown | 6 – 4 tied | 5 – Kennell | Show Me Center (702) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 22, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at Ole Miss | W 82–59 | 10–3 | 16 – Brown | 6 – 3 tied | 5 – Brown | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,993) Oxford, MS |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season |||||||||
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Drake | W 66–64 | 10–4 (0–1) | 19 – Brown | 8 – Childs | 2 – 3 tied | Knapp Center (2,611) Des Moines, IA |
| Dec 31, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | W 72–53 | 11–4 (1–1) | 24 – Brown | 10 – Thomas | 5 – Tied | Carver Arena (5,684) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 80–71 | 12–4 (2–1) | 19 – Thomas | 14 – Lautier-Oguenleye | 7 – Brown | Carver Arena (5,294) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 44–68 | 12–5 (2–2) | 12 – Thomas | 4 – 4 tied | 3 – Kennell | Ford Center (4,171) Evansville, IN |
| Jan 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 68–62 | 13–5 (3–2) | 22 – Thomas | 7 – Thomas | 5 – Brown | Carver Arena (5,319) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 13, 2018 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC | | at Loyola | W 81–65 | 13–6 (3–3) | 15 – Brown | 7 – Thomas | 5 – Tied | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,814) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 17, 2018 6:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC | | at Illinois State I-74 Rivalry | L 57–70 | 13–7 (3–4) | 13 – Tied | 13 – Thomas | 6 – Brown | Redbird Arena (6,321) Bloomington, IL |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 66–53 | 14–7 (4–4) | 17 – Brown | 12 – Thomas | 4 – Lautier-Oguenleye | Carver Arena (6,285) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 72–52 | 15–7 (5–4) | 20 – Brown | 12 – Childs | 8 – Brown | Carver Arena (5,041) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 28, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 81–73 | 16–7 (6–4) | 25 – Kennell | 7 – Childs | 8 – Brown | Hulman Center (4,516) Terre Haute, IN |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSC | | Loyola | W 69–67 | 17–7 (7–4) | 18 – Childs | 7 – Childs | 8 – Tied | Carver Arena (5,753) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drake | L 68–78 | 17–8 (7–5) | 20 – Brown | 12 – Thomas | 8 – Brown | Carver Arena (7,793) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 65–74 | 17–9 (7–6) | 19 – Lautier-Ogunleye | 6 – Kennell | 2 – Tied | McLeod Center (4,564) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Feb 11, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | L 57–74 | 17–10 (7–7) | 21 – Pippen | 8 – Pippen | 4 – Lautier-Ogunleye | SIU Arena (4,830) Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State I-74 Rivalry | W 70–58 | 18–10 (8–7) | 14 – Thomas | 10 – Thomas | 6 – Lautier-Ogunleye | Carver Arena (7,731) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 17, 2018 8:00 pm, FSNW/NBCSC | | at Valparaiso | L 64–77 | 18–11 (8–8) | 19 – Thomas | 19 – thomas | 3 – Lautier-Ogunleye | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,021) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, FSNW/NBCSC | | Missouri State | W 82–78 | 19–11 (9–8) | 20 – Kennell | 7 – Thomas | 4 – Brown | JQH Arena (4,504) Springfield, MO |
| Feb 24, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Indiana State | L 64–66 | 19–12 (9–9) | 24 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | 7 – Lautier-Ogunleye | Carver Arena (7,827) Peoria, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||||||
| Mar 2, 2018 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | (5) | vs. (4) Drake Quarterfinals | W 63–61 | 20–12 | 24 – Brown | 7 – Thomas | 2 – 5 tied | Scottrade Center (6,410) St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 3, 2018 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (5) | vs. (1) Loyola-Chicago Semifinals | L 54–62 | 20–13 | 12 – 3 tied | 7 – Lautier-Ogunleye | 3 – Hodgson | Scottrade Center (8,415) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source