# 2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by ninth-year head coach Brian Wardle, played their home games at Carver Arena located in Peoria, Illinois, as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 13–7 in MVC play to finish in third place. They defeated UIC in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament before losing to Drake. They received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 3 seed. They defeated Loyola Chicago before losing to Cincinnati in the second round.

## 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. They defeated Northern Iowa and Indiana State in the MVC tournament before losing to Drake in the championship game. As a regular season champion who did not win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the NIT. There, they lost to Wisconsin in the first round.

## 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 | W 86–63 | 3–0 | Carver Arena (4,032) Peoria, IL |
| November 20, 2023* 9:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Tulane SoCal Challenge Surf Division Semifinal | 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 Final | 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 (2,671) 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 Quarterfinal | W 74–47 | 22–10 | Enterprise Center (5,813) St. Louis, MO |
| March 9, 2024 5:00 pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Drake Semifinal | L 67–72 | 22–11 | Enterprise Center (8,745) St. Louis, MO |
| NIT ||||||
| March 20, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | Loyola Chicago First Round – Indiana State Bracket | W 74–62 | 23–11 | Carver Arena (4,691) Peoria, IL |
| March 23, 2024* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | at (2) Cincinnati Second Round – Indiana State Bracket | L 57–74 | 23–12 | Fifth Third Arena (4,732) Cincinnati, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: